Clarissa Day by Day

Tips for save winter driving

2012-01-25T14:49:00.001-05:00

I am very happy this is a mild winter here in Ohio. We have only had a couple small bouts of snow and we are nearing the end of January. That's pretty unusual for around here. I don't like being cold. I don't like wet boots coming in the house. I don't like wet dog feet from trips out in the snow. I REALLY don't don't like DRIVING in the bad weather conditions, like when there is snow on the ground.

To make me feel more at ease when I am beind the wheel during snowy conditions, I follow some simple tips to make my driving more safe. Here are some I would like to share with you:

First of all, do I really have to even have to go out? I ask myself that when I look out and see snow or know snow is coming. Most of the time things can be post poned. Errands, shopping etc can wait. Appointments can be rescheduled. Most often roads will be cleared and good for driving within hours if the snow has stopped. Readjusting my plans by a few hours is certainly worth a safer, more relaxing ride.

Next, make sure you are driving around on good tires. It really makes all the difference to have tires with good tread while facing snow and icy conditions. Slipping and sliding is not a good feeling while driving. It can often be totally avoided by keeping your tires in good repair.

Also, make sure your windshield washer fluid is plenty full. Driving without a clear view of the road and other things around you is dangerous at all times, even more so when conditions are bad. As you drive on wet, snowy salty roads your windshield will become dirty quickly, sometimes every few seconds. A good supply of windshield washer fluid will run out fast. Make sure you check it often.

Don't let your gas tank run on low. You want to make sure that if you were to go off the road you have enough gas to run the heater at least on occasion while you wait for help. Also, if weather conditions get bad while you are out, it will take you longer to get to a destination and possibly reduce your gas mileage too. Driving with a tank on empty could leave you stranded if you run out.

Drive at ta speed YOU feel comfortable and safe at. Don't worry about those few vehicles that fly up on you and feel the need to pass. Don't be pressured by tailgaters to pick up your pace. If the roads are slick and you feel well under control driving 40 in a 55 zone...do it.

Think twice about passing slower vehicles. Perhaps they are right to pick driving at a slow speed in view of the conditions. Even if they are being too over cautious and driving way slower than necessary, to pass you will have to accelerate quickly. This could cause loss of control especially if you end up doing so at an area that is a bit more icy or snow packed. Passing usually only saves you seconds anyways. Notice how often cars will zip past you and end up stopped one car length ahead of you at the same traffic light!

Make sure you have emergency supplies with you at all times. Warm blankets for everyone normally with you in your vehicle. If you are not going to wear boots and hat and gloves when you go out, pack them in the car in case the need for them arises. Also, have an extra pair of socks and gloves int eh car in case you get wet trying to free yourself from a jam. You can switch out socks and be much warmer. A few snacks for the kids are also a good idea. It will help them pass time while waiting for a rescue and will save you from hearing a lot of whining "I'm hungryyyyy" at a time when your nerves will be shot already. Make you keep your cell phone...well charged...with you too. I know to most people these days that seems silly to even have to say...most people would grab their cell phones before pants when leaving the house these days...but for me my phone is not important and I do often forget it!

Let someone know when you are going out and where you are going too. If you live in a rural area, like us, there is often gaps in cell coverage and miles before houses. If you were to need help it might not be easy to get. If someone knows where you went and how long you expected to be gone they can investigate should your arrival be delayed for some reason.

For peace of mind and good financial reasons, make sure you good car insurance. Accidents do happen, and frequently in bad weather, make sure you are prepared with an option like Esurance.
About Esurance
With a wealth of easy-to-use online tools as well as 24/7 expert service, Esurance is making car insurance smarter from quote to claim. Everything we do is done with the goal of saving you time, hassle, hair-tearing-out, and oh yes, money too. Use the Esurance Coverage Counselor® to help you figure out the exact coverage limits you need. File a claim (and send pics of the accident) from your mobile phone. Call anytime — and by that we mean anytime — to talk to a friendly expert about discounts. Do what you need to do, when you need to do it. And do it with ease. That's what Esurance is all about.

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Those are just a few tips I have. Most of all, just remember to be smart and safe each time you travel no matter what the road conditions and weather conditions may be!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Esurance blogging program for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Boost Your Budget (week 4)

2012-01-25T13:48:00.002-05:00

So first I want to talk about my budget conscious decision to take our new puppy to a vet clinic. Sounds easy enough, right? A shop-with-your-pet style pet store was hosting a clinic where you paid $3 for each animal seen and the cost of the vaccinations etc they received after the exam cost. I arrived at the store Saturday morning at about 11:00. I found the line a bit long running down one whole aisle of the store and curving down the back of the store. How long could it take, really? A simple exam on each animal and a quick shot or two. I figured we had an hour of line standing in front of us...tops.

My 10 year old, 2 year old, baby and 12 week puppy entered the line. An hour later we had moved up two whole dog food bag widths t word the front of the line. Not remarkable progress to say the least. After another hour my 2 year old was really getting pretty tired of standing in line. After another 1/2 hour the baby had about enough of the experience as well. After 3 hours we could see the exam table ahead of us! With the hour long ride to the store location, hour long ride home and standing in line time the ordeal lasted over 5 hours!!! Wow. What a nightmarish way to save a few bucks! Looking back, our dog was on the exam table for maybe 3 minutes tops...so why did it take so long for every else to get done and for us to work our way to the front of the line??? It doesn't really all add up.

I am also trying to add couponing into my grocery routine. While I have always used coupons, I was more of a casual couponer...if I was buying something and had a coupon, I used it. I am now very actively seeking out coupons, figuring the best way to organize them and carry them with me at all times when I leave for a store, and using the weekly ads to plan couponing with for great savings.

I scored some great deals at Kroger and Meijer this week like cereal for 50 cents a box (organic at that!), chex mix for 50 cents a bag and Skinny cow candy at Target for 50 cents a box. Free coffee at CVS. After my shopping this week I had a $20 bill left over BUT I had to spend cash at the vet clinic so I used money out of my grocery fund envelope so that was around $35 so I actually cut my actual grocery spending $55 this week and I bought a lot of extra items because the couponing deals were too good to pass up so I got more and spent less!

Of course this required a lot more time invested. Time to find and cut and organize coupons. Time to sort and compare ads and pull coupons. And lots of shopping time and hassle as I drove from store to store to store unbuckling and rebuckling a car full of small children over and over and over.

Boost your Budget (week 3)

2012-01-20T21:38:00.001-05:00

As part of a money savings effort I have pretty much eliminated eating out. Where that is most difficult is on days I have errands to run or grocery shopping to do etc. The problem is we live quite a way shopping areas. When you have an hour travel time to get to your location, and even if you spend as little as a hour out accomplishing your mission (which is rare because I save up and do my running around all at once so its more like 2 or 3 or more hours) you have another hour home....its unavoidable to cross over one meal time or another. It's easy to go through a drive through. The kids love it. One trip through a drive through cost my family over $30 on most occasions, however.

So I am making an effort to pack a meal for when we are out. This past Wednesday one of my children had an appointment the have his pictures taken. I packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, clementines, granola bars and a chip type snack for each child.

Also, in my grocery shopping efforts, last week I went a whole $20 under budget. This week it was about the same. What really made that good was last week we had 2 extra kids staying with us for a good part of the week so that was extra food to buy and also last Sunday we had company for dinner so that meant preparing a bigger nicer meal and feeding extra people too. Then this week I prepared a meal for a family in which the mother just had surgery. So that was extra to buy for as well. And both weeks I came under budget pretty well.

I wrote this blog post in response to the budget challenge at Making Time for Mom.

Healthy Snacking with Pretzels!

2012-01-13T20:10:00.001-05:00

A new year is here and that means a lot of people have made that same old resolution again...to lose weight, to eat healthier, to make better food choices etc. Is that you? Can you do it this time? Can you stick to that decision?

Making better food choices, eating healthier and losing weight all involve making healthy snack choices. Even if you eat healthy meals and exercise, all is lost if you make unwise snack choices. So what can you do to ensure your goals are met and kept?

Whatever snack you choose, remember to watch portion sizes. Don't sit down with a whole bag, box or container of your chosen snack. Remove a portion, place in a bowl, plate etc and then eat it.

Speaking of portion sizes, make sure you read the labels and find out exactly what a portion size is suppose to be. Also, compare labels while you are still in the store to pick the best option out there. Check fat content, calories and nutrition content to get the most "bang" out of what you eat.

If you crave salty sort of snacks that you would find in the chip aisle, look for baked versions of your chosen snack. There are baked potato chips, tortilla chips, and other baked favorites as well. And remember, pretzels are always a baked option! Also, when in the chip aisle, look for whole grain options of your favorite chips.

There will always been occasions when you splurge on snacks and go outside your normal diet guidelines. Try to plan ahead and make sure you eat very carefully throughout the rest of the day to make up some calories. You may even want to follow up the next day skimping on calories, again, to help make up for that big splurge.

So I mentioned pretzels earlier. Pretzels make a great healthy snack option. I love Snyder's of Hanover Pretzels.

They have some great pretzel options for your various snacking moods. They even have gluten free choices and organic varieties. My 2 year old loves the chocolate covered varieties! Loves them. And I have to admit, I also love chocolate covered pretzels. All my children love the pretzel sandwiches. Pretzels with peanut butter smeared inside...definitely a winner! The flavored pieces are pretty AMAZING!!! I like the honey mustard best. My 13 year old loves the buffalo wing ones. The other children love the cheddar cheese ones. When we visit the snack aisle we could really leave with a cart full of these! I could eat and eat the butter snaps. Not like your regular pretzels, these have a great buttery taste to them. Trust me, its great.

Like I said, I enjoy honey mustard pretzels. Here is a recipe to make up your own in case you can't find Hanovers at your store.

1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup honey mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
10 cups small pretzel or large sourdough style pretzels broken into pieces
Melt margarine or butter in a small saucepan. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in honey mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and hot pepper sauce. Place pretzels in a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan .Pour mustard mixture over pretzels; toss gently to coat. Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Spread on foil; cool

I also like to make Peanut Butter Chex Mix with Pretzels in it.

10 cups cereal (Chex,Cheerios, etc)

2 cups pretzels

2 cups raisins

3 cups nuts (peanuts,almonds, etc)

⅔ cup natural peanutbutter

½ cup unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 250^o. Mixcereals, pretzels, peanuts, raisins, and nuts in a large oven-safe bowl or roastingpan. Melt peanut butter, butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a smallsaucepan over medium heat (or in a microwave-safe dish). Stir constantlyand heat until bubbly around edges. Pour over cereal mix and stir. Bake for 15 minutes.

Everybody snacks but snacking doesn't have to mean the end of your healthy habits! Remember Snyder's of Hanover for some great healthy pretzel options!

Like them on facebook!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Snyder’s of Hanover blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Boost Your Budget {Week 2}

2012-01-11T23:27:00.003-05:00

After last week's savings disappointment, I knew I had to do some brainstorming to find a sure fire way to start saving. So with great saddness in my heart I bring you this weeks cutback.

My Keurig. I will no longer be buying coffee for my Keurig.

My children are home for school and honestly I don't enjoy it. Its many hours of work daily for me. It takes away my "freedom". Instead of going to the grocery store when I choose, I must wait till school is done. Its basically like I am in school. Every morning I wake up and think, "I don't want to do school today" just like a child would!. But since I think at home is the best place for my children, I do it anyways.

My daily cup of coffee was something for me to look forward to each day as I began school. The warmth felt comforting and, well, I just truly enjoyed it.

However, anyone who has a Keurig knows, the K cups...they are not cheap! I would go through 2 boxes a month. A box will run around $14. So a monthly savings of $28. I think that is pretty significant especially when you combine that with any other saving efforts done each month.

I am trying to make myself like to drink hot tea. I am just not loving it. But tea bags are inexpensive! Sometimes tea, especially in the morning, actually makes me throw up. So that's not going great. I do love hot chocolate, but its too high in calories for me. So, mainly, I am just going without my warm beverage fix.

This post was written to repond to the Boost Your Budget challenge here

Boosting my Budget at the Grocery store

2012-01-05T21:40:00.001-05:00

This week I was determined to cut our grocery budget. Since I already felt I was doing quite a bit to keep our food bill low, this was challenging. What could I do to further save?

Normally I make a dinner menu for everyday I am shopping for. I search my recipes, come up with a meal plan and write down everything I need to buy to make my choices. For lunches I may plan a few recipes but mostly just decided while shopping what I would purchase to make for lunch. Snacks and breakfast were the same way. I would have some recipes to make but I would also grab some things I just knew my children liked and would enjoy.

This week I planned EVERYTHING. I made a list of each meal and snack that could be eaten during a day. I did not buy anything that was not prewritten on my list. Absolutely nothing. I felt like I had bought a lot less. I had fewer bags, I am sure. Things I planned were very budget conscious and I even had some items leftover from last grocery trip that I did not have to buy. However, I was quite dissappointed in the savings. It was a few bucks. All the work and planning and I come out with a few bucks. I guess the recent hike in grocery prices off set my big savings.

Oh well....let's rethink this again! Next week I will try something more!!

I wrote this post in response to a challenge on the Making Time for Mom blog.

Tonight's Food Masterpiece

2011-12-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

Simple, Homey and Humble. That's how I make my meals a masterpiece. Tonight's dinner for my family was Old Fashioned Beef Stew served over whole wheat noodles, Corn Muffins and Chocolate Crackle Cookies for dessert.

This is my entry for the Zanussi Cookers make every meal a masterpiece competition

FREE baby wipes here!

2011-12-29T16:11:00.004-05:00

Seventh Generation is giving sample packs of baby wipes to the first 300 people who use the link on my blog!

You will actually receive two...YES two ...samples. You can keep one and pass one on to a friend so they can experience how great Seventh Generation's Free and Clear Baby Wipes are, too! The wipes clean baby's bottom with plant-derived ingredients; no alcohol, synthetic cleaners, dyes or fragrances. They are whitened without chemicals containing chlorine and are soft and safe.

You’ll need to sign up for the Seventh Generation Rewards Program in order to redeem your samples, but that is quick and easy. Use THIS LINK to claim your samples.

Why I love gift cards

2011-12-21T15:36:00.005-05:00

Have you ever been sitting comtemplating what gift to give someone and thought of a gift card only to decide "No, gift cards are too impersonal. The recipient might think I didin't want to shop for them". I totally disagree. Gift cards rock! Rather than saying you didn't care they say "I care enough that I want you to get exactly what you want". I love gift cards. I love to receive them, I love to give them.

So why do I love to give gift cards? It makes shopping easy. You know how you have people you need to buy gifts for that you have no idea what to get? It saves the guessing just to get a gift card. It prevents duplicate gifts too. It saves you time also. Instead of spending a whole day searching for something to buy or trying to find a good deal on what you want...a gift card takes seconds to purchase! What are some of the times when I think gift cards are fantastic?

Graduation gifts. People at that age, graduation high school, are just hard to buy for! Let them pick their own gifts.

Wedding gifts for second marriages. You know the people who have a couple households that they are combining so they have pretty much everything you can think of that you normally give as a gift. GIFT CARD!

Gifts for Bosses. You don't really know them well. You are obligated to buy a gift.

Gifts for children ages 7 and up. Younger than that children like to get the gift immediately. At around 7 years old they know the fun of having spending money and being able to go pick just what they have been wanting.

Gift cards also work well for people like mail carriers, hair dressers,teachers and pediatricians...anyone else you would like to give a gift to that you don't have a large personal relationship with.

I love to get gift cards too. I prefer them over cash. Why? Well if given cash I will most like end up having to spend it on something like milk and bread at the grocery store. Maybe highway tolls or parking fees. Maybe my husband will ask for $20 because he is going somewhere. Maybe one of my children needs a quick item like construction paper at the store. It could be a tip at a restaurant or a quick coffee at a drive thru. But before I know it my cash is gone and I have not gotton anything significant to show for it. It feels like you never got a gift at all. A gift card, however, is something that I have to plan to spend. To go out and purposely use.

Here are some other times I have used gift cards that are a little unique.

When I was part of the PTA at school I would purchase gift cards for school auctions. They also drew the biggest crowd of bids. We also used them as teacher gifts during teacher appreciation weeks.

I sometimes purchase gift cards when traveling so I don't' have to carry cash. Gift cards for things like gas are great. To me its easier to carry a few gift cards than a big roll of cash.

Sometimes there are promotions for purchasing gift cards. Gas fuel perks (earning to get free gas purchases) or things like buy $100 in gift cards get $10 free for example. I will purchase gift cards for places I know I shop at (like grocery stores) during those times to get the extra free savings.

Great for those times you forgot to get a gift! You can even purchase a couple to keep with you so if you arrive somewhere and realize you forgot someone you have an emergency back up ready and it looks like you were prepared.

Whether spending or giving, gift cards are great. With the internet you can even purchase and send them to your recipient in one step without ever having to leave your house.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Gift Cards Rock blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Tags: creative ways to give gift cards, gift cards, gift cards rock, giving gift cards

Review: Nero Kwik Media Photo Book

2011-11-18T20:19:00.001-05:00

Recently, I had the opportunity to try Nero Kwik Media software and to create a photo book of my own. In the past, I have made other personalized, photo type projects like photo books, greeting cards and calenders. I have really enjoyed putting these projects together and when this opportunity with Nero came up, I was excited to give it a try.

Something I found unique with the creation of this book was the Nero Kwik Media software. Before you being your project, you must download this software. Its is Windows based and was easy to install. It automatically finds the photos stored on your computer and has them ready for you to choose from when you begin creating. I had some photos still on my camera that had not been downloaded to my computer yet. I realized this after I had installed the Nero software but adding in these additional photos was simple to do as well. With other photo projects I have done, you are required to upload your photos to the web to add and edit them.

You have the choice to make photo books, calendars, and greeting cards with Nero. As I said before, I made a photo book. You have several options for your photo books like choice of cover material and theme/layout. I chose a black leather cover and the black page layout. I did feel the choices of layouts were a bit limited when compared to what other companies do offer, however.

Once you get your book options chosen you can pick your photos you want to use. Once you have made your decision, you arrange them in the order you want them to appear in your book and --boom--it automatically places them in your photo book. While this ***might*** make the creation of the book quicker for some people it brought some big issues for me. I intended to have certain photos placed on the same pages together. While I had arranged these photos together in the order I wanted them place in my book in the earlier step, pages within the book may have one photo space or two or three or four spaces for photos per page. So although they load onto the pages in order, photos may not end up together on pages. Therefore, after my book was created, I had lots of work to do to choose new page layouts and/or moving of my photos to do so that they were place together as I intended. While this is completely possible using this software, it was pretty time consuming. If I were to use this software again to create a book, I would keep this in mind and choose photos or a theme where I wouldn't mind what the final layout was. For example, a wedding photo book or a book that highlighted the things we did over the summer etc. I would not try to make a book where I would have various photos of one of my children individually on their own page.

Since my book was covered in the black leather and I had chosen the sleek black page layout, I thought it would be fabulous to have a book completely done in black and white photos. So after spending a very long time getting my photos and pages arranged properly, I began the photo editing process. The software has some great editing options, like the ability to add vignettes to your photos. I really liked the way it showed a preview of your photo before you chose the particular editing application, too, so you could see what it would look like with that editing being done. I did, however, find the editing and saving of the editing photo to go quite slowly. More slowly that what I have experienced with web based photo programs. I also had many occurrences where the software sort of locked up or something and kicked me back to the beginning pages where you choose what project you want to create. It does save your work automatically along the way, so my project was not lost, but, it took a while to get back into my project. It also would not save the current photo I had been editing so I had to go back and re edit it. This became so frustrating and also time consuming that I gave up on making my whole book black and white and only made the first half that way and the rest natural color. I also had an issue with a few of my photos after I edited them. When they would load, edited, back onto my book pages, a black band would appear at the bottom of the photo cutting off that bottom portion of the photograph. I could not figure out why it was happening and don't know if it was a software glitch or operator error or what. Like I said, it was only occasional, and random, so I could never really make a connection there. It was annoying because I would then either have to chose a new photo, if too much was cut off, or re size my photo and crop off that black band, or reload my photo to the project and re edit it so it would come out right.

When you are happy with your project and give it the final approval, Nero will automatically upload it so it can be bought and printed. I did experience some issues with this process as well. My uploading quit a couple times, I am not sure why, and also once the uploading begins you should be given a window where you do your actual purchasing of your book. The window to purchase did not pop up for me and I was very confused as to how to purchase. I had to go back and approve my book several times before this all worked out smoothly and the purchase window appeared.

My book was printed and arrived in the mail very quickly. I was sent an email when my book was printed and shipping which was nice. Overall I was impressed by the final project and think it looks very nice. The leather cover is very appealing and high quality looking. I think it would look great displayed on a shelf or end table.

Some photos of my book (pardon the photo glare I was getting tonight, we do not have good lighting in our house):


a black and white page of Jenson

another black and white page layout

And moving to my natural color pages, one of Miliana, Evan's seen adjoining

Another page

Disclosure: This post is part of a SocialMoms product evaluation, for which I’ve been selected. One free photo book was made available to me for review purposes. I’ve been compensated for my time with a $100 PayPal payment. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Nero.

why a KRE-O set is a great gift for kids

2011-11-16T14:49:00.002-05:00

Wondering what would make a great gift for a child aged 6 and up? Here is a great suggestion: KRE-O sets. Why are they so great? Well--

1. They have a great price range. You can get a set for as little as $7.99. If you are looking to spend more than that sets can be purchased for all the way up to about $60. With that price range, however, you are sure to find one in your price point.

2. Building sets like KRE-O are things that pretty much every child is interested in. Even after they build up the set as intended, they can undo it and use their imagination to build up something entirely different out of the pieces. Its not a toy that will quickly become boring. Added bonus...KRE-O bricks WILL work with your Lego bricks! Chances are your gift recipient already has some Legos, so this will help add to their building set collection!

3. With sets featuring the Transformers, they are sure to please young boys! Transformers are hot due to the recent movie. Children will be wanting all things Transformer related. KRE-O will fit that bill perfectly!

I would highly recommend KRE-O as a gift that will be appreciated this year. And, by the way, right now you can even enter to win free KRE-O sets here
Enter to win one of over 1,000 KRE-O Construction Sets in the Great Brick Giveaway . Its simple and fun to enter.

More info: http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com

Follow @hasbronews on Twitter
Toys like KRE-O are great to set out when you are having a gathering of people at your home. Its something that will entertain children of many ages. Even adults can join in the building fun! What a great way to keep a lot of people happy at your next gathering.

What else can you do to ensure a successful gathering? One key is to make sure everyone is fed. Hungry people are not happy people. If your gathering includes a meal, make sure its served on time or when expected. If your meal will be later than the "normal" meal time, like a lunch served at 2 p.m. rather than noon, make sure people are aware of the meal time. Also, having appetizers and snacks available right away will help your hungry people stay cheerful. This is especially true if children are at the event. Children's bellies are very used to scheduled eating times and they do not do well when told they have to wait when they are very hungry. So have finger foods available. Also, make sure your menu includes things that all sorts of people will enjoy. Fancy frou-frou type foods may please certain adults, but children will often be turned away by odd foods. If you wish to serve such items, make sure their are kid friendly options available. Cutting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into small shapes would be something that would excite children. Prepared, heat and eat chicken nuggets would be well accepted by most children. Simple chip and pretzel type choices are good. Remember, too, children love to dip and eat. Simple kid friendly dips and sauces will be a hit.

And when serving foods remember you will need drinks too. You may find individual serving containers work better for gathering rather than pour into a cup type beverages. It makes it easier for people to carry. They are usually more spill proof too. Consider having a big variety available. Soft Drinks, teas, 100% juices in bottles or drink box form, juice punches in drink boxes or pouches, and water bottles are good choices. Remember to get some water bottles in the smaller 8 ounce size for children. A 16 ounce water bottle is often wasted by smaller guests who drink 1/2 or less and tire of it.

Following those few simple tips can make for a great happy gathering! I hope it helps you next time you are being Hostess!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hasbro blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points and a KRE-O gift. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Hasbro. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” (

germy situation

2011-11-15T19:06:00.000-05:00

Ummmm...that smells great!

2011-11-11T17:10:00.002-05:00

I, over the past few years, have developed a real aversion to strong, artificial type scents. I do, however, love light natural type scents. When I read that Seventh Generation was wondering what type of natural scents people preferred, I was glad to hear they cared. I love the Seventh Generation products and I think its great they not only care about the safety of their products, the safety of their users and the products impact on the environment, but also what they can do to make using them more pleasant for us!

My favorite scent? Well I LOVE food oriented scents. Things like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg probably top my list. Other food scents like coffee and chocolate are also favorites of mine. Next in line for me would be citrus scents...especially if they are more mellow, soft "creamy" versions rather than bold citrus smells.

So what do those scents remind me of?

The spicy scents that top my list bring to mind childhood. The days when it was frigid cold outside yet the house was warm. Inside that warm house was something baking. Maybe it was a pumpkin pie. Maybe it was cinnamon raisin bread. Maybe it was cookies. Whatever it was, not only did it scent the house nicely, but it was a constant reminder that later in the day you had something delicious to look forward to. Something sweet and yummy. Imagine it...warm and safe inside your home as the cold winds howl at the windows and the snow flies by. The delicious scent of something baking inside the oven. The carefree enjoyment of life that childhood affords. The smell of these fragrances bring those feelings back to me even to this day!

I think my preference for the coffee scent came more as an adult. Although I have never been a huge coffee drinker, I have enjoyed it on certain occasions. One time I love a hot cup of coffee is when we are camping during cooler weather. To get up first thing in the morning as the sun is still new for the day, the air crisp and cool is something that entices me. Sitting in front of a campfire at that time is comforting. The perfect accompaniment to that scene is a hot cup of coffee (and I might add, something sweet, like a doughnut!). The air is still and everything is quiet (unless my children have gotten up for the day as well! Yeah not so still and quiet then). Sipping that warm coffee is just so relaxing. During these times I have had the pleasure of some great conversations with friends and enjoyed seeing things like deer walk by mere feet away from us. Whenever I smell coffee brewing, it takes my imagination back to those campfires!

How about you? Do you enjoy the scents I do? Perhaps you prefer more floral scents? Maybe there is something else? Why not share your favorites and where they take you!

You might also be interested to know that Seventh Generation is offering a trip for two to one of the regions where lemons, clementines and lavender grow, including France and Italy. This sweepstakes celebrates Seventh Generation’s new Natural Dish Liquid scents. Enter to win a trip to Italy, France or Vermont

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seventh Generation blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Real Moms Love to Eat and Food Affairiates.

2011-10-12T23:26:00.001-04:00

I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. The problem is that it can be hard to find recipes that you can enjoy making and eating and still be diet and weight conscience. Let's face it, a diet can't be a temporary thing. You really can't diet for a week or a month or a year. It was to be a lifetime commitment. That's where it can get tricky for so many of us. Its easy to be on a super strict probably unhealthy diet that doesn't really meet your nutritional needs if its for a short time. But a long term lifestyle diet has to be healthy and it has to be something you can live with.

That's just what you will find in the "Real Moms Love to Eat: How to Conduct a Love Affair with Food, Lose Weight and Feel Fabulous" by author Beth Aldrich. There are 3 sections to this book. It will help you moms make gradual lasting liveable changes to their eating style. It also has 21 days of recipes, meal planning ideas and more.

It makes me feel good to know that Beth Aldrich is a Certified Health Counselor. So her ideas, suggestions and recipes will be healthy. That is good to know when you are looking to implement a new lifestyle.

Beth Aldrich also has an innovative new “Food Affairiate” program. This program is for bloggers and it invites them to spread the word about the new book. By doing so you can get a free copy of the book and other neat prizes. You can find out all about it here

Yes, Real Moms Love to Eat was created with you in mind. It will lead you on a food journey of excitement, fun and new surprises. As a mom who does love to eat herself, I think it sounds great!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Beth Aldrich - Real Moms Love to Eat blogging program, for a chance to get 3,000 My SocialMoms Rewards points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

keeping your family cold and flu-free

2011-10-05T15:47:00.001-04:00

Summer is definitely over in Ohio. The days are often cool and the nights are cold. The leaves are no longer bright green but are now turn more golden brown as they begin to make their turn to brilliant fall colors. There are even leaves already on the ground crunching underfoot as you walk. Yes, fall is here. Winter is approaching. There may be a few things to look forward to in winter....trees glistening with beautiful white freshly fallen snow, cozy fires int he fireplace on lazy Saturday afternoons, building snowmen from the smooth blanket of snow that fell silently the night before. However, there is one thing I cringe about when I think of the approaching cold weather...cold and flu season!

when you have a houseful of young children, even a simple cold could mean weeks of taking care of sick people as the germs spread from one little one to the next. A flu can be devastating. There are things I do to help protect our family from these evil germs! Here are some suggestions to help you keep your family
cold and flu free.

Try to avoid leaving your home when you know your destination will be its busiest. You know when you go to that superstore and you spend 10 minutes just trying to find a parking space? That's the worst time to take your family out. You will be exposed to many people. Many of those will be sick. The best time, I have found, to go out is early morning time. I have noticed when I am at the store at 8 a.m. there are barely any other people shopping.

Carry a good supply of antibacterial products on hand that you take with you outside the home. A quick wipe down of the touching surfaces of your cart will keep your hands more germ free and also any little ones riding in the cart more germ free. When we leave the store I give everyone a quick squirt of hand sanitizer before they get into our vehicle and begin touching their carseats etc inside. Little ones who are still in the habit of putting their fingers in their mouths get a sanitizing once or twice while we are shopping as well.

Make sure you avoid going past the pharmacy area. You will find lines of sick people waiting for prescriptionsi during flu season. Many will look so sick you wonder how they even left their home. If I have to get a product they keep near the pharmacy counter I will purposely go to a smaller, less visited store rather than that big super store, even if it means paying a bit more to avoid the convention of ill people that will be present in the big store.

Try to avoid going to the doctor for routine visits during the peak of flu season. Even if it means canceling and rescheduling an appointment for a couple weeks later...its worth it to avoid the likely myriads of germs present in the doctor office during those times. If you absolutely have to visit, avoid touching anything. I have even kept my childrens' gloves on their hands while we were waiting in the waiting room. then taken the gloves and washed them promptly when we get home. Try waiting in areas where people are less likely to wait. standing beside the lobby rather than sitting in the chairs. I also try to schedule appointments for early first thing when there will be less people there and there is less of a chance you will have to wait long, before they get behind in the schedule over the day.

Avoid going out if anyone has even a minor seeming cold symptom. Their immune system will be compromised a bit at that time and it will be easier for them to catch possibly more germs. Besides, its not nice to spread your germs around either!

You can keep your family's immune system in peak performance by making sure they are nourished with healthy diets. Eat a good variety of fresh foods daily. Plenty of fruits and vegetables are required. Whole grain products help too. Avoid the processed foods and convenience items.

You can also boost your family's immunity with supplements. Look into herbs that are reported to help immunity. Things like vitamin C are even available in easy to take children's formulas.

Keeping your digestive system in peak condition actually helps keep you healthy as well. Make sure your family eats yogurt that has active live cultures in it. If they don't like yogurt, consider supplementing the cultures in pill form.

Of course, everyone gets sick from time to time. Keep supplies on hand as the cold and flu season approaches. Make sure you have things like soup, Gatorade, and 7 up stocked. Have pain relievers in the medicine cabinet for all ages in your family. Get your humidifier up and running. That way if anyone in your family does end up ill, you won't have to try to run out to get these basics. Also, keep things like Lysol on hand to help avoid spreading germs within your household. i will say that normally I avoid cleaning products and go a more natural route. however, when waging war against present germs, we get out the heavy stuff! Lysol makes a lot of products that really help keep those germs under control!

Lysol Spray and Lysol Wipes kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses on hard non porous surfaces.

Yes, its is unavoidable...each year the cooler weather brings the germs into season. Yet, there are things you can do to arm your family. I know I am ready for the fight here in this household!!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Lysol blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Love this!!

2011-10-04T20:45:00.000-04:00

I did not write this. I borrowed it from somewhere else:

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.

ten tips for de-cluttering and organizing toys in your kids’ playroom or bedroom

2011-09-28T09:11:00.001-04:00

I remember when my first child was a baby. We had a few little toys for him. We had a bookcase in his room with the few little toys on it. He got older. The toys became more plentiful. The bookcase was over run. We bought a toy box. The toy box fit in his room and it was so easy to keep the toys in order and controlled. There was no clutter around the house. It was great. Time went on. There came to be more and more toys. We had a second child. We built a playroom by finishing our basement. It was great. There were shelves and all the toys were so neat and organized. Time passed. The toys became more plentiful. Now we had boy toys and girl toys. We had baby toys and toddler toys. We had baby #3. The toys became more plentiful. Now we recently had baby #6. The toys are very plentiful!

So what can you do to keep toys organized in your home? Is it a losing battle? Do you just throw in the towel and give up while there are children in your household? Here are some tips for keeping the toys under control!

1. If you have basement, that just might be the perfect space to get toys out of your other more commonly used living space. If its not finished living space right now you can semi finish it for not too much money. Buying large rugs or even a piece of carpet and loose laying it rather than installing it is an easy fix for floor comfort. Buy portable shelving units available at many stores or buy brackets and wood to create shelving. Of course if you have the money, finishing the space with drywall etc is preferred, but for a quick and easy fix, this works great.

2. If toys are currently kept in your main living areas of your home, like the family room or living room, move them to the children's bedrooms if you don't have the option of using space elsewhere as a dedicated playroom. When there are toys flung about everything instantly looks messy. If you get drop by company you are constantly apologizing for the condition of your home. You can't sit and have a conversation or watch tv or read in your living room because the children are playing too loud or there are toys all over your furniture. Sending the toys to the bedrooms where they are less likely to be seen by guests or in your way helps keep you happy.

3. Use plastic storage bins. They come in all sizes and designs. All shapes and colors. Its a great way to pack thigns up and away and keep things lookign neat. Each puzzle can go into a shoe size box. The big race track set in a large tote box. They stack, they line up well. They just keep things neat.

4. If you have a lot of toys but are short on space, consider rotating tthings. Every week put out a few different types of toys out where they can be played with. At the end of the week, pack those away, and put out new toys from your toys stash. The currently unused stash can be stored anywhere, attic, basement, garage just somewhere out of the way. This will keep things interesting and new for your children but also keep things from being overly cluttered and unorganized.

5. Regualry go through and inspect the toys. If they are broken get rid of them. Toys that just sit around because they are no longer usable take up a lot of space.

6. When your children out grow toys, get rid of them or pack them away if you think you will have use for them at a later time. Don't just let toys that are not getting used sit there. Make space for something else. This, of course, is much trickier if you have a larger family, like me. There are children at many age levels and toy levels. If you have one or two children close in age, however, its much easier to accomplish!

7. Don't go overboard with gifts. Some parents buy buy buy for every birthday, Christmas and other gift giving occasions. The result is lots and lots of stuff! If you want to spend a lot of money...that's your prerogative...but consider buying one or two bigger ticket items rather than bunches and bunches of less expensive stuff. You will have less to keep organized that way.

8. Teach your children to clean up after themselves. Make sure you have your children pick up one thing before getting another out. Many toys being out at once creates a big disorganized mess. It looks bad. Its also harder to clean up. You can't just scoop up all the mess and put it in its bin and be done. You have to pick up each piece individually and decide where it goes. Often pieces and parts end up in the wrong spot. Later they can not be found and the toy may not even be able to be played with since pieces are missing. Its just much easier to clean up one thing before getting anything else out.

9. Set up a clean up time at the end of every day. Sometime before pajama time. Some time before bath time. Some time before snack time or story time or bedtime. Make this an all out pick it all up and have it perfect clean up! Everything gets put away. Now if they were picking up one thing before getting another out during the day, this will be much easier. But even still, with pretty good clean up s going on throughout the day, children are apt to leave this and that behind. Now is the time to get it all cleaned up! I like to call it "vacuumable clean!" yes, nothing left out so that a vacuum can easily be ran through!

10. Look for the new Hot Wheels Wall Tracks. They let your child race Hot Wheels not on the floor but on the wall! Its a great way to keep the mess off the floor and its something new and exciting for the kids as well! Its also a great way to keep the baby from getting into the toys your child is playing with. I know my children would love that too! You can check them out here http://www.hotwheels.com/walltracks

Clutter and disorganization drive me crazy. Its a good thing there are ways to keep from being over run by the toy clutter!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

ten tips for preparing your home for your new baby's arrival

2011-09-24T23:48:00.001-04:00

We recently welcomed another new baby into our house. Jenson is our 6th child so I have prepared for the arrival of a baby quite a few times. So what are some tips that I would give to parents who may be getting their home ready for a new little family member? Let me share 10 tips.

1. Get baby's clothing ready. For first time parents that probably means buying a lot of new things or getting everything they got at their baby shower washed up and put away. But what does it mean for us who already have clothing from other children? Well I keep all my children's outgrown clothing in big plastic bins and write on the outsides the size of the clothing and gender. So before my new baby arrives I send my husband up into the attic with the mission to find the bins labeled BOY 0-3 clothing, unisex bin and also the 3-6 month clothing because its really hard to get my husband to go into the attic and my babies are born very big and grow very fast so they fit into 0-3 sizes for a maximum of about 3 weeks. Then I wash everything up and sort through putting back anything that won't match the season the current baby will be born in.

2. Since I have had other children before I have all the baby equipment as well. So Before baby's arrival I like o go through and get all the baby equipment out and clean it up real good. I also make sure everything that might be battery operated, like the baby swing, is still in working order and that it has fresh new batteries in it. I make sure everything else is in good shape with no undue wear etc to it also. Some of my baby equipment is now 13 years old so it important to make sure it is still safe and in good shape for a new baby. Remember things like car seats have expiration dates, too. So you will need to check to make sure big brother or sister's carseats are still within their suggested usage dates. Also, you need to make sure there are not any recalls on any items you may have.

3. I like to stock up on food before the new baby gets here too. We have 2 full size refrigerators in our home plus a big freezer. This allows me to stock up on just about anything I want to.   I make sure we have lots of the items my family goes through a lot of....milk, yogurt, cereal, etc. Plus I like to stock up on easy to prepare or heat and serve type foods that my older children can make themselves and the younger ones to eat. That way if I am not feeling well when I first bring a new baby home or even days when I am just real busy carrng for a particularly fussy baby, the children can fend for themselves for lunch.

4. Along the lines of stocking food, its a great idea to make a good stash of meals and freeze them, too. There are many sites on line dedicated to make ahead and freezer cooking. You can find some great recipes that are freezer friendly. having healthy homemade meals is especially important when there are other children in the household. Being prepared a head of time like this will keep your family well nourished and help you, the new mama, peace of mind too.

5. When adding a new little member to your household its a good idea to think about your home's safety too. Its a great time to think about your smoke detectors.   Did you know that it is recommended that you get new smoke detectors every so often? Yes they should be replaced periodically. So even if you have an adequate number of detectors in your home maybe its time for new ones. We recently replaced all our regular ones with ones that work with each other. If one detector goes off, they all do. Since our home has a very spread out floor plan, this is great for us. A detector couple be going off at the other side of the house and you would never hear it in the master bedroom. I really like the safety these give.

6. Since I make all my laundry detergent, before I have a new baby I like to create quite a large stash of detergent to have ready and waiting for me. I get several 5 gallon buckets and make enough to fill each. I do lots of laundry and adding a new baby creates even more than ever before. Not only are there baby diapers, if you use cloth, and baby clothing but there are extra clothes that you end up going through due to baby mishaps that soil your clothing. Although making detergent is pretty easy, its nice to know I won't have to worry about it for several months at a time when I have so much else to do.   If you don't make your own detergent, its a good idea to stock up a good supply of store bought detergents. A good choice is something like Seventh Generation's detergent. It will be safe for baby's delicate skin and good for the environment as well.

7. Getting a baby nursery completed is usually at the top of new parent's to do lists. Its a good idea to get things like painting or new carpeting done a good time in advance of the new baby's arrival so that these things have enough time to "air out". Things like new carpet have a lot of chemicals in them that can release into the air especially in the first weeks after they arrive in your home. Not something you want your baby's new, delicate lungs breathing. make sure to accomplish these things well in advance.

8. Babies grow quickly. Before you know it they are mobile and into everything. Its a good time to go ahead and start your baby proofing before the baby even arrives. install outlet covers and other safety devices. look for cords that are within baby's reach. Move breakable items to higher locations. Look for sharp edges on furniture etc and see what can be done to make them safer. Install safety gates on stairs. You will probably find things you forgot to take care of once your baby does hit the crawling stage but by starting early you will be ahead of the game and ready.

9. Another safety precaution to take is to look at your hot water heater. Too hot water can be very dangerous for babies. Babies' skin is thinner than adults and therefore can burn more easily. It is recommended that you keep your hot water heater to below 120 degrees. Water will be hot enough for you but not dangerous

10. Even if you use cloth diapers its a good idea to stock up on some disposables diapers and wipes. There may be times when the laundry just doesn't get done and you end up short on cloth diapers. Or you might want to use disposables for trips or outings with baby. Of course if you are using cloth, one main reason may be because you worry about the health concerns that may be associated with some disposable diapers. A good option is to use diapers like Seventh Generation's Free & Clear diapers. They are free of chlorine, latex, fragrances and petroleum-based lotions and come in a range of sizes from newborn to stage 6. Moms who have used them on their babies report that the diapers are soft to the touch and have exceptional absorbency. They also have baby wipes that are free of alcohol, synthetic dyes and fragrances and whitened without chemicals containing chlorine. I do have occasions when I use disposables and I think Seventh Generation is a great option.

Preparing for a new baby is always fun and exciting. Even when you have done it many times over, it can make you wonder what you have forgot and if you are truly ready.    Its always nice to review with other parents and get new ideas and suggestions.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seventh Generation blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

playing outdoors with my family.

2011-09-21T19:01:00.002-04:00

Have you noticed the cooler days? The shorter daylight hours? Maybe you have to close up the windows at night or you had to add an extra blanket to your bed to keep the chill out. Yes, summer has ended and autumn is setting in now. Some people welcome the cooler, less humid weather. For me its sad. It means winter will soon be here. One thing my family and I miss when the cold sets in is the time we spend outdoors.

Have you noticed that as you drive through a town that there aren't very many children out playing? I have. I can say that is not the case in our household, however. We are outside from morning till night when the weather is right!

What do we find to do outside? There is so much.

First of all, during the summer we swim.

We regard the swimming pool we put in as one of the best purchases we ever made. If something were to happen to the pool we have now we would install another without delay. The new model would be even bigger and better, too! There are a lot of fun games you can play in your pool. What about a game of pool basketball? Use an inner tube as a hoop and any sort of ball...big or small and start shooting hoops. You can take turns tossing the ball in an orderly way or just let mayhem reign and have it a dive and grab for the ball and shoot game. Do a jumping contest. See who can make the grandest entrance into the pool. Who has the most unique jump? The silliest? The most graceful? Or call out a name of a jump and see how each person interprets it into a jump. Some famous ones in our family have been things like the "L" jump, the pencil and the walrus. Its guaranteed you will share some laughter with this game. Of course there are relay races (try to silly it up by using funny made up swimming strokes or techniques) to do. How about tossing coins or other small objects into the pool and racing to see who can retrieve the most?

Oh there is so much to do in the pool!

When we feel like taking the adventure outside our own property, we often head out for a hike. We are fortunate to live out in the country in an area where there are some exciting trails through the woods. We often pretend we are hunting for Big Foot (which some members of the family are quite sure actually lives around here) and look for clues that he may have been near. Since marching through the woods with 6 children is seldom quiet enough to actually catch a glimpse of wildlife (they hear us long in advance and run the opposite direction for sure!) we look for footprints or other tracks left behind. We also keep our eyes open for interesting rocks or stones and things like that. Since a small river runs through here, we often stop to skip stones or look for shells. There are Indian burial grounds right here, too. Its a good area to hunt for arrowheads. While my family has never found any, many people have right in our very backyard area! I think you need a more trained eye to spot them than what we have.

Our family enjoys bike riding as well.

The area we live in is not real good for riding. First, we live in a big gully of sorts and any direction you go you have a monster hill to climb up. Once you conquer that hill, there are many more ups and downs to come. Definitely not amateur riding terrain. Plus there are no sidewalks in the country and with miles between houses of open road , cars tend to drive way too fast. TO keep everyone safer we like to drive our bikes to a nearby town and ride. Sometimes we will bake cookies earlier in the day and then drive around on our bikes and make cookie deliveries to people we know at their houses. The children love to do this. We usually include a stop at the park to play on the playground too. When we are feeling like a longer ride we sometimes take our bikes to the bike trail to ride. There is an area where they converted old, no longer used railroad tracks into a paved bike trail. Its fun to ride on . We sometimes pack up a lunch and take the trail, stopping to eat along the way at one of the park stops.

There are so many more things we like to do outside. Little games of baseball. A game of PIG or HORSE with the basketball. Running races. A game of catch. A round of keep away. We have even tested out roller blading together.

We have a sand box and have had "cake" baking contests or build cities in the sand.

If your family is not inclined to get out and play together, I encourage you to make it a goal to do so soon. Now is a great time, too, because on September 24, 2011, kids and families are encouraged to participate in the Worldwide Day of Play to turn off the TV and play outside.

Physical activity can improve health, self-esteem and the well being of children. Teach kids a healthier lifestyle of limited TV time and a more physical activities. Clorox 2® is a proud sponsor of Nickelodeon's 8th Annual Worldwide Day of Play. So take the Clorox2® Play 2Day pledge to play outside! Don't worry about a little dirt, either. Throw the kids in the tub. The clothes? Well give Clorox 2 a try! The dirt will disappear.

About Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster:
Getting dirty is much more fun when it's easy to get clean. When the outdoor fun is finished, Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster gets out the tough stains, so your kids can take part in healthy fun and get dirty over and over again.

Please consider taking
the Clorox2® Play 2Day pledge to play outside!
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

The Day Baby was Born

2011-09-03T01:14:00.000-04:00

If you are a mother no doubt the most exciting day of your life was the day your child/children was born. Its a day you will want to remember forever. Its a day you will want to tell your children when they are young. Its a day you will want your children to tell their children about. You definitely don't want to take the chance at forgetting the details as time marches on. Lets face it....every parent swears they will religiously keep up a baby book...few do so.

A great solution to preserving your memories in the new web app by Tommee Tippee called The Day Baby Was Born. The app automatically gathers information about the day your child was born. You make selections and Tommee Tippee makes them into a storybook perfect for sharing and saving.

This is perfect, especially, for parents that have more than one child. As you have more children life gets so busy it can be hard to remember all the details. Also, over the years you can be finding yourself confusing details between one child and the next.

You don't even have to wait for your child to be born! Start the very day you find out you are pregnant. Record all the special moments in pregnancy, after all this pregnancy will be over in a few short months and its a time filled with special feelings and experience like none other. Just use the special "Pregnancy Journal" section.

Another really neat feature is that The Day Baby was Born will send out birth announcements via Facebook for you. It will take any comments made by your friends on your birth announcement and save them too.

I found the News and facts section to be very neat! Using your baby's birth date you can select from a wide range of categories to include facts about what was going on in the world on your baby's special day. It can be News stories from political news to celebrity news. You can add what celebrities were born on your baby's birthday or even a horoscope, weather or the price of gas!

Its very simple to start on The Day Baby Was Born. You simple sign up by connecting through your facebook account. Then you provide some basic information like name, email address and zip code. Next, fill in a little about your baby. What is the due date? What is baby's gender? Simple questions. You can even upload an ultrasound photo.

After you get all your info in and pictures added, you simply choose a "download and share" option and you can share your story via facebook or print it out. In the end you have a unique, beautiful keepsake.

Best of all, The Day Baby was Born is free! So why not head over and start one today?
https://www.thedaybabywasborn.com

Learn more about The Day Baby Was Born at http://www.thedaybabywasborn.com/
The Day Baby Was Born Brought to you by www.tommeetippee.us
See a sample storybook created with The Day Baby Was Born here: http://tommeetippee.sierrabravo.net/pdf/tt_storybook_example2b.pdf
See a video about The Day People Was Born here: http://www.thedaybabywasborn.com/?t=video
Like Tommee Tippee on Facebook
Follow @tommeetippee_na on Twitter

About Tommee Tippee
Tommee Tippee, from the UK based Mayborn Group Limited, is the number-one brand of infant and toddler feeding products in Great Britain one of the top brands of infant products and accessories in the global market. Loved by parents and children alike, Tommee Tippee has received numerous brand accolades in Great Britain, including top ranks in the prestigious Mother and Baby Awards, a head-to-head assessment of competitive products voted on by moms themselves. The Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature line of baby bottles has been chosen as Great Britain’s best baby bottle, winning the Gold award in 2006/7, in 2008/9 and again in 2009/10.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tommee Tippee blogging contest for a chance to get a gift pack worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

ideas and suggestions for protecting a family nest

2011-08-31T19:25:00.001-04:00

No doubt if you have a family you think about your future from time to time at least. Surely you want your family protected from the unforeseen and unfortunate events that could befall anyone. Many people feel overwhelmed, however, when doing things like purchasing insurance. Will they have enough? Are they over insured? Are they using a company that they can trust? Perhaps you have wondered the same.

58 million Americans would admit that they are under insured. And if that weren't bad enough, 70% of people with children still in the home say that if something tragic should happen to the bread winner in the family, their household would be in "serious" trouble! How about your family? Are you protect? Would your children be provided for?

Many of us simple do not know how much life insurance is really needed. Experts will say that 5 to 10 times your income is appropriate. That might initially seem like quite a bit to you but stop and think about what that money will provide for. Sometime people feel that life insurance's purpose is to pay for a funeral. Really, though its so much more. How about your mortgage? Your family will need health insurance that is most likely provided through your employer currently. You may wan tot make sure your children will have college funds on hand. Just the day to day expense of food and utilities are quite costly.

Remember, too, that if you currently have quite a dept load you may even want to consider more that the standard amount of insurance. Also, if you have more than the average amount of children, you might want to consider more if you will be wanting to provide for things like college educations.

the primary bread winner isn't the only one who should carry life insurance. Be aware that your spouse should as well. Even though they may be a stay at home mother bringing no real income into the family, the duties that this person performs will have to be cared for by someone, and that may mean hiring help. It may be child care, house keeping, cooking or other tasks beyond the funeral expenses as well.

Many families choose to carry life insurance on their children as well. Funeral costs and burial expenses are not something people usually have sitting aside outside of insurance. The last thing you would want to have to worry about in a time of tragedy would be where to find money for a funeral. Many policies can be upgraded and continued on once the child is grown if they choose as well.

Besides life insurance there are other things we should be doing now to protect our family. Do you have homeowner's insurance? Chances are if you have a mortgage you do. But have you been evaluated to see if you require additional insurance like that required for flood zones? If you are not a home owner do you carry renter's insurance? this is something that many people neglect to purchase.

Even with insurance, you will want to make sure you keep up with maintenance around your home to protect it. Did you know that certain accidents that could devastate your home could be consider "neglect" on your part and therefore not be covered by your insurance? For example, if you have trees on your property that are dead and they fall over, even if it happens during bad weather, you will be at fault for not taking care of them promptly when they needed it. Your insurance would not cover damage done if they should fall.

Have you looked into a 401K or other retirement plan? This is something even very young people should be doing. Its never too early to start!

Yes, no one wants to imagine your famiy being left without us. Sometimes it becomes necessary,however, to make sure they have the best life possible even without us. Really, planning ahead is an act of love and unselfishness on our part! If you haven't done it yet, now is the time!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Allstate blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” (make sure you link to http://allstate.socialmoms.com/about)

Princess Diva and the adventures of changing her diaper.

2011-08-10T20:01:00.003-04:00

Yes Miliana. Miliana just turned 2 and we often refer to her as "Princess Diva Miliana". She has set in her mind exactly how pretty much everything in her life should be. Please don't try to do anything different. Yes, you don't want to mess with a girl's plans when she refers to herself as "Princess Miliana". One thing her plans usually don't include....laying still for diaper changes.

Since Miliana is actually number 5 amongst my 6 children now, I have had a good deal of practice in the diaper changing department. Over the years and many diapers later I have some tips for changing the extra squirmy ones, as I tend to produce just such children. Here are some tips I would like to share.

Have everything ready before you begin the attempt the change. Gather diaper, wipes, lotions, potions and whatever else this change may require before you even inform the child they will be getting changed. Having everything laid out and waiting will save you time in the actual change and will also keep baby safer as you won't have to take your eyes off baby to look around for that wipe pack you could have sworn was nearby.

Have some distractions ready. A stack of board books. A musical stuffed animal. A happy meal toy. Anything that is interesting enough to hold the child's attention for a few minutes. Something that will keep them still. Change your stash of items frequently as once the child has seen them a few times they will become boring and will no longer work as a distraction for keeping the wiggles down.

Sing silly songs.. Children love to see their parents act goofy. If you want a child to be still for a few minutes turn up your goofiness to full swing. Sing a goofy song. Use silly voices and narrate a funny made up story. Do a silly dance. Make funny faces. Chances are your child will be so captivated they will be quite still.

Use little rewards for a job well done. If you child holds still for their change reward them with a little sticker or a small piece of candy. I know Miliana will do a lot for a single little M&M! When there is an especially large messy job to be done regarding her diaper she knows that holding extra still, keeping hands out of the way etc will earn her that candy she loves so dearly!

Change your child on a bed or changing table rather than the floor. The floor is an open escape route to a wiggly child who wants to be on the move. If they are up on a bed etc they will be less inclined to try to escape knowing there really isn't anywhere to go to quickly.

And lastly, use products that make changing simple. Things like pull on, slip on diapers. No fastening. No getting it lined up right. YOu just pull them on and you are done! Easy Peasy. Huggies is happy to introduce just such a product! I have changed many a diaper while a child was standing...not so easy to try to center it well and fasten it up! I will be excited to look for Huggies new

Little Movers Slip-On Diapers

the next time I need to purchase diapers.

Yes, you don't want to make a true self proclaimed Princess angry. You also don't want to mess with a Diva. Thank you Huggies for being smart and creating products us real moms can really use to keep the peace and our sanity. Huggies Little Movers Slip On Diapers are just what the Princess Diva's mother ordered !!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Huggies blogging program, for a gift card worth $35. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

top 10 healthy tips to get your kids ready for back-to-school.

2011-08-08T21:42:00.001-04:00

Yes, once again summer will be ending before long. The weather will be getting cooler, the harvest time will begin and kids will be heading back to school. Each year back to school time means a lot of work and preparation. Its important to make sure you are not neglecting your children's health at this time. SO how can you keep things healthy? Here are some tips:

1. One important thing to remember is your child's healthy vision. Back to school time is a perfect opportunity to have your child's vision checked by a professional. Even if your child has never had any vision problems in the past, it still makes sense to have a check up. If your child is already wearing corrective eye wear, back to school time is the perfect opportunity to make sure their current prescription is still right on for them. Its also a great time to give them a new look with a new pair of frames and lenses. Maybe, if your child is old enough to care for them, it would be a good time to consider switching to contact lenses.
Since 80 percent of what a child learns is through vision, it’s never too early to begin getting regular, comprehensive eye examinations by an eye doctor. Studies show that 50 percent of vision loss can be prevented with an eye exam.

2. Lunch time is important for school aged children. Not only is it a break from schoolwork, its also a great time to fuel the body and mind and prime it for learning. Before school starts it would be a great idea to sit down and make a list of some great, healthy lunch ideas. Search the internet for recipes and ideas on new and exciting healthy lunches your child will enjoy. Not only will going beyond the daily peanut butter and jelly be exciting to your student, it will be healthy for them too, to vary their nutritional intake.

3. Make sure you visit your child's pediatrician for a back to school checkup. This is especially important if your child will be participating in sports activities. A check up will help insure your child is in peak physical condition and will be able to engage in physical activity safely. If your child needs any immunizations its probably a requirement at your school that they provide proof they received them. Make sure you ask for the required paperwork to prove this. Remember to point out any concerns you have to the doctor.

4. Set up a bedtime routine before school begins. Set a bedtime that makes sense for your child taking into account their personal sleep needs and age. Beside setting a bedtime consider making a routine to follow nightly to prepare the child's mind and body for optimal sleep. Prior to bedtime make a period of quiet time a requirement. This would be a great time for some reading. Whether it be you reading to your child or them reading on their own (even if this means just browsing through a picture book for pre readers) this quiet time activity will relax them and prepare them for sleep. Remember, you can't learn efficiently if you are tired.

5. Get into the habit of eating healthy family dinners together. Not only will the provide the body with appropriate nourishment, the family together time will make for healthy emotional development. It will be the prefect opportunity to bond as a family as you discuss the day's happenings.

6. Before school starts sit down with your child and talk about the challenges and issues this school year may mean. If your child is attending a different school the prior years they may have concerns about making friends and fitting in. Its a good thing to mention possible issues like drugs and smoking. Talking about how children can say "no" to such things every year will make them feel prepared should they ever face this challenge. Since bullying has become an issue in the spotlight lately, it would be good to talk over this subject as well. These things will ensure a healthy physical and emotional year as well.

7. Since your child will be spending the majority of their day away from you and coming into contact with a large number of people, many you do not know at all, its a good idea to talk about appropriate touching etc with them. Yes, unfortunately occasionally sexual predators can find their way into a school environment and its best your child be aware of the dangers out there. This is especially important to cover with very small children.

8. Head lice is a huge issue in many schools. Make sure your child knows how to avoid coming into contact with them. When you go for your orientation or open house at the school look for possible infestation promoting situations like shared locker spaces and discuss your concerns with the teacher. Ask if the school regularly preforms head checks amongst the students and if there is a system in place to warn other students should a child in the class have a case .

9. Supply your child with a stock of hand sanitizer that they can carry with them or keep at their desk. If the school does not have the children wipe shared desk space with antibacterial wipes prior to each use, send some with your child so they can clean their space themselves. Germ exposure in the classroom is a huge issue. Keeping a clean workspace and hand will help keep your child healthy all year.

10. Make sure you schedule in daily exercise and physical activity for your child when they are back in school. This will keep their body operating in peak condition and help them avoid problems like obesity. Early on in the school year you can schedule outside time daily. Once the weather starts to turn quite cold, you have to be more creative in finding ways to keep your child active while indoors. Start with setting time limits on computer play time and tv viewing time. Think of other fun, physical activity they can do.

Yes, its very important to keep a healthy body and mind during the school year. Start taking steps now to make sure your provide the prefect environment for a healthy school year for your child.
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Transitions Lenses blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

ten tips and tricks to get your kids to eat more vegetables

2011-07-27T17:56:00.001-04:00

Probably one of the biggest complaints parents have with regard to their children's diets is that they just don't eat their veggies! There is no doubt a diet full of vegetables is best for everyone. So how can you get your little ones to get enough? One thing I have done is to keep a calender sheet for each child. They have little tiny star stickers and each time them eat a veggie, a star gets added to the day. Let them know their target number they have to acheive each day. Maybe 3 or 5 servings. If they reach their target each day of the week then they can get a special food reward on Friday night (ice cream, candy, pizza are ideas). Here are 10 more tips I have used and would like to share.

1. Grow a garden. What child doesn't enjoy playing in the dirt? I know mine never shy away from it. So why not turn that desire to get a bit dirty into something profitable? Grow a little garden. It doesn't have to be large. A small plot with just enough space for your child to plant a little variety of their very own veggies. They will have great fun preparing the plot and planting. They will excited watch for signs of growth. They won't turn down and opportunity to water it, that's for sure. And when those veggies are ready to pick and eat....they will be so excited to taste their efforts.

2. Cut veggies into small pieces. My children are much more likely to eat things like broccoli if its in very small, bit size pieces as opposed to big chunks that they have to bit off or cut up to eat. It feels easier to them. It looks less intimidating. They eat more!

3. Grind it up. There are certain veggies some of my children insist that they don't like. Maybe onions or green pepper or mushrooms. what they don't know is that they eat them all the time. I use my little mini chopper appliance to chop the offenders up so very very small (think ground up) that they don't see them and don't complain about it.

4. Make them into healthier snacks and treats. Zucchini bread, carrot muffins, chocolate cake made with beets...you get the idea. Kids love their sweets. So why not give them a boost of nutrition? You may be surprised how many recipes there are that include veggies that are actually sweet treats.

5. Let them help in the kitchen. My now two year old was not fond of tomatoes....until I let her loose on a container of grape tomatoes with a butter knife one day. She happily sliced (well sometimes its even more like smashed to bits) away and snacked as she went...and piled them on her plate at dinner time. Make sure everyone raves at the table how the little one helped prepare dinner. They will be so proud.

6. Say Cheese! Is there a veggie that your child just won't eat? I bet a bit of cheese sauce just might change their minds. Kids tend to love cheese and the flavor will help hide the veggie taste. Try really covering the veggie the first few times and slowly reducing the amount of cheese put on the veggies until there is just a dab or two on it. Hopefully they won't notice!

7. Dip it! Kids love to dip things. Come up with creative and healthy dip ideas for veggies. Most people thing of dipping raw veggies but there is nothing wrong with dipping cooked carrots or other things either if that's what it takes to "make it disappear"! Ranch dressing, Hummus, French onion dip, black bean dip, salsa etc. Some kids will eat anything if it has ketchup on it. May not be your taste...but hey it might work!!

8. Try this recipe for carrots. My children think its candy, I believe! I make a huge pot up and everyone eats seconds, thirds etc. Sometimes they even ask if there are leftovers to eat for snack! Obviously, its a winner!

1 pound carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 tablespoons butter, diced

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 pinch salt

	Place carrots in a pot of salted water. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to a high simmer and cook about 20 to 30 minutes. Do not cook the carrots to a mushy stage!
	Drain the carrots, reduce the heat to its lowest possible setting and return the carrots to the pan. Stir in butter, brown sugar, salt. Heat them for a few minutes and serve.

9. Start young. This may be too late for your children you have now..but something to keep in mind for the future.....get a huge variety of veggies into your baby's diet as they begin eating. The best way to do that is to make your own baby food. Buy about every variety of veggie you can find. Make them on their own, mix them together, get creative. Exposing little ones to the variety of tasting veggies out there helps them be more accepting to veggies as they get older. It becomes normal to eat vegetables. And if they should turn away from something, don't' give up , continue to offer it many times over. There is a good chance over time they will become more accepting.

10. Be the example! Monkey see, Monkey do. children live by that. If you don't eat your veggies or just even have a negative attitude about them, your children will pick up on it. Yes, little ones want to be just like mom or dad. So pile your plate up with broccoli. Let them catch you "sneaking" a carrot close to dinner time. Be excited about your veggies!

I hope that helps make getting healthy foods like veggies into your children less of a struggle. I know using these tips helps make the vegetables disappear at our home!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Peas and Thank You blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”
About Peas and Thank You
Peas and Thank You is a collection of recipes and stories from a mainstream family eating a not-so-mainstream diet. It's filled with healthy and delicious versions of foods we’ve all grown up enjoying, but with a Mama Pea twist—no meat, lots of fresh ingredients and plenty of nutrition for growing Peas. From wholesome breakfasts to mouth-watering desserts, there’s plenty here to satisfy the pickiest Peas in your life. It’s easier than ever to whip up crowd-pleasing meals that will have the whole family asking for, “more, Peas.” Sarah Matheny's delicious recipes and entertaining stories draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to her blog, peasandthankyou.com each month, where she makes raising a vegetarian family easy and fun. She is the author of “Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love.”

More info: http://peasandthankyou.com

Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love [VIDEO]

Peas and Thank You on Facebook

Follow @Mama_Pea on Twitter

Buy the book: Peas and Thank You

Fluff Fest coming in August

2011-07-20T00:07:00.000-04:00

I have been cloth diaper babies for pretty much 13 years now. I have loved watching cloth diapers evolve into what they are today. There are many choices available to moms who desire to cloth diaper there babies. I love trying out new diapers, covers, and anything else cloth diaper related.

In August the Happily Domestic blog will be having a Fluff Fest. What is a Fluff Fest you ask? Well they will be having LOTS of cloth diaper review, giveaways, cloth diaper Q&A time, cloth diaper mama features etc.

If you cloth diaper a baby or are interested in cloth diapering you will want to check this event out!

ten tips for making your life easier and more efficient while on the go

2011-07-13T21:14:00.004-04:00

Most people these days are pretty busy. Whether they are working 2 jobs, running children to various activities or just running errands people spend a lot of time on the go. It can be tough to keep life easy when you are running from here to there. How can you simplify things to make your life easier and more efficient while on the go? Here are 10 tips I would like to share.

1***If you have small children keep things in the car that will keep them occupied. Many family vehicles have a lot of compartments and storage areas. Take advantage of these to keep tablets and pencils, sticker books, magazines etc in that your children can keep busy with on car rides. My small daughter likes to look at babies so I save magazines like American Baby for her to be occupied with while in her carseat.

2***Buy snacks at the store and save them for grab and go times. Packaged snacks not only keep your children busy but they can help keep you from having to go through a fast food line when hunger starts to hit. When shopping for your groceries buy a few things that you can put away from the normal snacks your family eats so that they don't accidentally get eaten. Right before leaving, grab up a snack.

3***Keep handy for traveling drinks for the children available. My children are always thirsty. This is especially true when we are running errands on hot days. Going from the chilly store's air conditioning to the hot and humid outdoors really makes you realize your thrist! Having a juice box or pouch available can save you from hearing lots of whining! If they will be left in the car for a period of time, consider keeping them in the freezer so that they can thaw in the heat of the car and be reasonably cold when you are ready to drink.

4***Don't forget about your thirst on the go too! The children will not be happy they got a drink box from home while you stopped to get a fancy cool coffee beverage! Since cold coffee drinks taste so good on hot days why not keep a stock of Seattle’s Best Coffee® Official Latte of Pretty Much Everything on
hand for yourself? The convenient grab-and-go cans fit perfectly with a mom’s hectic schedule.
The delicious, refreshing iced latte from Seattle’s Best Coffee® is an effortlessly bring-alongable quick pick-me-up to help you get through the day on the go. It even comes in three varieties--Vanilla Latte, Iced Latte, and the one I want to try most...Iced Mocha!

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5***Stock up on post it notes! These sticky little notes are great because you can jot down appoinements, addresses, grocery lists...just about anything and then stick them to your dashboard, your cellphone...anywhere where you will see them and be reminded of their messages.

6***Get an early start. I was at Walmart today at about 8:30 a.m. The parking lot was nearly empty. There were no checkout lines. I did not have to dodge my way through people. Doing your shopping early can save you a lot of time and frustrations.

7***Make your appointments first thing. When making doctor appointments try to schedule so that you are the first patient of the day or near to it. Your waiting time should be nearly non existent that way. As the day goes on places like doctor's offices fall further and further behind schedule. If you are an early patient that backlog won't effect you!

8***Carry your work with you. Keep things that you can do while waiting at places with you when you leave the house. Perhaps carry your checkbook and bills. Maybe a few sewing mending projects you have been meaning to get to. A few thank you cards you need to write and mail....just little this and that projects. Have a project bag at home that you can throw such things into and have ready to go when you are. Your waiting time becomes efficient time!

9***Get a crock pot and use it! After running all day its hard to want to cook dinner for your family. A little planning ahead and you will be able to throw a meal into the crock pot in the morning before you get started on your day and then when its dinner time there is little or no prep work needed yet you have a great meal for your crew!

10***Make a meal menu. Along with being prepared for meal times you will find you are much more organized if you make out a meal plan every week and follow it. You can look ahead and plan what you need to take our of your freezer so you are ready. There is no last minute trying to decide what you can make. You will save money because you won't have to do take out or eat out...and you will be feeding your family a much healthier diet.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seattle’s Best Coffee blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here
About Seattle’s Best Coffee
As coffee blenders and roasters since 1970, we’ve seen a lot come and go. We went from a tiny shop on the Seattle waterfront to being declared Seattle’s Best Coffee in a local competition. In 2003, we joined the Starbucks family which has allowed us to place more resources into further honing our special way of crafting delicious, impossibly smooth coffee. Every step of the process, from coffee cherry to your cup, is managed to fit our exacting standards and our premium approach to coffee. Now, we’re making it easier to find your perfect coffee with our new Level System.

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It’s everywhere: Available in major grocery, convenience and other retail stores.

More info on Seattle’s Best Coffee: http://www.seattlesbest.com

Seattle’s Best Coffee on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SeattlesBestCoffee

Follow @SeattlesBest on Twitter

Tags: seattle's best coffee, tips for making life easier a…, tips for on the go

10 reasons I want to visit Virginia Beach

2011-07-11T21:45:00.002-04:00

Do you like vacations? Of course you do....everyone loves vacations. To me the ideal vacation involves time spent on a beach. One beach I would love to take my family to would be Virginia Beach. Why does Virginia Beach appeal to me? Here are 10 reasons:

1. When I was a kid we never took vacations. Then when I was in 7th grade we went on vacation...to Virginia Beach! I have fond memories of that trip and would love to go back and have a chance to make even more memories at that location!

2. I think Virginia Beach would be just the right distance for my family. Most other popular beach areas are just a bit too far to drive when you have a car full of young children. Virginia Beach is a short enough distance from our Ohio location that we could drive it in one day or break it into two short distance driving days to make it even easier on my children who don't really enjoy long car rides!

3. One of my all time favorite memories took place on a beach. Years ago when I had only 2 children we spent some time in Cape Cod while my husband worked there. The children and I enjoyed a perfect beach day there. It was a great hot day just made for hanging out at a beach. We packed food so we could arrive in the morning and stay till late. I have a clear picture in my mind of my children right where the water meets the sand happily searching for shells. It was such a great day. That day was so perfect I would love to go back to the Ocean and have another day just as wonderful. Virginia Beach could very well provide me another great memory like that.

4. My children love the water. If they were to pick a perfect vacation location I know it would be the beach. I think they would love to see the Ocean, as most of them never have.

5. I could really use a vacation myself! We don't really go on "real" vacations outside camping trips very often at all. Our vacations are very many years between and often are not much of vacations for me as I end up doing some of the cooking etc. while we are away. Virginia beach would be a great "true vacation" destination for me. One where I could spend days out of a kitchen! Days away from a washing machine. Days where I didn't have to worry about dishes needing washed etc. With 6 children including a newborn, no vacation will be work free for me...but a relaxing beach destination sure would come close.

6. There are lots of other great things to do around the area. One thing my family likes to do is visit zoos or aquariums in any location we visit. Virginia beach has the nearby Virginia Aquarium! Perfect for my family. We have never been to that particular aquarium so not only would we get to enjoy time at the beach, we could add another aquarium to the list we have visited!

7. Virginia Beach advertises that it is Kid-Friendly. That appeals to me as many other beach locations really are not striving to be family oriented. Its not well known for its wild party life or anything like that. Since I have a family that just what I am looking for...Kid friendly locations!

8. My son would love the chance to go on a dolphin watching boat cruise! A chance to see dolphins in the wild would really make a 7 year old's vacation trip! Just going out on a boat would be majorly exciting for him really! But real live dolphins..that would be a memory he could treasure.

9. I would like to take the opportunity while in Virginia to hop over from the beach to nearby Williamsburg. I have never been there but since I was a child have always thought it was fascinating. Since it is a short distance from the beach it would be great to combine the two trips together!

10. And since we would be heading out to Williamsburg, we would have to stop at Busch Gardens as well! Yes, another short distance from Virginia Beach is this fun and exciting amusement park. My children love amusement parks and Busch Gardens promises fun for the whole family! I know my family would love it and it would really round out an exciting vacation,.

Yes, I would jump at the chance to visit Virginia beach! I know my family would love it too! Have you visited Virginia Beach lately? What did you love?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Virginia Beach Tourism blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

About Virgina Beach
Virginia Beach entices visitors to “Live the Life” year-round! Located in the southeastern corner of the state, Virginia Beach is four hours southeast of D.C. by car and within a day’s drive or less from two-thirds of the U.S. population. For visitor information, call 1-800-VA-BEACH (800/822-3224) or visit www.VisitVirginiaBeach.com for online trip planning. For media information and digital images, click on www.VisitVirginiaBeach.com/pressroom. Please
follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vabeachcvb and on Facebook.

Virginia Beach Resources
More info on Virgina Beach: http://www.visitvirginiabeach.com/visitors/

Virgina Beach on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VirginiaBeachVA

Follow @VaBeachCVB on Twitter

Introducing Jenson!

2011-06-18T22:07:00.000-04:00

This young man is Jenson Elliott Neiding

Jenson was born weighing 9 pounds and 4 ounces

Since Jenson had no real plans on being born, we attempted to force him out by having my water broke. When that failed we stepped up our efforts via an induction. After many hours and very slow progress I began to worry that the induction would be a failure and a C Section would follow. I was checked for progesss and found to still be sitting at 5 cms. Again. I got up to use the bathroom. I got back into my bed and suddenly had my first painful contraction. I was just thinking "good, maybe we will get some progress now" when I had my second painful contraction that followed the first by about 30 seconds. I looked at my monitor and saw it had lasted a minute. Then the third contraction hit, again 30 seconds later. This was followed by an undeniable urge to push. It was very confusing for me since I was just checked minutes ago and was 5 cm. I tried to grab my nurse call button but the next pushing urge hit me strong. I couldn't even grasp my call button and was wiggling around the bed in agony trying to resist my urge to bear down. My husband looked over at me and asked "what are you doing? Is there something wrong?"

My nurses arrived and told me NOT to push. My dr had not been called since I was having no progress minutes ago. I was forced onto my side to wait for my dr. My dr lived a town over and had to be woken from her sleep during these early morning hours. I was given strict instructions NOT to push and to pant through it. The pushing urge was one of the strongest I have ever had in childbirth. Each contraction it got harder and harder to resist that pushing urge. I blew and panted and squeezed my face muscles. The start of each contraction would send me into a near panic as I knew it would mean having to resist that undeniable urge. I whimpered and begged and swore I couldn' t stop myself any longer. If I even dared start to make the tiniest push a room full of nurses began yelling at me. Finally my dr walked into the room and I was allowed to roll over and deliver my boy.

Later the nurse told me they were sure he would be born without pushing before the dr arrived. Had he been a smaller sized baby he surely would have.

The whole incident left my face with large bruises on it and broken capilaries from the strong pressure i put on it during my long wait. I am experiencing quite a bit of soreness post partum, much more so than some of my other births, even with babies larger than Jenson was. I am not sure if it was from the wait or not. One problem I have is incredible pain in my tailbone.

Jenson is a nice, calm baby who is a nursing champ. He does, however, enjoy his late nights that extend into early mornings without sleep.

Check out Ohanarama

2011-06-18T21:05:00.000-04:00

My children love playing computer games. If you have children I am sure they love their computer time as well. Parents of Elementary school aged children will definitely want to check out

www.ohanarama.com

My family has really enjoyed this site. The games are really fun. I am not really into playing computer games but found several games on Ohanarama's site to be very fun and really quite addicting too.

I enjoyed the game Drop 3 the most. I also found myself playing Tip Tower and Max Damage for long periods of time!

My children enjoyed all the games as well. My daughter likes Max Destruction best. She also enjoys the word search game and the game Coin Confusion.

One of my sons was grounded from playing computer so he was not able to play when we first signed up. He was eagerly awaiting his grounding to end so he could log into www.ohanarama.com and start playing.

We would have signed in and played more often, however, I gave birth earlier this week and my children were all staying away from home with friends while I was in the hospital so they were not on their computers at all. If I was not so busy with a newborn (and 5 other children!) I would be signing in more often as well.

One really neat and unique feature on Ohanarama is that you not only try to beat your own old scores on each game, you compete against your family members as well. If you beat someone signed up as a family member's score, you get a notification at the end of the game that you beat their score, it also sends a message to the person beaten's email account letting them know your score has been defeated. It really keeps your interest in playing the games up....and the competition is exciting. My daughter will come running into my room announcing she just beat another of my scores. My son moments ago came in and proudly announced he beat on of his sister's scores.

This would be really fun for families that are seperated for periods of time due to a parent traveling. Step families would find this a nice way to stay connected with one another when they spend time apart too, I think. If you have grandparents that live further away so that visits are infrequent, this would be a neat way for them to "play" with their grandchildren.

I highly suggest signing up for Ohanarama. I honestly think you and your children will enjoy it.

5x7 Folded Card

2011-06-18T00:43:00.001-04:00

Triple Play Blue Baby 5x7 folded card

Shop custom Thank you cards and notes at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

10 tips for keeping your family safe on the road

2011-06-01T16:10:00.001-04:00

Summertime is here! This past winter was long, cold and snowy. I am so glad to see nice weather. Along with summer comes road trip plans for a lot of people. Whether you are traveling across town or across the country you want to make sure your family is safe. What can you do to help ensure your road trips will be as safe as possible? Here are some suggestions for you:

1. How is your windshield looking these days?
To drive as safely as possible you need to see as well as possible. Not only should your windshield be clean, it should be in good repair, too. The windshield provides up to 30% of your vehicles structural integrity. Do you have chips or cracks in your windshield? What can you do about it?
Windshield repair is often a safe and economical alternative to a full windshield replacement. A chip smaller than 6 inches (or the size of a dollar bill) can easily be repaired by filling it with a special resin. Scheduling a windshield chip repair is easy! Companies like Safelite AutoGlass provide mobile service – wherever your car is – often within 24 hours of your initial call. Perhaps you feel you can purchase a do-it-yourself repair kit and give the repair a try yourself. Forget do-it-yourself repair kits. The resin could easily shrink or yellow, lowering the quality of the repair. Safelite AutoGlass uses a patented repair process… A vacuum is created over the damaged area and the resin penetrates and fills the finest micro-cracks. The technician pulls off the vacuum changer and the UV light hardens the resin. Safelite’s resin is proven to be the strongest and longest lasting on the market. Remember, your family's safety is involved here! Also, don't forget to look into your auto insurance. This may be covered and there may even be no deductible for the repair.

2. How are your tires? Some things get better with age...tires are not one of them. Are your tires old? Do they need replaced?
Check your tire pressure regularly. Tires tend to lose air over time. Buy a digital tire gauge and check your tires once a month and before a long trip. Proper inflation pressures can be found in your owner's manual or on a sticker on the car (usually on the driver's doorjamb or fuel-filler lid.
Check for tread depth. Check tread depth by placing the edge of a penny upside-down into the grooves of the tire's tread. If you can see all of Lincoln's head, it's time for a new set of tires. Never buy a single tire -- it's best to replace all four tires at once.
Stay balanced. If your car develops a shimmy (a back-and-forth vibration, usually felt through the steering wheel) at a certain speed, it's possible that one of your tires has lost its balance weight. Having your tires re-balanced is a fairly inexpensive job.

3. Are child safety seats installed properly?
In order for a child's car seat or booster seat to work properly, it has to be installed correctly. Read the manuals for each of your seats. Install each seat exactly as stated in the manual. There may be differences in proper installation from seat to seat so this is very important. Make sure the seats have a good tight fit with no wiggling or wobbling. Consider taking your vehicle to a car seat inspection location to have your install job checked by a professional.

4. Practice extended rear facing of children in car seats.
Although it may be common practice to turn a child to face front ward at their first birthday, is that the safest practice for your child? Consider keeping your baby rear facing to at least 2 years instead. Why is this practice safer?

When a child is in a forward-facing seat, there is tremendous stress put on the child's neck, which must hold the large head back. The mass of the head of a small child is about 25% of the body mass whereas the mass of the adult head is only 6%! A small child's neck sustains massive amounts of force in a crash. The body is held back by the straps while the head is thrown forward - stressing, stretching or even breaking the spinal cord. The child's head is at greater risk in a forward-facing seat as well. In a crash, the head is thrown outside the confines of the seat and can make dangerous contact with other occupants, vehicle structures, and even intruding objects, like trees or other vehicles.

Rear-facing seats do a phenomenal job of protecting children because there is little or no force applied to the head, neck and spine. When a child is in a rear-facing seat, the head, neck and spine are all kept fully aligned and the child is allowed to "ride down" the crash while the back of the child restraint absorbs the bulk of the crash force. The head is contained within the restraint, and the child is much less likely to come into contact with anything that might cause head injury.

5. Keep your child in a booster seat.
Keeping your child in a booster seat is so much easier these days. Booster seats are being made to accommodate children of greater height and weight limits. They are also allowing you to use the seat's safety harness system for a lot longer as opposed to the car's shoulder belts. A harness system is much safer for your child.

6. Put the cell phone away!
Do not take phone calls while you are driving. Do not text while driving. Do not check your email on your smart phone...or the weather...or anything else. It may be best to turn your phone off while you are at the wheel to avoid any temptation to take that quick call that comes in! You can always return calls later when you check your voice mail!

7. Avoid travel during peak road traveling times.
Could you leave a bit earlier? Leave a bit later? Avoiding the roads, especially busy highways, when traffic is at it's busiest will make for a safer trip. There will be less for you to watch for and less drivers to be concerned about.

8. Do not drive if you are tired.
If you have more than one driver in the car, frequent driver switches are a great idea. It will give you time to rest your eyes and mind. If you are the only driver, take breaks frequently. If you are traveling a great distance and have to stop earlier than you wanted to for the day, don't stress about it. Extra money spent on hotel stays will be well worth it considering your family's safety, possible even their lifes, are involved. An extra night of hotel costs will be far less than the cost of vehicle repairs should you have an accident because you were not performing at your peak, too.

9. Watch your speed.
Keep an eye on your speedometer. Do not drive faster than what current conditions would allow as well. Even though the speed limit might be 65, an extra busy road or bad weather may mean that its best to travel at slower speeds. Again, the few extra minutes or hours added to your travel time will be well worth it when you arrive at your destination safely.

10. Pull over in bad weather.
If its raining so badly you have to strain to see, its not safe. Its best to pull over and wait it out. Very bad weather conditions generallly last only a relatively short time, so you will not lose much travel time. Even very windy conditions could warrant some time off the road. Trying to control a car being blown about is not fun, or safe.

One bonus, last tip! Wear sunglasses!
Before you pull out of your driveway make sure your sunglasses are handy.

You may be inside the car, but you’re not protected from the sun. Wearing sunglasses while you drive prevents exposure to UV rays as well as sun damage to the eyelids which can lead to skin cancer.
It has been suggested that if you’re driving in the rain, wearing sunglasses can help improve your visual acuity.
Sun glare can be extremely dangerous to drivers. Blinding sunshine can block oncoming vehicles, traffic control devices and pedestrians from your sight. Wearing a pair of sunglasses will help to reduce the risk of sun blindness.

So when you hit the road this season, do so with your family's safety being first priority. I hope my tips will help you to accomplish that.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Safelite blogging program, for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

About Safelite AutoGlass:
Safelite AutoGlass® was founded in 1947. Throughout our more than 60 years of service, our company has grown from a single store in Wichita, Kansas, to a national auto glass provider, serving nearly 4 million customers per year.

Through industry-leading 24-hour instant scheduling, convenient in-shop or mobile service, top-of-the-line materials and SafeTech™ certified technicians, you'll find that Safelite AutoGlass offers superior customer service, value and quality.

More info: http://www.safelite.com

Follow Safelite on Twitter: @safelite

what appeals most to my family about Verizon FiOS

2011-05-25T14:24:00.001-04:00

We use the internet a lot in this household. I really mean A LOT!!! My husband works from an in home office so he uses the internet all day while working. My children are enrolled in an online school and do their work from our home so they spend many hours a day connected to the internet. Our family not only enjoys the internet for recreation, we actually rely on it. If our internet is down no one works and no one can go to school. We also have our phone service through the internet, so again, without the internet we have no phone service.

Having Verizon FiOS is truly a dream of my husband's. He would love to have it. While its not currently offered in our location, if it were he would sign up immediately. What attracts him and the rest of our family to the FiOS service?

First and foremost, it our need for speed! Verizon FiOS is blazing fast. Much faster than anything offered to us right now. When your family is running 5 or 6 computers at a time for hours a day, slower speed connections can be a real downer! Since we have 3 children that can be doing online classroom meetings at a time, plus my husband conducting online business meetings slow speeds can really interfere. There are occasions when our connection speeds are running so slow that we will all have to get off our computer for a time while my husband conducts and important meeting without sharing our bandwidth.

There are times when our phone just can not be used do to the terrible reception due to our overly slow internet. I have had to use my cell phone on more than one occasion to make calls I would have preferred to do on our home line because I simply could not hear a thing over our phone line. I hate straining to listen to someone talk over then phone getting broken bits and pieces of what is being said as the phone fades in and out. We could totally eliminate that bother from my life with Verizon FiOS.

The next big advantage of Verizon FiOS is the ability to receive HDTV. We often experience problems with our satellite dish tv stations. We just had a repair man come out last week because we were not getting many channels we should be. The problem? Our dish needed repositioned....again. With FiOS you have
massive bandwidth of a 100% fiber-optic network connected directly to the home. Because of that you get very reliable reception. We get lots of outages to our TV channels when we have storms (which is not a good thing with the weather we have had this year!). That would not be an issue with FiOS. We even have our satellite interrupted when snow gets on the dish. Someone has to run out and clear it off. Verizon FiOS TV was rated #1 in value, overall quality and customer loyalty, according to the 2010 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Survey for the largest subscription TV service providers. That says a lot right there. FiOS even has Flex View. With Flex View, you can buy, rent and watch on-demand video titles on your FiOS TV, on your computer or on your mobile phone. We would use that a lot. We are picky about choosing appropriate entertainment for our children. When we want to watch a movie as a family it would be great to have that option.

We are definitely sold on FiOS in this family. If/when it becomes available to us, I can guarantee our household would sign up that very day!!

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

About Verizon FiOS
Modern consumers enjoy the ultimate digital lifestyle at work, home and play with Verizon FiOS advanced and integrated TV and broadband services. The speed and intelligence of the nation’s largest all-fiber-optic network lets FiOS customers create personalized, integrated entertainment and information experiences that connect them to everything they care about -- anytime, anywhere, on a multitude of devices. FiOS helps make life easier, more productive and more fun.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 94.1 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 194,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com

More info on Verizon FiOS: http://www22.verizon.com/Residential/aboutFiOS/overview.htm

Verizon FiOS on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VerizonFiOS

Five summer getaways every kid should experience

2011-05-23T16:22:00.003-04:00

Its here!! Its here!!! Its finally here!!!

What's here? Well, the warm weather of course! Yes, spring will be rolling into summer soon. Many families will be contemplating things they would like to do this summer. That means you may be planning a trip for your family. Whether it be a week away to an exotic location far away, or just a simple day's trip within driving distance, children love getaways.

As I mentioned, getaway excursions can be widely varied. So what are five getaways I think every child should experience? Let me share:

1. An Amusement Park. Amusement parks are great trips for children of all ages (as well as for the adults!!). Whether your child be a wild child and will enjoy the fastest, highest, craziest rides available or a more calm personality who would love the

merry-go-round and antique cars; an amusement park will keep smiles on everyone's faces all day long. We generally go to a nearby Amusement park every year. Its one of the most anticipated trips amongst our children. Of course, if you want to make the trip to the amusement park more of an excursion, you can pick one miles away that you may have never visited before. In any case, be sure to plan your trip to one soon!

2. A Beach. Know what feels fantastic on a hot summer sunny day? A swim at the beach! Yes, it may be the vast waters of the Ocean or the simplicity of a man made lake but a beach is a great experience in either case. Make sure to bring along a big batch of sand toys..shovels, buckets, shifters etc. Sitting right where the waves wash up playing in the sand is so much fun!

If you have small babies, bring along a huge shade umbrella. If you pack up a lunch you can spend hours and hours without leaving. Make sure you bring lots of drinks too. One of my most favorite memories I have is a day spent at the beach with my children. There were only 2 at the time. We had traveled to Cape Cod and enjoyed a fantastic day at a beach there.

3. The Zoo. Another family favorite trip here is our visits to the zoo. We like it so much, in fact, that every time we travel anywhere we try to visit a zoo near the location. We love comparing what each zoo has to offer. The favorite exhibit to most in this family would be the Gorillas.

We once witnessed a huge Gorilla fight at our local zoo. Though that experience will probably never be matched, the gorillas are usually doing something interesting. This is an education and well loved trip for all ages in our family.

4. The Fair.

These usually start up nearer the end of the summer. Once the weather starts to warm up the children here will be asking me "when do the fairs start?" with eager anticipation of this fun event. Though we attend and really enjoy more local county fairs, the real highlight each year is our trip to the State Fair. Fairs have so much to offer. There is yummy food to try (yes they really can deep fry anything I believe!!), Animals to view, events and shows to watch, etc. One thing we love about the State Fair is there are so many free activities the children can enjoy that really gets them involved and having fun. Pole fishing, Kayaking, planting flowers to bring home, rock wall climbing etc. We arrive at opening time and stay to close enjoying every minute!

5. Camping. We do love camping and try to go several or more times a year. There are lots of great things about camping. For starters, its a cheap way to get away! Camping in a state park will cost, on average, $25-$30 a night. Compare that to a hotel stay! Plus you can make all your food verses purchasing like on most vacations. It's also a vacation you can totally customize to how you would like it. You can leave everyday to experience local attractions and activities or you can hang out at the camp all day long. At the campgrounds you can sit around or you can fill your day with activities like fishing, hiking and perhaps boating. You can probably find a camp ground within miles of your home or travel great distances. You can really rough it in a tent or get a little fancy in a camper with conveniences like air conditioning, a full refrigerator / freezer and your very own bathroom (which happens to be the way we like to roll!). Maybe you choose to go in between those 2 extremes and camp in a smaller pop up camper. You can easily take the family dog with you as many parks welcome them. Our dog loves his camping trips, plus it makes it easier on us to get away not having to find someone to care for him. Our children just love camping. If you want to make it the best kid-friendly trip ever...

make sure to bring along plenty of smore making supplies!!

So that's what I highly recommend as fantastic experiences for children of all ages. I hope you can get out and enjoy at least some of them this summer!

“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.

About Alamo
Founded in 1974, Alamo Rent A Car is a value-oriented, internationally recognized brand serving the rental needs of airport leisure travelers. Alamo offers low rental rates and a hassle-free customer experience at the most popular travel destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. In addition, Alamo customers in the U.S. are able to conveniently choose their own vehicles, based upon their advance reservation and requested car class, and then simply drive away from the airport.

The Alamo membership club, Alamo Insiders, offers its members numerous perks including exclusive, member-only deals, quick and simple reservations, and frequent traveler miles with each rental.

My signature pasta family recipe...And Carrabba's Pasta

2011-05-18T14:37:00.006-04:00

I think everyone likes pasta...in one form or recipe or another! Really the possibilities are endless when it comes to pasta, I think. You can make it as healthy (or indulgent) as you want. You can go spicy or mild. Pasta can be hot or cold. You can throw a quick dish together in a matter of minutes when dinner time is imminent, or, alternatively, you can slowly simmer a sauce all day long. So many, many choices.

I love going to Italian Restaurants to eat. I think its because there are so many choices available. Whatever my mood I am sure to find a dish to match. My children love pasta and Italian cooking, also. We all leave happy when we choose a restaurant like Carrabbas!

Right now on the Carrabbas facebook page you can take a quiz to find out your pasta personality. You will be asked 5 simple questions ranging from what you would most likely wear to what your perfect day would be like. What were my results?

"You’re truly one of a kind, like Carrabba’s Penne Franco. You like to keep things fresh and exciting. So next time you want to try something new, choose our unique Penne Franco: penne with mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and ricotta salata."

It sounds good to me and if I went to Carrabba's I would be definitely tempted to give it a try!

So what's your Pasta Personality? Why not go to

take the Facebook Carrabba’s Pasta Personality quiz, and give it a try???

CARRABBA’S PASTA: Carrabba’s makes every pasta dish by hand with the freshest ingredients. Pasta is cooked perfectly every time and signature sauces are made from scratch daily. Creative flavors and combinations of ingredients are part of Carrabba’s authentic family recipes as well as new creations.

Right now Carrabbas has some great specials going on. They have Signature Pasta Meals, featuring seven distinctive dishes served with choice of soup or fresh salad starting at $10. Check this mouth watering list out:

LIMITED TIME OFFERS: Now through July 2011.
Featured Signature Pasta Meal:
Pasto Rambo – Named for the chef who created it, it’s made with shrimp tossed with imported Italian linguine, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes sautéed in our basil lemon butter sauce. Lobster is available instead of shrimp for an additional cost.

Other Limited Time Offers:
Parmesan-crusted Chicken – Topped with fresh arugula and grape tomatoes tossed in a hand-prepared lemon vinaigrette, served with choice of side. Substitution of wood-grilled chicken also available. Pairs well with Estancia Pinot Grigio.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin – Three pork tenderloin medallions wrapped with prosciutto, wood-grilled and topped with an apple and fig infused port wine sauce, served with the vegetable of the day. Pairs well with Coppola Pinot Noir.

Limoncello Bread Pudding – Back by popular demand! Brioche bread pudding made with fresh Madagascar vanilla beans and a rich custard, served hot out of the oven. Topped with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and drizzled with Carrabba’s homemade Caravella Limoncello liqueur sauce.

Now Introducing:
Peach Sangria – Carrabba’s new light and fruity Peach Sangria blends Copper Ridge White Zinfandel, Absolut Apeach vodka and Patrón Citrónge with a splash of citrus. Topped with a fresh lemon wedge and strawberry, it’s a taste of the Amalfi Coast in spring.

There’s no better place than Carrabba’s to enjoy a complete Italian meal – any day of the week. I am sure something sounded just fantastic to you. To me the Parmesan Chicken sounded yum yum delicious! Keep in mind specials will run until July 2011. You might want to go soon and often.

So what's my personal signature pasta dish? I actually fix pasta dishes quite often. I have a great recipe for Manicotti. I like to make up a quick pasta using a variety of fresh veggies sauted in Olive oil and topped with a generous amount of home-grown tomatoes. This is a great option for hot summer days when the tomatoes are plentiful! One real standout that I make, however, is my spaghetti sauce. I have tried many recipes over the years and have never found one better! Give it a try. I think you will agree its fantastic!

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb Italian sausage(if there are no objections in your family, try using a hot, spicy variety!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup diced green pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
3 Tbl olive oil
32 oz whole canned tomatoes, undrained
16 oz tomato sauce
12 oz tomato paste
3/4 Cup water
1/2 Cup Chablis or other dry white wine
2 TBL sugar
1 1/2 tea dried basil
1 1/2 tea dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 tea salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried ground thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper

cook ground beef, sausage and chopped onion in a large dutch oven. When meat is browned drain and stif r in green pepper, mushrooms, and garlic along with olive oil. When these veggies are tender, add all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes. Uncover and cook 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Cook up your favorite pasta. Spoon generous amounts of sauce over pasta and don't forget to top with fresh ground Parmesan!

I make this sauce for guest often and it never fails to get rave reviews. Its very filling, too, which is great if you have a big, hungry family like mine!

Our family will be going out of town this weekend and will be eating out. I am definitely putting Carrabbas on my restaurant suggestion list now!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Carrabba’s blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Locations: Visit www.carrabbas.com for the closest Carrabba’s location. There are more than 230 locations nationwide.

About Carrabba’s:
Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola founded the first Carrabba’s Italian Grill in 1986 in Houston, Texas. Today, there are 232 Carrabba’s Italian Grill locations around the country, run by passionate local proprietors focused on delighting guests with fresh, made-to-order Italian cuisine and the ultimate dining experience. Carrabba’s serves dinner seven nights a week in a casual environment that pairs innovative dishes and a complementary wine list with abundant hospitality. For on-the-go guests, Carrabba’s also offers convenient Carside Carry-Out. To learn more about Carrabba’s, please visit www.carrabbas.com.

Carrabba’s Pasta Personality Quiz on Facebook - Take the quiz to see how your personality compares to some of Carrabba’s signature pasta dishes! http://www.facebook.com/Carrabbas?sk=app_142632109083371

Wordless Wednesday .....in between raindrops....

2011-05-18T12:48:00.001-04:00

WI managed to get a picture of my children together...on a very windy cool day. (meaning they were freezing, I had to be quick, results less than great)

36 weeks pregnant.....

2011-05-16T08:58:00.000-04:00

My Doctor did an ultrasound and estimated the baby's weight to be 6 lbs 8 ounces. I laughed. She said its really only accurate for very average sized babies. I don't have average sized babies. I have been told I was having an average sized baby before and ended up birthing an 11 lb 22 inch child.

Does this look like an average baby in there to you?

another boys event!

2011-05-09T23:44:00.000-04:00

I just found out about another special event coming soon just for us with boys! Life with 5 Monkies will have a giveaway prize worth $200.
The giveaway is a weekend long giveaway starting at 12:01 am on the 20th and ending on 11:59 pm the 22nd!

Boys' event coming soon

2011-05-04T00:12:00.000-04:00

The Jacobsen Family blog and the Arizona Mama blog will be having a special Boys Event! Starting June 3 and running through June 18 you will find lots of fun things just for boys on both blogs. As a mom to 3, soon to be 4 boys, I am looking forward to it.

Visit the blogs now to find out what you can do now to earn extra entries into the giveaways during that time.

Summer Survival event

2011-04-22T23:47:00.001-04:00

I keep wondering if we will be having spring anytime soon around here. Its still cold enough to snow often around here and the days we see temps go above 40...all it does is rain. I am in the mood for warm weather already. All winter I kept telling myself I just had to make it to April for some good weather....now I keep telling myself May is almost here and certainly nice weather will follow. Really its not spring I am excited about....its summer! I love summer. Hot weather, flowers in bloom, kids in the swimming pool, no school...what's not to like? This summer I even get to welcome a new baby boy into our household.

To help us all prepare for summer Happily Domestric and Mama Dweeb are having a special Summer Survival Event. They will have a month long event from May 1st – 31st all about Summer! They will be sharing tips on beating Summer boredom, delicious cool meals for hot days, and even share some fabulous giveaways.

Sounds like a great way for me to pass time while waiting for that warm weather to finally arrive here!

Classic Family Recipes With Coke!

2011-04-13T15:47:00.002-04:00

When you think of Coca-Cola you may think of popping the top on an icy cold beverage on a hot summer day. Maybe you think of the ever so popular combination of a burger, fries and a coke. Does a great family classic recipe ever come to mind, however? For many people it probably wouldn't. However, there are actually great recipes that can be made with just that....Coke!

The first recipe I think of when I contemplate cooking with Coke is BBQ! There are several bbq recipes out there that use the popular cola, actually. One that I have personally used is for Pulled Pork and uses not only Coke but Jack Daniels as well. Now I would happily drink a coke on occasion, however, I would never think of drinking Jack Daniels! However, when cooking I often find a touch of Jack to be quite yummy. Its the same with beer for me. I hate the taste of beer as far as drinking it goes, I love to cook with it. I find this recipe very good and perfect for taking to those summer picnics that will be coming up soon. Try it and let me know how you like it.

You will need:

5 to 6 pounds boneless center cut pork loin or pork shoulder

To Make Marinade:

4 cups coca-cola
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
12 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons celery salt.

For the Jack and Coke BBQ Sauce:

1 cup ketchup
2/3 cup cola
1/3 cup Jack Daniels Whiskey
1/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce, or other hot sauce of your choice
2 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
kosher salt, to taste (although I find I can skip this altogether

You will also need

6 kaiser rolls

Preparation:

Combine cola, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, garlic, Tabasco sauce, and celery salt in a bowl, pan, or pot large enough to hold all the pork. Add the pork, turning to be sure it is well coated, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the ketchup, cola, whiskey, hot sauce, honey, soy sauce, and salt to make the barbecue sauce.

Place the marinated meat in a roasting pan. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil and cook the pork in the preheated oven for 1-1/2 hours. Pour off 2/3 of the liquid in the pan and spread the meat with the barbecue sauce and return it to the oven, uncovered, for another 1-1/2 hours. When the pork is done, it will shred easily with a fork. Test it, and if it's still a bit difficult to shred, return it to the oven for another 15 minutes and try again.

When the meat is done, remove it from the oven and shred it with a fork.

Pile it on your rolls and enjoy!

I personally love beans! If we are at a pot-luck picnic or party I usually will try every baked bean dish available. So perhaps with your Pulled Pork Sandwich you'd enjoy some beans too? How about beans with coke in them?

Cola beans:

6 slices thick-cut bacon
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, 1 can drained and rinsed, 1 can undrained
2 15-oz. cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
3/4 cup Coca-cola
1 14.5-oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained
2 teaspoons dry mustard
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large ovenproof skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp and golden. Drain bacon on paper towels. When bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. bacon fat from skillet.
Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook, stirring, until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add cannellini and kidney beans, brown sugar, molasses, cola, tomatoes, dry mustard and crumbled bacon and stir to combine.
Cover skillet, transfer to oven and bake until mixture is bubbly and juices have thickened slightly, about 1 hour

Another recipe I have made and enjoyed is a Coca-cola cake. Here is the recipe for the chocolate dessert I have made:

Cake

1 cup Coca-Cola
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Combine Coca-Cola and buttermilk; set aside.
Beat butter at low speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar; beat until blended. Add egg and vanilla; beat at low speed until blended.
Combine flour, cocoa, and soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with cola mixture; begin and end with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended.
Stir in marshmallows. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes. Pour Coca-Cola Frosting over warm cake.

For the Coke Frosting:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup Coca-Cola
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla.

Don't make the frosting up ahead of when your cake is done. It needs to be easy to pour when your cake is done.

So there you have it. You could make a complete meal with Coke! Pour an icy cold coke to drink along with it and any Coca-Cola lover will be in pure heaven!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Coca-Cola® blogging program. If I am one of the first 100 blogs received by SocialsMoms, I will receive a $25 gift card. For more information on the program, click here."

Join Coca-Cola® on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cocacola

Join Coca-Cola® on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cocacola

2011-04-06T17:04:00.000-04:00

Do you have a fond Peeps moment stored in your memory? Everyone knows what a Peep is......

Many people think of Peeps only when contemplating an Easter basket or when browsing those candy aisles during the spring season. However, Peeps have a place far beyond that !!!!

So what is my Peep memory? You may be surprized to find out it has nothing to do with Easter!

Have you ever seen a cake featuring Peeps? Have you ever seen this fantastic cake featuring Peeps?

Its a sunflower!!! Isn't it fantastic????    Its really pretty easy to do. Its so easy, in fact, that it is a perfect project to have your children join in on. That's how my Peeps memory was made, in fact.   Years ago, when I only had 2 children (I am expecting my 6th now!) I saw this cake and had to make it. My children love helping in the kitchen so I knew they would love to join in on this project. Normally I wouldn't use a box cake mix in my baking, however, to keep things as simple as possible for the little helpers, I choose a cake mix. We also used all ready prepared frosting, which is another item that normally doesn't appear in my kitchen! The cake mix was simple to prepare. Once the cake was baked and cooled, we all had a part in frosting it. The chidlren really had fun with that. As you can imagine, once "completed" it wasn't too terribly picture perfect. I believe my children were probably 5 and around 2 1/2 at the time....so the frosting was not terribly pretty. I will admit that while they were sent to wash some of the frosting from their hands, elbows, noses and everywhere else it had managed to land, I quickly did a quick smooth over job to help it along a bit. The result was a much more even layer of frosting! The children were none the wiser, either. When they came back from their little clean up, they just saw their beautiful creation, didn't notice the touch up at all! Then the real excitement began!!! I pulled out the Peeps!! I let the children curve them around the outside of the cake to become the flower petals. They did need a slight bit of assistance getting them shaped to fit so they didn't hang off the cake or scrape off too much frosting. Once they Peeps were in place the chocolate chips came out. I must mention that during the Peep placement a common comment was that they really wished they could just eat the Peeps right then! Now the chocolate chips, however, were plentiful enough that some snacking could take place even while the creation was still being made! Pressing the chips into the cake was simple and full and a much enjoyed step.

Even though this cake was made with the help of small hands, it still came out really nice looking. I wish I had a picture of our actual creation, however, at the time I don't think I had a working camera, so the whole experience exists only in my memory! But what a fond memory of some fun family time together! We did enjoy eating the cake, but making it was definately the highlight.

My only complaint about this cake, in the past, was that it could only be made during a short time in the early spring, as that is the only time I coudl ever find Peeps available. I am excited to say that this cake can now be made whenever the fancy should strike you!

The
   PEEPSandCOMPANY.com online store

now has some of your candy favorites, like Peeps, available year round! Looking at this cake and recalling the fun we had making it years ago makes me want to make it again with the rest of my children. I think they will be excited to hear it!

You can find the recipe for creating this cake here
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Peeps-Sunflower-Cake
if you would like to make a Peep memory of your own!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and PEEPS blogging contest, for a chance to get a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

little switches that make a difference.

2011-04-06T15:32:00.000-04:00

Cottonelle knows that even the best relationships can get a little stale, so they want to show how little switches can make all the difference in our lives and relationships. Perhaps you think that adding a night out with your spouse keeps things interesting. Maybe getting a makeover occasionally or a new hairstyle is for you. What do What little things do I suggest?

First, I think its a great idea to look your best daily. Of course, there will be days when you are sick or something and just won't be able to do this, but generally its pretty simple to do. Make sure you get your daily shower in before your husband gets home from work. While it may seem silly to even say, anyone who has a new baby will probably know what a challenge this can be! Don't forget those legs while you are in there! Daily shaving (yes, even in the winter!!!) will go a long way to keep up a good appearance. When you get out of the shower, use products ted o keep you at your best...pretty scented lotions or body butters, body sprays....something nice. Many people save fragrances for special occasions only. But if you enjoy it and your spouse likes it, why not make everyday special? Take a few minutes to fix up your hair. It doesn't have to be a special time consuming hairstyle. It can even just be a pony tail. But instead of just using a plain elastic band in that pony tail, why not spiffy it up a bit? A pretty hair clip will make your pony tail go from purely functional to decorative looking. Again, make up should not be a special occasion deal. While you may have a different make up routine for a special night out on the town than for daily wear, it should be applied daily. Many people won't leave the house without makeup yet, they don't give thought to wearing it when they have no plans of leaving. Shouldn't your spouse be the one you are trying to impress after all? So take a few minutes to highlight your best features. The same thoughts apply to the clothes you put on. Frumpy baggy sweats are so comfy and convenient to wear while accomplishing your daily chores around the house, however they simply are not flattering! So why not change your clothing right before your spouse arrives home? Dump the Frump. Put on something more flattering. Again, if you wouldn't want to go out in them, why subject your spouse to seeing them? Who is the most important person to impress, again? Making sure you look pretty at all times if possible is a switch that will make such a difference.

Another important thing is to make sure you have a nice evening lined up for when your spouse gets home. Plan a nice dinner nightly. How wonderfully welcoming for a man to walk into a house and smell a wonderful blend of tempting aromas that is his dinner cooking! My husband often comments he can smell dinner even in the driveway when he arrives home...even during winter with the windows closed! What a wonderful "welcome home" present that is every day! Keep in mind your spouse's favorites, too. Keeping those on the menu often will let him know you thought of him and wanted him to be happy. Another little thing to keep a relationship great!

One more simple thing to do is buy little things when you are out to let your other half know you were thinking of them. Just small things will do. When at the grocery store pick up his favorite candy bar or ice cream....anything he likes. When you get home make sure you say something like "oh, here, I thought you might like this" when showing him the item rather than just putting it away to be discovered at a later time. That will let him know it was no accident or coincidence you bought it. You thought of him and did it as a special thing. Surely that will warm his heart.

Finally, one more suggestion is to watch how you say things. Whining, complaining, bickering or nagging can become so second nature in a relationship. So think before you speak. Does it really need to be said? If it does, what is the best way to say it? Can that whining complaining statement be worded in a less needy, irritating way? Does that nagging statement really need to be made? Is it something that your husband really isn't aware of that he needs to hear? Perhaps you could just let it slide? Could you save the statement for later when its a more opportune time, when it fits into the flow of conversation so it doesn't become you bringing up that same old thing again? And another thing, definitely eliminate any tendency to use the words "I told you so" or "see" or any other statement that flaunts the fact that you were right---he was wrong. I feel these changes will really keep a relationship smooth running.

Those are a few things I thought of when I considered Cottonelle's question "how can little switches make a big difference in a relationship?". Do you have some good suggestions? What comes to your mind? Why not take a minute to write about it?

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

About Cottonelle
The Cottonelle brand provides innovative comfort solutions for perineal personal care. Cottonelle toilet paper is available in three forms: Cottonelle Ultra toilet paper, Cottonelle Aloe & E toilet paper, and Cottonelle Premium toilet paper. To help people feel cleaner and fresher than with toilet paper alone, Cottonelle offers Cottonelle Fresh Flushable Moist Wipes and Cottonelle SoothingClean Flushable Moist Wipes enriched with Aloe & E.

More info about the Cottonelle Ultra Switch: www.CottonelleUltraSwitch.com

Cottonelle Ultra on Facebook

Follow @cottonellebrand on Twitter

Super Miracle Bubble commercial

2011-04-04T23:23:00.000-04:00

Today Imperial Toy has officially launched its brand new commercial for Super Miracle Bubbles! Please watch the commercial at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/imperialtoy?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/mArO6nYrxn0

Go check it out!

How I Keep My Family Happy

2011-03-30T19:16:00.002-04:00

What special things do you do to keep you family members happy? Of course, there are big special things that people can do to please their family, but keeping a happy, well rounded family comes from the little things we do everyday. With a bigger family, keeping everyone happy becomes more of a challenge. So, then, how do I keep my family happy? Here are some of those little things.

Library time. We keep to a pretty tight schedule when it come to our homeschooling. We don't run errands or go shopping instead of schooling thinking we will make up the time later. We start at a certain time and end at
a certain time. Lunch, too, is at a certain time. One thing we do bend our schedule a bit to accomodate is a weekly trip to the local library. Our library has a fantastic kid's program on Mondays. Its a story, song and craft time. Although the program is designed for children from 3-5 years old, I must say, all my children (well execpt the oldest boy) will happily join in. While at the library each child can pick out books to take home, too. Everyone loves and looks forward to this special time. It definately keeps them smiling.....and I don't need to feel too guilty about bending our normal school routine since it is an educational activity!

Picking a special snack at the grocery store. I grocery shop every two weeks. When I go anyone that is well behaved gets to pick out a snack that catches their attention while we are there. Its something they really look forward to. Usually the child will carry their special pick with them during the remainder of the shopping trip, with happy grins.

Movie night. Many Friday nights we retreat to our family room, pull out the sofa bed, lay back some recliners and pop in a good family movie. This is something that is highly enjoyed. Usually starting Friday morning some time children will start asking me "are we sleeping downstairs tonight?" in eager anticipation. Sometimes we forgo the movie in favor of several hours of the show America's Funniest Home Videos that is on nearly every Friday in marathon proportions. Of course, movie night is not complete without an assortment of special snacks.

After reading about these delicious Farm Rich Snacks, like cheese sticks, quesadillas, pizza slices and meatballs, I really want to serve them at our next Friday fun night! I think that would make for some happy participants!

Sleeping in my room. Kids, at least my children, don't like to be alone at night. The way our house is designed, bedrooms are pretty far apart, too, which makes it even more intimidating for the children to be off in their rooms. Therefore, I keep everyone happy and secure feeling by allowing whomever wants to join me in my room. Even though we have a king sized bed, its generally overfilled so there is also an additional mattress on the floor for anyone else who wants to be near but not too squished in bed. No one has to be afraid, alone. No one has to worry about those little bumps in the night or thunderstorms. They can be right close by, happy.

Girl time. With the majority of our household being male, my one daughter craves some special girl time. So I try to schedule in special girly outings for just us girls. Friday we will be heading out to the mall to do a little shopping...what girly girl doesn't like that? This keeps my girls real happy. They are definately looking forward to their big trip out Friday!

Special rewards. Occasionally I will give out special little treats. Its usually as a reward when the children have been extra helpful. Perhaps we are having company the following day and I need a bit of help cooking and cleaning. Once the work is done I usually reward my helpers with extra computer time or a later bedtime. They really like that and its a great way to ensure some good helpers too! (and that keeps momma happy!)

Special clothing. I will make pretty dresses for my girls. This will light up their faces the first time they get to wear a brand new mommy made dress on a Sunday. My oldest girl loves to be a part of the design process as well. She may pick a color or pattern or even show me a dress in a magazine or catalog she would like me to duplicate for her. Happy twirls and smiles mean I have accomplished my goal keeping happy girls!

It doesn't take a super mom to keep a happy family....just a few super ideas really! These are just a few of the everyday ways I keep a happy family. Would you like to share how you keep your family happy, too? If so why not check out Social Moms for details on how you can do just that.

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

About Farm Rich:
Farm Rich® products have been setting the standard for delicious, easy-to-prepare food the whole family loves. Farm Rich® foods taste like nothing else because they're made like nothing else – with 100% real ingredients like real cheese, high-quality meats, and fresh vegetables. Our snacks, appetizers, and breakfast foods are quick-frozen and carefully packaged so busy families can prepare great-tasting food within minutes. Farm Rich® is a Rich's Consumer Brand, which brings to market some of the food industry's leading retail brands including SeaPak® Shrimp Co., Casa Di Bertacchi®, and more. From early-morning breakfasts to midnight snacks, we're proud to say Farm Rich® products have become synonymous with high quality and great taste.

Wordless Wednesday: Beauty

2011-03-23T13:05:00.000-04:00

Miss Miliana....cute as can be

I just purchased a brand new camera. I had a pretty cheap one that I basically used to death over the past years. It would barely take a shot anymore. I have been saving a dollar here, a few dollars there, whenever I could get a hold of a bit of money, for a very very very long time hoping to have a good camera one day. I finally had enough and decided on a Nikon p100....loving the great clear shots and great features on it!!!

I know I'm Lucky...how about you?

2011-03-09T17:45:00.000-05:00

Are you feeling lucky? What makes you feel lucky? How about a promotion like this? Redbox is giving everyone the chance to score free movie credits now through St. Patrick’s Day during the Redbox Lucky to Have Friends Like You promotion. You will receive a unique web address. Every time someone rents from your address through, you get a free movie credit. Rental credits are valid for ten (10) days after they’ve been deposited into your account and the promotion ends March 17.

I have lots of reasons to feel lucky. Let me tell you about one reason I have on my mind today.

Back in September I began feeling a little "off". Right away I recognized the feeling and was figuring I was pregnant. I was super excited but am always afraid to get really let it show right away because the first few months of pregnancy are filled with worry for me....what if something's not right and I loose the baby? As the weeks ticked away and things seemed to be going great (and by great I mean I was sick as sick could be...which is a good sign in pregnancy!!), I started to get a little more and more excited! A baby!!! Then one day I had some spotting. Then nothing for a week...then more spotting. Scared I called the doctor's office and made an appointment to see if they could tell what was going on.

A few days later I was sitting in the the OB's waiting room anxious and nervous as I awaited my turn. I would receive and ultrasound to see what could be seen inside. My heart raced as my turned arrived. I was too frightened to even look at the screen as the tech began scanning over my belly. THen I heard the familiar swish swish swish sound I knew was a heartbeat. I looked over to clearly see a blob on the screen beeping away, a sight I was familiar with from other past pregnancies to be a tiny little heart pumping away! After some clicking and measuring here and there the tech went to get the Doctor. THe Dr. arrived and had a serious look on his face and informed me that I had a low placenta completely covering my cervix. He said he felt it was bleeding because it was not attached well. Most likely the placenta would rip loose and my pregnancy would end in the coming weeks. Should the placenta hang on there were several things to worry about in the future. First, if the placenta did not move I would not be able to have a natural vaginal childbirth but rather would need a C section. I felt devasted by this news at first until he continued and I realized a C section was very low on my worry list! I did know that most low placentas do move before delivery time and asked if this probably would happen in my case. The Doctor told me mind most likely would not move because I had had quite a few children already, wearing out my uterus, making it "flabby" therefore it wouldn't have the tone necessary to pull that placenta up. He also said that since I had such big babies in the past, I had ruined the tone of my utureus even further, making it even more unlikely that placenta would budge.

So beside a C section, I could be pretty certain my placenta would rip and tear and my utureus tried to stretch in the coming months. This would cause bleeding that most likely would be massive causing life threatening results for both me and my baby.    If such bleeding were to occur, my baby would be delivered immediately no matter what gestational age. I was told there was nothing I could do to try to prevent such a bleeding episode. Suddenly this pregnancy was seeming like a death sentance!

Next, I was told should my pregnancy continue, should I beat the odds and not have massive bleeding issues there was another issue to worry about. People with placenta previas, such as I had, have children with serious birth defects occuring at twice the rate of other pregnancies. So should my pregnancy be ok, there was still a big chance that my baby would not be ok! Also, the bad attachment of the placenta could mean problems with growth of the fetus as it would not be receiving the proper nourishment it would need from that faulty placenta. Another issue!

I left the office feeling crushed. There was so much to process. I dreaded each new day since they were filled with great worry...would my pregnancy end? When would my massive bleeding start? What exactly would be wrong with the baby I carried.

I ended up changing Doctors a few weeks later for a list reasons. As time ticked on I spent each day worried. I did not have any more bleeding what so ever, which did make me feel a bit hopeful. But still, there was so much to fear. I dreaded my ultrasound appointment as 20 weeks approached. What would they see at that appointment? What sort of birth defects would my child have? How low would my placenta be? How well functioning would it look?

I anxiously laid on the exam table as my new Doctor scanned over my belly at 20 weeks. What was discovered? First, my placenta was completely out of the way of the cervix. She said it might be a little "low lying" but she was not concerned at all as she said it would move up as my belly grew. She said it looked like a normal functioning placenta with absolutely no attachement or bleeding issues at all. Next, she saw absolutely nothing abnormal in the baby at all. The baby's size...well he was in at least the 99% for all the measurements she took...certainly no growth issues at all. Everything really looked positive! I breathed a sigh of relieve and felt like the luckiest person in the world!!!!

I should add my current doctor feels a lot of the information I was given by the first doctor was not necessarily a sound medical diagnosis. However, I still could not help but feel lucky!!!

I have another ultrasound next week just to make me feel better about my placenta position, but my doctor really felt I had nothing to worry about at all!

So what do you feel lucky about? Why not share it on SocialMoms? Also, visit this link
http://www.redbox.com/luckysocial to find out more about Redbox's promotion!

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

getting away with great family travel deals

2011-03-07T18:51:00.001-05:00

I love to take get aways with my family. When you have 5, going on 6 children, however, get aways have to be very cost efficient. We have definitely found ways to be able to take little vacations and spend very little money. I would like to share some of the way we save with you.

1. Off peak season travel. For every area and location there is a peak time when everyone wants to be there. With that peak time comes higher charges and rates. Warm weather destinations have peak times when its cold elsewhere. Amusement parks in local areas are all the rage once school is out for the summer. Zoos and other attractions like that are rarely visited after fall comes and before spring really warms up. Traveling to these sites on off peak times adds up to big savings. The attractions are cheaper. Surrounding hotels offer excellent deals. We recently took a little get away trip about 3 hours from our home, taking advantage of an unseasonably warm weather spell we had. We were able to get 1/2 price zoo admissions with free parking and we went to the aquarium taking advantage of the winter special of children being free. Traveling during off peak times also has the advantage of your destination being much less busy.

2. Know gas price dip and high times. Gas prices tend to follow a pattern of highs and lows throughout the year. Traveling during times when gas prices tend to be lower can save a lot when filling up your tank. We need a very large vehicle for our large family. The big downfall with that is bad fuel economy and a huge gas tank! Lower fuel prices certainly make a big difference when it comes to our travel budget.

3. Join frequent user clubs. My husband travels quite frequently for work. He spends a considerable amount of time in hotels across the country. Most hotel chains offer special deals for people who are frequent guest. My husband decided to make the Holiday Inn group of hotels his preferred location to stay at. Holidays Inns are widely available so most places he travels to he can find one nearby. They also are generally a reasonably priced hotel which pleases the business budget. My husband enjoys benefits each time he checks in at a location. Upgraded rooms, free dinner or breakfast certificates, free drink cards, etc are a few things he receives. In addition, each stay he accumulates "points". These points can later be used twords free rooms at any Holiday Inn location. My husband accumulates enough points that we can several times a year go on getaways, get 2 adjoining rooms or a large family suite, and not have to pay a thing for our stay! So become a loyal traveler to a hotel chain and start adding up free trips!

4. Consider camping. There are lots of ways camping will save you verses a hotel stay. You can camp at most state parks for around $25 a night. Private camp grounds are usually more, but still will likely be cheaper than hotel rooms. You are able to make your meals rather than eating out. There are lots of free activities to do right at the grounds, too. State Parks will most likely have various nature programs for the kids (as well as adults!) to enjoy. We have participated in bird watches, canoeing, animal track following, survivalist adventures etc all without cost while camping. There are frequently beaches to enjoy. You can generally hike and explore until you are thoroughly tired!

5. Cabin rentals. Camping seem a little too rustic for your tastes? Many parks also offer cabins that come fully or mostly equipped. These will generally be a bargain compared to hotel rates. You can also take advantage of eating at your cabin rather than going out, just like camping.

6. Take group trips. Many destinations have house or cabin rentals available. Often there are large places that will have up to 12 bedrooms in them. While the cost may look high to begin with, if you travel with a group of friends or relatives, you will end up dividing that cost many times over. The result is good inexpensive lodging! Another nice benefit of being with a group like that is that chores like cooking can be divided up amongst the group making less daily work for you. These type trips work out well for places like beach vacations where you just sort of plan on hanging out each day.

7. Cut the number of meals down. Try going out for a late breakfast and you will most likely be able to skip lunch. Many times, family vacations means a chance to sleep in each day. Therefore, a late breakfast or early lunch is very easy to do. By doing this we find we only have to pay for 2 meals out a day rather than 3. I do make sure I have snacks with me in case the children find themselves getting a little hungry before dinner time.

8. Make lunch the big meal. Most restaurants have specials at lunch time. Often you can get the same meal you would have eaten at dinner time for a considerable savings. So, if you don't want to try to skip one meal a day, going to a nicer meal at lunch time can save you a bundle. For dinner you can then pick cheaper options, like fast food or pizza, that you might have normally done at lunch time.

9. Use a credit card throughout the year. Pick a credit card that offers perks of restaurant gift cards for usage. Use the card to purchase the normal things you buy monthly. Charge your gas, groceries etc to this card and then pay it off each month. You will quickly accumulate points that can be redeemed for gift cards to various restaurants. Save these point and cash them in close to your trip. Remember to allow enough time for the cards to arrive to you! You will be able to enjoy free dining this way. As long as you pay off your balances each month, it won't cost you a bit more to use these cards, either.

10. Take advantage of time share trials. A lot of tourist spots have time share properties. You need to purchase a time share to stay at these locations. To drum up new business, these locations often invite people to visit these resorts, often for several days, free! You do have to attend a sales pitch during your stay, which will take a couple hours....but to me a couple hours is worth it for free lodging at great locations! These time shares usually offer baby sitting while you attend their seminar. They usually feed you, snacks if not a full meal, while you are there. They sometimes offer other incentives as well. We have received free water park passes for our whole entire family, $100 cash, etc for attending. We have also stayed at top notch lodging locations without charge! You do have to put up with high pressure sales pitches and be someone that won't be easily talked into buying something you don't really plan on purchasing (even if they try to guilt or embarass you into it!) You also have to generally meet minimum income requirements and have a good credit standing to qualify (yes they will check!). But I highly recommend this means of travel!!!

I do enjoy being thrifty! Not only do I enjoy it, but with a large family like mine, its really a requirement! I hope you can use some of my tips on your next trip!

“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.”

if I were abducted by Martians.....

2011-02-28T15:41:00.001-05:00

Have you seen the movie trailers for Mars Needs Moms? Its a new movie (Rated PG, Walt Disney Pictures, In Theaters 3/11/11) about how nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) finds out just how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack) when she’s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. It definitely looks like a fun, must see family film!

So what would happen in my family should I be abducted? What would my kids miss? Here are 10 things I think they would find themselves missing (even if it seemed fun without out some of them at first!!).

1. Home cooked meals. Yes, without me my children would come to think all food was handed to you through your car window in a paper bag! My husband is definitely a fast food addict. Furthermore, he really has no idea what to do in a kitchen. Since I cook a big family dinner every single night, I really think that hamburgers, chicken nuggets and tacos would grow old pretty fast! Yes, at first it may seem like a glorious time to be without vegtables everyday (no I don't consider a deep fried potato a vegtable!), sooner or later, I believe, children will miss things like homemade meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, chicken scampi, and spaghetti pie!!

2. Being clean. I recently was extremely busy and asked my husband if he would oversee giving the 3 year old and 1 year old a bath. He looked at me, very confused, and said "me??? I would have no idea how to do that." Yes, my husband had never bathed a child, even though we have 5 going on 6 of them!! So I told him I thought he could figure it out. A few minutes later there were terrified screams coming out of the bathroom from my 1 year old. I went in to see what the problem was. My husband had decided to wet her hair by turning the water faucet on, and holding her head underneath the heavy water flow. Yeah, definately not the way I do it! He vowed right then that he would never give another bath to a child if they were not going to like the way he did things. So I believe that without me, there would be no bathing in this household. My children do love their bath time (unless, of course, they are being held underwater!) so they would miss that immediately!

3. School. This year we removed the 3 children old enough to attend school from the public school and began schooling them at home. I am solely responsible for this. Would my husband make sure school continued in my absence? i don't think so! Well, he may tell the older ones to go in and do their school, however, I am sure he would not enforce it or check up on it. And the 1st grader? He needs constant (pretty much) supervising during school time given his age. I don't see that happening at all. Yeah, no more school would be fantastic for a while....probably quite a long while!! Eventually, however, you grow up and find yourself wanting to do things like get a driver's license, get a job, or even read something along the way....things that just can't be done without any sort of education!

4. Having a bedtime. We really don't see my husband in the evenings much. He hides away in his office watching TV while on the internet...oh excuse me, he hides away while working (yes, I AM on to him!!!). I believe the children would be made to go to bed when he emerged from the office each night....11 or 12 usually. Yes, having no bedtime is a blast....until you find yourself so tired you can not get along with your siblings, cry about everything all day long or have to listen to other children cry out of tiredness all day long. Not much fun!

5. Snuggle and cuddle time. When the children want a snuggling, they definitely look to mom! Weather they are sick, hurt or just feeling like a cuddle, its definitely something mom needs to do!

6. Having a clean, dry diaper. Anyone in a diaper would not get changed without me! Yes, nearly 6 kids and I am not sure my husband knows babies wear diapers! Well, I am sure he knows....but he's not getting anywhere near that! He actually makes fun of his men friends that do change diapers! Yes, if I were gone and you were little, you'd be soggy and smelly..period!

7. Finding anything again....ever. If your children are like mine, they go from missing one thing to another. "I can't find my shoe". "Do you know where my book is?" "Where is my coat?" Do we have to talk about how men tend to look for things? Its just like the kids do. The process takes about 3 seconds and involves turning your head from side to side glancing through the space around you without leaving your seated position. Yes, my children would miss locating anything ever again. No one would be here to search under beds for the missing stuffed animal pal. No one would dig through the mitten bin to produce the missing tennis shoe. No one would stuff their hand down the couch cushions to produce that favorite action figure guy!

8. Family movie night. Many Friday nights the kids and I head down to our family room, pull out the pull out sofa bed, flip back the recliners, and pick a good family film to enjoy. If I were gone today, they would miss out on seeing Mars Needs Moms when it comes out for home viewing! They would definitely not be happy about that!

9. Going to the Library. Something else my children love is the Library. Every Monday we take a trip to the local Library. The younger children get to enjoy the story time while there. They also get to bring home a stack of books to read through the week. They would be quite sad each time Monday rolled around and they were not visiting their Library.

10. Wearing wonderful clothing. At least my girls would! I make them lots of pretty dresses and other clothes. They are used to having fancy, frilly dresses that no other little girl around here has. They are used to their clothing getting lots of attention from others. My littlest girls are used to having a bonnet made to go with every dress they wear. Without me, they would have to buy things off the rack in stores, and they may end up wearing the same thing as another child one day in Church! Oh My!

Mars Needs Moms showcases Milo’s elaborate quest to save his mom from the Martians custody. I really do believe should I be abducted one day, my children would also launch an all out attempt to bring me back. Yes, it might take a while for them to realize life without mom isn't all fun and games, but I do think it would hit them sooner or later.....or at least I hope so!!!

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

Save Money While you Grocery Shop

2011-02-25T18:40:00.002-05:00

I hate grocery shopping. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of preparation. Most of all, however, it takes a lot of money! When you have a very large family you need to especially be aware of ways you can cut your total food bill down. Here are some tips on how I do that.

Coupons! Coupons can be found in a variety of places. A great place to start is in the Sunday newspapers. You can also find a great deal of coupons online, however, I have found lately that a lot of stores in my area are no longer excepting printed internet coupons. I guess there was some fraudulent coupons being made and used....yes it spoiled it for the rest of us! You can also sign up to receive coupons in the mail from various manufactures. Often these are the best, highest dollar coupons, I have found. To maximize your coupons watch the sales ads and match items to the coupons you have. Often you can get things free or nearly free that way. Some places will let you stack coupons, that is use more than one coupon for an item you buy. I have found in my area, however, no one will let you do that. You will have to check with your area stores.

Go to the store well planned! Make a list beforehand. Use your sale ads to help you plan meals with items that are on sale that week. When you arrive at the store you will know exactly what you need to buy. This will help keep you from buying unnecessary items. If you have limited storage space, you will especially appreciate this. What you have on hand is actually what you need. You are not wasting storage space on items you don't really need. Being well prepared will also help cut your shopping time down as well...an extra bonus for sure!

Avoid impulse buys! Make sure you don't arrive at the store starving. If you do you will find a lot of extra items that look really good at the time finding their way into your cart! I also find having my list prepared really helps avoid these impulse purchases. I can look just for the items I need rather than looking around at every item in the store. This helps me "tune out" all those other items so that I don't consider buying them.

Train your children! If you can go shopping alone that would be fantastic. If you are like me and have to drag the troup along, make sure they know that asking for a million things in the store is pointless...they won't get it! And if you do find your children asking for lots of extras...don't give in. Typically the items that catch a kids attention are unnecessary junk food, and they are usually quite costly too! This week when I went shopping I ran into a friend who was shopping with her children as well. The children continually asked for things or even just picked them up and through them into the cart. I think for every one item the Mom actually wanted to buy, 3 other items got tossed in by children. I was thinking her bill must be outrageous!

Compare your sale ads! I like to go through the ads the first time through and familiarize myself with what's on sale at each store. Then I take a pen and lay out all my ads and look for the things I want to buy and compare ad to ad to see who is offering the best price. I circle the ad with the lowest price. In the end I make a seperate list for each store with what came out to be the best bargains. Of course there are times you need to weigh if going to another store really will save money. Traveling across town to pick up one can of tomato paste that is 3 cents cheaper than at the store you started at won't really save you money. You will spend more in gas just getting there!

Look for daily discounts! Bakery items will get marked down significantly the day after they were made. Chances are they still have a couple good fresh days left in them. After all, how often do you buy bread and use it all up that very day? Looking for the clearance area on these items can save you big. Scan through the meat department as well. The day before meat is marked "sale by" it often gets its price slashed. On the last "sale by day" it gets slashed even further. You can get great savings that way. You do have to use it right away...or freeze it for later. Sometimes you will see meat that looks less than healthy marked down. Most often you can not tell the difference between the marked down cut and the full price variety. You may even be able to ask in the dairy department if they have any items like milk or cheese that are on their last day that they will mark down for you. Many stores will do that. When you go through gallons and gallons of milk per week the way we do, that discount really ads up. Again, these items are still very good and usable beyond that sale by date when they have not been opened!

Watch for super special deals! Occasionally stores run really great promotions. Right now Kroger stores are doing just that. They have their Cart Buster Program running. How can these amazing deals save you? Here are a few ways:

***Each Deal of the Day is available through the end of the event (while supplies last)
***Big savings store-wide including couponing on top of the Deal of the Day
***Deal of the Day Contest for a chance to win the daily deal for free (while supplies last)

During this 14-day promotion running from February 27 to March 12th, customers will receive CartBuster savings on products from favorite brands like P&G, General Mills, Nestle, and Pepsi! Yes, these aren't just savings on "store brand" products! These are the famous national brands you love!

Here is a list of some participating brands:

Multigrain Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper, Yoplait, Progresso, Totino’s, Green Giant, Cascadian Farm, Tide, Charmin, Bounty, Pampers, Pantene, Crest, Iams, Febreze, Old Spice, Bounce, DiGiorno’s, Nestle Toll House, Juicy Juice, Coffee-Mate, Edy’s, Stouffer’s, Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets, Nestle Candy, Purina and many more!

Normally I say not to buy things you don't plan on using before your next shopping trip...however...sometimes when great special deals like this come along it makes sense to stock up a bit on things you know you normally use because it WILL save you in the long run.

So if you have a Kroger store nearby you will definitely want to set aside time this week to visit and start savings. Like I said, I don not enjoy grocery shopping....however....the one thing that makes it a little more tolerable???? Knowing I am leaving the store saving a bundle of money! And that's just what you can do at Kroger this week!

Kroger offers more value for the way you live. Check out Kroger.com for special offers, weekly savings, printable and digital coupons, and much more! Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger is one of the nation's largest grocery retailers. The Kroger Co. spans many states with store formats that include grocery and multi-department stores, convenience stores and mall jewelry stores. We operate under nearly two dozen banners, all of which share the same belief in building strong local ties and brand loyalty with our customers.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms Kroger CartBuster blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here."

Family Dinner Table Etiquette Advice

2011-02-10T15:43:00.002-05:00

Dinner is an important time to our family. We always sit down to a family dinner every night. I take a lot of time planning healthy menus, shopping for healthy foods in a manner that keeps to the budget, and preparing meals daily. Having a large family with lots of children, I think its important to have a good set of rules and expectations set before the children so that meal times run smoothly. So what are some "dos and don'ts" in our dining room? Let me share!

First,everyone has an assigned seat. There is no need for fighting over chairs or places. Everyday you sit in the same spot. This has saved us a lot of fights and tears come meal times, I am sure. Next, there is no complaining allowed when it comes to what's being served. No ewww's, no ick's, no ohhh's. Like I said before, I very carefully plan and select our foods, you will be receiving a healthy, nourishing meal. Saying negative things about the food is rude to me since I have spent hours in plan, purchasing and prep of this meal. Its also going to turn off the younger eaters to foods that they like currently. Big brother hates broccoli? Maybe I will too since it might make me seem like a big kid too!

What happens when you really don't like something? First, you are definitely required to try everything. Trying it isn't a microscopic bite, either. Its a few bites. Most of the time I can tell if someone really doesn't like something or they are just being picky for the day. When someone really doesn't like something and they have tried several bites, they are generally excused from eating it. But are only allowed to discuss if they have to eat it or not after everyone is nearly completed so that they don't influence others opinions on the item. If someone is just being picky...well they are required to eat. If they absolutely positively can not eat at the time, the place is saved and later during the evening when they may be more hungry, they are given their plate back. No snack at night if dinner was not eaten!

I serve food to everyone at the table. If you would like seconds of something you will need to politely ask with a please and once its given to you, a thank you is in order. Skip the please, well you won't be getting anything to you remember. Dig in without the thank you? It will be taken back until you remember. If only a little of something remains then we ask everyone at the table if they think they will be wanting more before giving it out. Its not fair that just because you ate faster you should get the most!

During eating everyone is expected to sit properly in their chairs. No one on knees. No one turned sideways etc. The children all know that we can have fun, we can laugh and enjoy ourselves....however....their are rules as regards appropriate topics and conversations. Its pretty much common sense as far as what's not to be said....if its gross, inappropriate, or will hurt others feelings or cause and uproar....its better left unsaid!

Once everyone is done, its time for cleanup. First everyone takes their own dish into the kitchen. You also are required to clean up any mess at your spot. In addition, everyone has a job or two that will contribute to the cleaning of the dining room and kitchen. These chores are to be done immediately.

Thats what works for us! We look forward to family meal times together and having these rules makes me happy because I know we won't have fights, I won't have people eating thorough out the house in front of TV's etc with no together time or conversation going on, and I will know everyone is being well nourished as well as cared for emotionally!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

About Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
KRAFT HOMESTYLE is a delicious, convenient and easy way to serve homemade taste without the hassle. Any of the three yummy varieties - Classic Cheddar, Hearty Four Cheese or Old World Italian – combine a rich cheesy meal with hearty noodles and crunchy golden breadcrumbs on top. It’s homemade taste without the hassle. Try it.

Join Kraft Macaroni & Cheese on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kraftmacaroniandcheese

Weekly Meal Plan

2011-02-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

Monday - Mac and Cheese using whole grain pasta, Broccoli, corn

Tuesday - BBQ pork sandwiches on whole wheat buns, baked potatoes, carrots

Wednesday - Soft shell Tacos using flax blend tortillas, homemade refried beans, Spanish rice with brown rice

Thursday - Low fat alfredo using whole grain pasta, Garlic green beans, salad

Friday - Whole roasted chicken, baked sweet potatoes, peas

Saturday Chicken Tettrazini, broccoli, salad

Sunday - homemade pizza on whole wheat crust

Are you prepared?

2011-02-01T15:39:00.000-05:00

"Crippling" is the way the weather channels are describing the winter storms that are heading our direction. Are you prepared for this emergency situation?

Yesterday I went to the grocery stores, not so much because of the threatening weather to come, but because I shop twice a month and yesterday was my scheduled day. Unfortunately, pretty much the whole city and surrounding rural communities also felt the need to shop, most likely because of the storm. The stores were so busy there was a waiting line for parking spaces and it was very hard to maneuver the aisles with the massive quantities of people there, especially since I have a line of many children with me!

I learned something, however. It seems there are certain things that people feel they definately need in the midst of an emergency. The shelves were completely bare of a few items. So are you prepared? Here is what I noticed everyone bought up:

Velveeta. Something I don't normally buy...I prefer actual cheese. However, I was trying a recipe this trip and it called for the stuff. We went to 5 stores yesterday...I found it at the 3rd.

Ground beef. Every single store was completely wiped out of any and all ground beef.

Bread. Now Walmart has a major bread aisle. Completely emptied....expect for one Great Value brand pack of hot dog buns...slightly smashed. I didn't even really need bread but was hoping for the bagels my children love to eat.

Anything to do with pizza. Crust mixes....totally gone. Sauce...emptied. Just a lonely emptied shelf.

So....I ask....do you have your pizza, Velveeta, ground beef, bread emergency kit assembled and ready??

Weekly Meal Plan

2011-02-01T12:51:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: baked spaghetti, homemade bread, broccoli, corn

Wednesday: Chicken with crumb coating, green beans, cauliflower

Thursday: Beef tips, whole wheat noodles, peas, roasted carrots

Friday: Curry Chicken, dilled fingerling potatoes, garlic green beans

Saturday: Tuna cakes, salad, pears

Sunday: To be determined...superbowl night which means appetizers and snacks mostly

wordless wednesday

2011-01-27T14:26:00.000-05:00

An invitation to a party requiring girls come dressed as their favorite Disney Princess received about 3 days before the party....yeah....no problem....a few hours at the sewing machine later and you have Cinderella!

Monday Meal Plan

2011-01-25T15:36:00.000-05:00

Monday-- Meatballs in tomato sause served over whole wheat noodles, carrots, broccoli

Tuesday--Barbecued baked chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, peas

Wednesday--Baked Talapia, Broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper mix, brown rice

Thursday-- Pork roast, scalloped potatoes, green beans, taffy apple salad

Friday--Turkey burgers, Pasta salad, fresh veggies and dip dessert-Jello's fruit and cookie cups

Saturday--Honey chicken, baked potatoes, carrots, Pear salad

Sunday--Baked pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli dessert--rice pudding made with brown rice

Simple Changes For the Year Ahead

2011-01-19T17:05:00.001-05:00

At the start of each year it seems everyone starts thinking abut changes they will make for the year ahead of them. The problem, however, is often the changes people decide to make are often never achieved fully, if at all. I think one main reason for this is that the goals they have made are often just too numerous or too large and overwhelming. So thinking of smaller, simple changes, what are your goals for 2011? I'd like to share one of mine.

One accomplishment I hope to achieve during 2011 is to save more money at the grocery store. In the past I have been pretty organized in my shopping. I create lists and menus and set out with a plan. However, I know there are ways I could be saving more, spending less. So as I contemplated how I could meet that goal I came up with the following ideas:

Shop ads. In the past I have made my menus based on what I thought sounded good or just felt like making. I will now wait to make out my menus and lists until I get the sale ads so that I can plan meals around the items that are on sale. I think I will see the greatest savings in the meat department using this method.
Coupons. Years ago I was super with using coupons. I saved a bundle at each grocery trip too. Well, as I had more children I found it harder to get my coupons cut, organized, and pulled for my shopping trips. I also found it pretty hard to manage coupons while at the store with all my children in tow. So I am making bigger efforts to weekly cut and organize the coupons that are in the paper. I will also regularly check for coupons on the internet and get those printed off. I bought some plastic file envelopes to organize everything in. As far as actually using them, I don't really know how I can make it any simpler once in the store. I just have to realize its going to take me much longer using coupons and it will just be more stressful too! I hope the money savings makes me feel better about that!!! Oh and I need to keep those files of coupons in the van so that I have them even for quick run ins for this and that items between major shopping trips.
Discount stores. As much as I hate shopping at those specialty discount type stores, like Aldi, they really can save money, so I will have to included it as part of my shopping routine regularly. Again, my main complaint about it is that it really makes my trips so much longer~! You have to bag all your own items after you check out. I find that very time consuming.
Visit many stores. In the past I have pretty much just went to one, maybe two stores. They were ones where I knew I could find pretty much all the items on my list. Well, now I will comparison shop the sale ads and purchase whatever is on sale at each individual store. I think I will see the main savings on things like health and beauty items. I have been mainly just purchasing these at Walmart while on my grocery trip. I have noticed, however, that places like Walgreens and Rite Aid run great specials and sales.
Stock regularly used items while they are on sale. I need to watch for things we purchase all the time and buy them when they are a good bargain even if they are not needed at the moment. This would probably be mostly for health and beauty sort of items. Things like deodorant, shaving cream, make up etc.
Keep my husband OUT of stores! I am not sure how to accomplish this one as most of the time when he wants something he is going to get it! When he goes into a store, however, he buys tons of unnecessary junk regardless of cost. Sugary, candy like cereal. Frozen foods like pizza bread. Chips chips chips. I am quite sure in the pantry right now there will be between 6 and 10 bags of potato chips. He buys the big bags, opens them, eats from them once or twice then buys more opens them eats from them....repeat. There is generally 1/4 to 1/2 a bag left but he refuses to finish them and gets new bags when the others are still perfectly good. He eats chips and dip pretty much every night too. He also purchases tons of candy, Hostess snack cakes, pop tarts etc. Tons. Although he eats those right up they are things I'd rather not have in the house and tons of money are spent on them. I really don't know exactly how to fix this issue, however. Like I said, when he wants a Ho Ho, there is pretty much no stopping him from going and getting a Ho Ho!!

So there you have it. Pretty simple changes to make really. It should not be overwhelming at all! I really hope I see some big savings as I implement this system, too. Why not join me? Could you save more money at the store?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Simply Orange® blogging program. If I am one of the first 65 blogs received by SocialsMoms, I will receive a $25 Target gift card and a gift pack that includes a Simply Orange® cooler bag and logoed fleece."

About Simply Orange Juice
Since the launch of Simply Orange in 2001, we have been making orange juice simple, the way nature intended. Our not-from-concentrate orange juice never has water, sugar or preservatives added and is gently pasteurized to ensure that you always get a fresh-squeezed taste experience. Headquartered in Apopka, Florida, the Simply Orange Juice Company is also proud of the approach we take with our other great-tasting 100% juices and juice drinks. For more information, visit http://www.simplyorangejuice.com

Join Simply Orange Juice on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/simplyorangejuice

Wordless Wednesday--20 weeks

2011-01-12T20:03:00.000-05:00


20 weeks today with #6. All photos taken today.

A Very Embarrassing Moment

2011-01-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

Baby Fashion and Trends Chic Blog has a contest running and they asked the questions:

What is one of your most embarrassing moments with your children? Did they embarrass you? If so, how? Did you embarrass them? If so, how?

Right away a very embarrassing moment came to my mind! And I was not the one doing the embarrassing!

Back when my first child was small, I believe he was 3 years old, he began to notice more details about people.   We had already had some discussions regarding calling people things like fat or old or short etc. Now we live in a rural area and our family is in no way racially prejudice at all. So imagine my horror at what my child said that day.

We traveled off to do some shopping one day. I had the baby in the cart and my first child was hanging out besides the shopping cart as we browsed around Kmart. I was busy reading labels and comparing prices on something or another as I tried to decide what to purchase that day. Suddenly, that firstborn proclaims to me, "So mommy, I guess they are letting brown guys work here now". I turned in complete horror to find an African American man behind me stocking the shelf.   He didn't seem to have heard the comment at all. Perhaps he wasn't well versed in Toddler speech? Thoughts raced through my mind...do I say something to this man? Do I reprimand my child then and there? I knew from experience if I said nothing at all the words would most likely be repeated in case I didn't hear that first time.   I quickly told my son that I remembered something else we needed to get and that we should hurry off to get it before I forgot again. Once we rounded the corner I explained to the child that talking about the color of people's skin could make others think we were saying mean things about them and hurt their feelings.

I figured that just as my child was noticing other things about people (fatness, baldness, oldness, etc) he was also noticing the differences in skin color. We live in a rural area without neighbors and the small town near us really does not have an African American population at all. So this man would have struck him as different, I suppose. I know it was horribly embarrassing to me!

Have an embarrassing story? Share it here.
Win a $50 gift card to Amazon from My Baby Clothes.   For your own chance to win see the baby clothes blog for more information. This post was written for an entry.

Monday's Weekly Meal Plan

2011-01-10T17:47:00.001-05:00

Monday: Chicken Fried Chicken, Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli Cornbread, Grape Tomatoes

Tuesday: Diced Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast in a gravy sauce served over Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Greens

Wednesday: Pepper Steak, Brown Rice, Cauliflower

Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie

Friday: Honeyed Pork Chops, Brown rice, Garlic Green beans

Saturday: Tuna Casserole, Peas

Sunday: Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, Roasted Carrots

Review: Baby On Board Apparel

2011-01-08T16:27:00.002-05:00

I recently received a Amelia jacket from Baby On Board Apparel in black.

I absolutely LOVE this jacket. It is as comfy as a sweatshirt but so much prettier! The BOBA (Baby on Board Apparel) states that " The mandate for these collections is about creating clothing that works with every existing wardrobe and feel as great as a favorite t-shirt." I will say they get an A+ for that effort! Its a perfect top layer for the chilly weather we have been having. Our house is usually pretty cold. When I go other places that are kept warmer I have found I feel a bit overheated quickly in this pregnancy. I love that this jacket is perfect to wear with a short sleeve tee. Then when I feel a bit warm, I can remove the jacket easily. The neck has a stylish crossover design which you can snap up or leave more open. I have washed and worn this jacket at least 5 times since I received it and the colors have not faded a bit.

I would say the sizing is pretty well normal on this. I normally, when not pregnant , wear a medium and am just under 6 foot tall. During pregnancy I usually opt for a large top since I normally develop quite quite a large belly by the last of my 9 months. This jacket is a large and fits me fantastically. The open belly design would be perfect during that final couple months when nothing fits over my belly right.

The website states "The Amelia Coat is perfect for pregnancy and beyond" and I would totally agree. There would be no reason why you couldn't wear this great jacket after pregnancy as well. That would make this an even smarter purchase.

I also really appreciated BOBA's eco conscience statement on their clothing tags. It reads in part "At Baby on Board Appearl we work hard to reduce our carbon footprint and you can too. Wash in cold water and hang to dry...." Very nice.

This is me at 19 weeks pregnant wearing my jacket.

Here are some other things I love from Baby on Board Apparel:

Look at the cute rouching detail on this hoodie!

I love the way they took a v-neck and gave it this cute twist!

This is actually a nursing top too! The style would be so flattering for the first weeks after pregnancy.

Disclosure statement: I received the Ameilia Jacket without charge so I could wear it and give my honest opinions. I did this review as part of the Happy and Healthy Moms Review team at
http://www.happyandhealthymom.com

Ummmm...Love Pop Chips!

2010-12-29T22:26:00.002-05:00

I would consider myself a pretty healthy eater. Sometimes, however, I get a craving for a snack other than carrot sticks, plain nonfat yogurt, or an orange! Whenever I would indulge in some potato chips, however, I would always feel guilty. Well, I have recently discovered a great snack that takes that guilt away! Pop Chips are not fried. They are also not baked. They are popped!

Pop Chips come in a variety of delicious flavors.

Cheddar-- these might have been my favorite! Not overly flavored..just delicious.
Barbecue--a very good barbecue taste
Sour Cream and Onion--I am not really a fan of sour cream and onion flavors in regular chips so I was hesitant to try this one...however, I like it!
Parmesan and garlic---great for those "gourmet" potato chip flavor lovers
Salt and Vinegar--This is a flavor I occasionally like but have to really be in the mood for it. I did find Pop Chips to have the perfect amount of flavoring on them, however...not so much it burned my throat or brought tears to my eyes!
Salt and Pepper--a bit spicy. My youngest insisted on sharing with Mommy even though I warned her they were kind of spicy. She agreed. I liked the flavor but can only eat a few chips a a time on this one.
Original--great! These definitely can be addicting!

My three year old agrees...Pop Chips get a thumbs up!! (thats how he does the "thumbs up!"

I am definitely a Pop Chip fan now and will be buying Pop Chips for my family and myself in the future. After I tried my first bag I immediately went to their website to find out where I could buy them near me. I was excited to see them on sale in this week's Kroger sale ad, too!

Right now, for the month of December, they are offering facebook fans (old & new) an opportunity to save $1 off your next bag of popchips! All you have to do is be a Popchips fan (“like” us) on Facebook. It’s a 30 day rolling coupon, so you have 30 days to use it after you print it, anywhere Popchips are sold in the U.S.
Here is the Facebook link: http://popchi.ps/hnPjlH
Disclosure: I was provided with samples of Pop Chips to review as part of the Happy and Healthy Moms review team. I received no monetary compensation and the opinions expressed are my own.

aspirations and plans for new possibilities in life

2010-12-16T15:26:00.001-05:00

The new year is only a matter of weeks away...days really! As unreal as that may seem, its true. Another year. Another start. Most people use the start of a new year to think over their life and make changes. So when I think over this year to come what sort of plans am I making?

Well, first and foremost on my mind is the coming of a new baby midway through the year! As with most moms-to-be, that is what I think about most when I think of the future ahead. I do not know what this baby will be yet so finding that out is one of the first plans I will be making for the year ahead! once I find that out I can begin to organize and prepare further for the new arrival!

This fall, when school started, I began home school my children that are old enough to be in school. It was a huge adjustment in the beginning but now we are in a really good schedule and things go pretty smoothly. We are all really enjoying it for the most part. Thinking to the future in this regard, I will continue to work at being a good teacher to my children. I will find new ways to make sure they are getting the most of their education tailoring their learning to their needs and circumstances. Also, since we are expect a new little bundle, I am working to get their school year done at the beginning of May so we have a couple weeks between school ending and the birth of the new baby. That will keep everything as stress free as possible around here.

I was doing great in my exercise program last year. I was running three miles a day without exception. Then I hurt my knee real badly. In my time off to heal, I was able to get pregnant. I did not start back up into running feeling it would be too intense a workout at that time. While contemplating other workout routines, my morning sickness (ummm...all day sickness) hit early and with a vengeance. It would be pretty much impossible for me to do much physically more demanding than what caring for a household and 5 children already put on me. So as I start to feel better I want to add more physical activity into my day. As soon as I am able to after the birth of baby #6, I plan to jump back into my running program.

I really hope to motivate my husband to get on some tasks around the house so I can get things better organized in the areas that fall short on that. I hate disorganization and order. My husband tore out a bathroom to rebuild it and I was promised the project would be completed by the end of October the latest. Well its still basically a big hole. No floor, as in you can see down in the crawlspace, walls are just studs, etc. I am sharing a bathroom with the children and my husband took over the bathroom in our oldest son's room. It means a lot of things are out of place in the main bathroom to try to accommodate a couple extra people's things. I would love to restore that order. My husband has been saying each midweek that he will hang shelves in the playroom over the weekend so I can get all the children's things organized for the past....oh...I would say 3 years now! I want to get that room organized and ready.

Thinking to the months ahead I believe that my final aspiration would be in regards to my oldest child. He is a preteen now and I really struggle with his laziness and his uncooperative attitude when it comes to helping out around the house. I hope to find a way to motivate him and instill better work ethics in him. I want him to know the importance of a little work in everyone's life and the value of helping out with in the family environment. Hopefully I can find a way to do that in these early years!

So what are your hopes and goals? Aspirations and plans? Why not share them here....

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network blogging program, for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here

About OWN: The New Oprah Winfrey Network New shows. New faces. New possibilities.
OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN will debut on January 1, 2011, in approximately 80 million homes on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. During the OWN launch weekend, viewers will have the chance to see a little of everything OWN has to offer. OWN programming includes original series and specials, all focused on entertaining, informing and inspiring people to live their best lives.

More info: http://www.oprah.com/own
Twitter: http://twitter.com/OprahWinfreyNet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ownTV

use this link to win a snow stroller

2010-12-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

Use this link to enter http://sanki.ca/sanki/aupcron.php?uid=4CF502C86F456

If you live in a snowy area you will love this item. Have you ever tried to push a stroller through a snowy street? Its near impossible. A snow stroller solves that problem.

Comfortable for your little one and easy on you.

They even have a double model now:

The giveaway ends on January 1st.

Win a fetal doppler

2010-12-09T22:03:00.000-05:00

A highlight in every pregnancy is getting to hear your baby's heartbeat. It can be the one interesting and exciting thing during otherwise pretty boring routine doctor's visits. Many times, however, its only the mother to be that gets to share in that experience. Husbands are often working and unable to attend the appointments and children are not often taken to the doctor by the expecting mother. A great way to let the rest of the family share in the experience is to have a fetal doppler monitor at home. You can rent them month by month or even buy them.

One person will win their very own Baby Beat Medical Grade Fetal Doppler! You can go to Take Time To Smell The Roses to enter.

Anyone who has suffered a loss during a pregnancy will especially treasure this item. Once you have lost a child, pregnancy now becomes a scary and worrisome event. A fetal doppler can bring so much peace of mind to an otherwise nervous and worried mother.

ten tips for making this the ultimate holiday season

2010-12-09T18:30:00.001-05:00

What makes this time of the year special to me and my family? How do we make sure it has real meaning? Here are 10 tips I have that I have.

Gifts:

1. If you exchange gifts as part of your holiday traditions, make them fun and meaningful. Sometimes children get so many gifts during the holiday time that they sort of get overwhelmed and soon it all just becomes "stuff" that gets forgotten about or seldom played with. Instead of showering children with a sea of presents, how about focusing on really special gift that will "wow" them? Hasbro's Ultimate Gifts has some really great suggestions:

FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP
(Ages 5 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $199.99/Available: Now)
FURREAL FRIENDS BUTTERSCOTCH MY FURREAL PONY
(Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $299.99/Available: Now)
MONOPOLY ONYX EDITION
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $49.99/Available: Now)
SCRABBLE PREMIER Wood Edition
(Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $119.99/Available: Now)
STAR WARS MILLENNIUM FALCON
(Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $179.99/Available: Now)
TRANSFORMERS ULTIMATE BUMBLEBEE
(Ages 5 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $89.99/Available: Now)

When I read this list right away I knew one little boy here that would love the Millennium Falcon! I also know one baby girl who would love the Butterscotch Pony!

2. Encourage your children to be generous. Get them involved in the giving process. Have them help select gifts for their teachers. They can wrap presents for members of your family. Do you give something to the paper boy, mailman, or UPS driver? Have the children run out to present it to them. They will enjoy being involved and it will foster a generous spirit as they grow.

3. While gifts are nice, remember its not the main reason we even have a holiday season after all. Try not to over focus on the getting and even giving of gifts. Make sure your children are well aware of this. This includes setting aside extra time for special Church services and activities.

Volunteer:

4. Make time for your whole family to volunteer together. Not sure where your services might be needed? Here are a few suggestions...Animal shelters often become very full as temperatures drop and people take pity on animals they see wandering in the cold and snow. Extra cage cleaners may be needed. Nursing homes often have residents that just don't have any family left or family in the area. They sure would appreciate a card and maybe a picture colored by your child. Just a few minutes spent with a patient even when you don't know they lets them know people still care. Food banks get the bulk of their donations at this time of the year. They may need people to sort and package items so they can be distributed. Soup kitchens or other free meal services are usually in need of extra hands to prepare and serve food and clean up afterwards.

Make Time to Spend Together:

5. My husband generally works everyday of the year. Holidays included. On the days he doesn't work or only works late in the evening, he generally is gone with friends or something. I try to make sure that, even if its just one day, he spend an entire day with his family. Maybe make a fire in the morning and spend the day talking, playing games, having specials snacks etc. Usually a great family movie ends the evening. And even though my husband usually gets caught sneaking time with his cell phone texting away or disappears for a while and is found in front of his computer, for the most part its family time!

Bake:

6. Bake lots and lots of homemade treats. I remember when I was little my mother would bake so many varieties of cookies and treats and then store them in tins and containers in the bottom of our china cabinet. It was always such a treat to decide what type of cookie or baked good you would eat that evening! So bake bake bake! Get a set of recipes that you use yearly. Your family will look forward to these seasonal treats. You will also always be set for company--both the planned and the unexpected.

Host Gatherings For Friends:

7. A lot of emphasis is usually made at this time of year about spending time with family. But don't forget to spend time with that group of friends you love being with. Have a friends party night. The easiest way to do this is have everyone bring something to contribute to a nice meal. I did this recently and made a huge turkey and 2 spiral sliced hams. I also made mashed potatoes and 2 cranberry dishes and herbed corn. That was so much easier than the huge spreads I usually end up doing. Friends brought sweet potato casserole, stuffing, green beans garden salad, rolls, a few desserts and drinks. We ended up with an abundance of food and I didn't have to spend days doing it. We set it up buffet style and everyone sat where ever around the house...some at the dining room table, some with TV trays in the living or family room, and some of the children even ate in my son's room. We even used disposable plates and cups! This actually allowed me to enjoy my company for a change!

8. Let your children host a party with their friends. Just like you enjoy spending time with your friends, children do too. Having a little party of friends over really lets children feel special and it can become a fun tradition all children involved will remember fondly when they are grown. Smaller children might like a few simple crafts to keep them and their friends busy. This will also keep things much calmer and more manageable than had you just let them come up with their own plan. Children of all ages love a make your own pizza and sundaes them. Preteen girls seem to like decorating sugar cookies a lot.

Consider How You Dress:

9. I know some people are all about comfort and feel they can enjoy things more when they are comfortable. To me, however, special times like this deserve special clothing. Spending the holidays in a pretty dress, hair done and make up on makes things feel elegant and memorable. Even my children are dress up in pretty dresses or suits. To me special days should have special clothes!

Savor and Enjoy It!:

10. Finally, don't get so caught up in everything that has to happen, needs to happen, has happened that you don't just sit back, relax and enjoy yourself. Spend time everyday thinking over the blessings in your life. Be thankful for all you have. Watch your children and remember what it was like to be a child. All of this will keep the smile on your face and the joy in your heart!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Hasbro Ultimate Gifts blogging sweepstakes, making me eligible to get a $50 Gift card to use at www.HasbroToyShop.com! For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Win a Snow Stroller here!

2010-12-09T17:01:00.000-05:00

Use this link to enter http://sanki.ca/sanki/aupcron.php?uid=4CF502C86F456

The giveaway ends on January 1st.

THE BUMP IT UP HOLIDAY SURVIVAL KIT FOR MOMS TO BE

2010-12-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

Are you a pregnant mom to be? Maybe you have a special friend or relative who is pregnant right now. You should check out the

THE BUMP IT UP HOLIDAY SURVIVAL KIT FOR MOMS TO BE, VALUED AT $306.

Someone will win a great prize package that includes:

Signed Copy of Bump It Up, $18

PISH POSH Diaper Bag Organizer $40

Mama Mio OMega Body Oil, $35
Tide To Go Mini, $6.99

Belli Stretchmark Minimizing Cream, $49

Olay Regenerist Cream Cleanser, $6.85

Tasty Baby Organic Fruit Gummies, $2.99(Great for cravings! No fat, artificial colors or corn syrup!)

Invisibump by Invisibelt, $20

AHAVA Purifying Mud Soap, $8.50

Assets Marvelous Mama Maternity Tights, $18 (with zero compression)
HOT MILK Lingerie Sexy Boy Shorts and Top, $62.50 (can be used for nursing too!)

LAVANILA healthy kiss gift set, $35

Just enter at Amy Tara Koch Style Expert facebook page.

Contest ends December 16

Win a Snow Stroller!

2010-12-09T00:00:00.001-05:00

Use this link to enter http://sanki.ca/sanki/aupcron.php?uid=4CF502C86F456

The giveaway ends on January 1st.

Want a chance at some amazing prizes?

2010-12-02T20:45:00.001-05:00

Baby Gizmo has a 12 days of Christmas giveaway going on right now. Talk about amazing prizes!!! This contest has it!

Here's a little peak at some of their line up:

I have no doubt you will want to enter so you can have a chance to win. Just go to Baby Gizmo to see how you can enter.

five helpful tips for holiday tech shopping

2010-11-30T18:31:00.001-05:00

Undoubtedly, if you have a list of people to shop for this holiday season, you will have some tech items on your "to buy" list. Many people feel overwhelmed when it comes to buying technology related items. Are you one? Here are some tips I have to help you make your purchases:

1. If you don't really know much, if anything at all, about the item you are setting out to find, take along someone that does. Its a terrible feeling to be standing in a store and have no idea which item is what you want, which item is better, or which item is the best deal. If you have a tech savvy person with you, it will help take the guess work out of your purchase. Don't rely solely on sales people. Sometimes they have no more idea than you about items in the store, although they will seldom admit it! They may also try to sway your purchase to something that doesn't exactly fit your needs just to make a sale, or lead you to a more expensive item just to boost their commissions. So take a buddy!

2. Ask the intended recipient a lot of questions (or if its to be a total surprize, ask someone who knows just what the recipient would want). For example, you might know someone wants a computer...well do they want a desktop model? Are they hoping for a laptop? Maybe they are wanting one of the very small notebook types? Do they have a certain brand in mind? What will they be using the gift for exactly? Do they have color preferences? Clearing up questions like this will prove to me most helpful when you arrive at the store. Arriving at a store these days just to say "I want an Ipod" will no longer cut it! Wayyyyy too many choices out there!

3. Comparison shop for your item. Watch sales ads and commercials. Check the internet. There can be huge price differences on identical tech items out there. Ask stores if they are willing to price match as well. Many will do that these days. It might make it easier on you to be able to buy your tech item at a store where you will be purchasing other items as well.

4. Find out the return policy before you buy. What if, despite all your advance preparations you find out what you bought wasn't quite what the recipient had their heart set on? Will the store you bought it for accept a return? Will they return it for cash? Will you have to take a store credit? Does the package have to be unopened? How many days do you have to make the return (very important when buying a gift ahead of time!) Will they need a receipt? Do they offer gift receipts? Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.

5. Find out if there is anything else needed to use the item or if everything is included. Did you ever open a toy as a child and find it was just what you were hoping for....only to find out it didn't come with batteries and there were none of the size you needed in the house and no stores open? Do you remember that disappointment? I sure do! So find out if there are chargers, power cords, memory cards, lenses, software, hardware....whatever else you could possibly need to make the item ready to go once recieved. You don't want to make your recipient have to wait for stores to open to be able to use their much appreciated and loved item!!

Yes, sometimes tech shopping can feel overwhelming, but with just a few simple steps you can take a lot of the "scary" out of it! So now, go on out and get those tech items crossed off your shopping list!!

About Staples:
Staples, the world's largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products and services. Our broad selection of office supplies, electronics, technology and office furniture as well as business services, including computer repair and copying and printing, helps our customers run their offices efficiently. With 2009 sales of $24 billion and 91,000 associates worldwide, Staples operates in 26 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia serving businesses of all sizes and consumers. Staples invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and today ranks second worldwide in e-commerce sales. The company is headquartered outside Boston.

More info: www.staples.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/staplestweets
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/staples
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Staples blogging program, making me eligible for a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Rayovac contest!

2010-11-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

Rayovac wants to power your holidays with fun new contest. To enter, just visit the Mom Rocks the Holidays with Rayovac contest tab on Facebook, like them and tell them how you or your mom makes the holidays rock for a chance to win the Grand Prize of $1,000 cash! There will be 3 Grand Prize winners and 20 Runner Up winners will take home a Paper Jamz guitar, amp, drum kit, guitar strap, and two Rayovac Alkaline AAA 24 packs of batteries.
Also, be sure to visit Mommy Goggles ‘Moms Rock the Holidays with Rayovac & Paper Jamz Giveaway!‘ where you can win 1 of 5 Mom Rocks the Holiday prize packs that include a $50 Visa Gift Card, Paper Jamz guitar and Rayovac Alkaline AAA 24 pack of batteries.
Disclosure – Followers who promote the Rayovac Mom Rocks the Holidays Sweepstakes may receive gifts from Rayovac.

My favorite road trip

2010-11-23T23:23:00.000-05:00

We don't go on road trips very often. With 5 children finding time and money can be difficult. Also, there is a bit of fear in me when it comes to road trips. 5 children leaves a lot of rooms for crying breakdowns, arguing and fighting from somewhere in the backseat, car sick boughts, potty accidents, etc. A couple years ago, however, we had a really great car trip.

Our final destination was to be the Smokey Mountains. We'd stay in a cabin for the week. The best day, however, was on the trip down. We did divide the drive into 2 days. The first day was fantastic. We got up very early in the morning and put everyone into the vehicle, still in pajamas so they could finish their sleep with as little interruption as possible. It worked great and everyone slept for a good amount of time. As kids awoke, I would pass out breakfast items to them. After everyone awoke it was only about an hour until our first scheduled driving break. Everyone got to get out, get dressed, use the bathroom and spend a little time running around in the grass. We then loaded back into the car for a couple more hours drive. After a couple hours the children were getting restless again so another break was in order. Again, 15 minutes of running in the grass at a rest stop does wonders for their moods! We informed everyone that our next stop would be at about 11:00 a.m. when we would arrive at the Louisville Zoo! We arrived right on time. I had packed lunches for us so we got to get out and get right to our zoo visit. We browsed the zoo and ate our lunch. Everyone had a fantastic time. We love visiting zoos, especially ones we have never been to before. It was a hot hot day and the zoo had a little splash park so the kids got to change into swimsuits and have some great water fun. They loved it...I loved wading in the water and cooling off! We stayed at the zoo until closing time and headed twords our hotel for the evening. I love drives where you are off the main highway getting to take in all the local sites. That's exactly what this drive provided. We saw rolling country side and lovely horse farms. A few children fell asleep, worn out from the excitement of the day. That worked out perfectly as well. A quick check in to our hotel and we went off to eat dinner. After a nice dinner we returned to the hotel for a night of swimming fun, always a hit with the children. That night eveyone slept great. We were all recharged and ready to start the second 1/2 of our journey to the final destination. That drive was great too. You can't beat beautiful mountain views! In all, our trip was great. There were no horrible crying spells, which to me is about the worst thing that can happen on a road trip!

So what are some of my tips to having a great road trip with children?

Pack snacks. Find an easily accessible area in your vehicle to keep a variety of snacks. You don't want to have to pull over and dig through a trunk to find something when the kids are complaining they are hungry. A wide variety ensures everyone will find something they like with no complaining. We don't normally buy the little single serving packages of things as they can cost quite a bit, but for trips the extra cost is worth it. The kids get excited about these little packages and its a great way to have a big variety with you.

Watch thirst inducing snacks. If you have small children, especially, you don't want them drinking too much while traveling in the car. That will mean many more bathroom trips than planned, or much worse, an accident. So watch your salty choices. I will allow a drink to be passed out when we are one hour from stopping at a rest stop, no sooner. That way about the time the bathroom need arises we are scheduled to stop anyways.

Bathroom trips are mandatory. Even if someone insists they don't have to go. They have to try. And, yes, most of the time they really did have to go. Nothing is quite like getting back on the road for about 10 minutes only to have the child who didn't have to go insist they can no longer hold it.

Rearrange seating arrangements. I like to have an older kid sit with a younger one when on long trips so that the older one can assist the younger easily along the way. They can open snacks, retrieve dropped toys, do entertaining things etc to keep the little ones happy.

Make sure the kids have comfort items with them. A favorite stuffed animal can keep things much more calm. Taking too many items, however, ends up in a massive mess all over the vehicle. So just we usually limit each child to one thing. I also put a little blanket at each seat. My husband tends to be hot all the time and keeps the air conditioning cranked up pretty high. The rest of us freeze. A blanket can avoid a whole lot of complaining from others.

If you have a dvd system in your vehicle, take advantage of Redbox movies. You can rent a movie for only $1 and return it at any box site. As you travel you can return and take out new movies every day. Just check ahead to make sure there are locations along your journey to avoid late charges.

Plan to travel during sleepy times. Whether that be late at night, early in the morning or during normal nap hours. This will help the time in the car go much faster for those little ones. They will sleep for a good portion of it.

Those are just tips I have learned along the way. They have definitely helped us have a much more peaceful trip!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Discount Tire blogging program, making me eligible to receive a $50 gift card and be entered for a chance to win a prize valued at $1,000. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Toy Gift Guide

2010-11-22T20:14:00.000-05:00

Looking for a great toy gift guide? The Best Toys for the Holidays 2010 guide is available. You will find great gift suggestions.

10 tips for weaving the hottest runway trends into your day-to-day looks

2010-11-18T22:24:00.002-05:00

Are you a busy mom whose wardrobe could use a little help? Do you wish you looked just a little more fashionable? Do you see other women looking fantastic and can't help but feel a little bit jealous? How can you work the hot off the runway look into your daily look? Here are a few tips:

First, you will need to know what the latest and greatest styles are. So watch for new fashions on TV. Google this season's runway trends. Flip through those high fashion magazines while in the checkout line. You won't be in fashion if you don't' even know what fashion is!

Next, remember that whats actually on the runway is often an exaggerated version of what will be making it into stores most of us shop in. Shirts so short they make us blush on the runway will really be classic miniskirt length for you and I. Thin see through dresses will show up in stores sheer yet wearable fabrics. Suits meant to be worn to work that grace the runway in all gold shiny fabric will be seen in stores as suits with shiny accents. So, realize that you will need to alter that runway style slightly to make it work for your day to day life.

Now, think of this saying
Everything old is new again.
Yes, fashion goes around and comes around. Most fashion trends were hot trends not so long ago. Its good news for anyone trying to be fashionable on a budget, however. You may be able to score some great in style looks at places like garage sales, thrift stores and second hand shops.

Don't buy too much when it comes to very trendy items. Fashions do come and go. Spending lots of money on the most fashionable wardrobe out there might leave you feeling very unfashionable next season what trends change dramatically. A few fun hip exciting new pieces each season will keep your wardrobe fresh and fun without breaking the bank.

Watch care labels on clothing too. This is especially true if you are a busy mom of tots. Too many special care items in your closet and you may find you don't have a thing to wear because everything is dirty and waiting for a trip to the dry cleaners. I know with lots of little ones myself, non emergency type errands like the trip to the dry cleaner's get put off for many weeks. Also, dry cleaning gets very expensive. Yes, wash and wear works good in this household. Remember, there is no point in having great fashionable clothing if you can't ever wear it! Modern washers and dryers have so many features that you can achieve fantastic looking clothing using them. There are special settings to handle even very delicate hand washables. If you are needing a new washer and dryer Kenmore has a fantastic line up to consider.

Know what to spend more on. Very trendy items probably won't serve you for many many seasons to come. Buy lower quality in these items is fine. However, stylish timeless items like a little black dress will serve you for years to come. Therefore, you should be willing to spend more on good high quality even designer items.

Keep comfort in mind. Those 5" spike heels may be hot. They may look fantastic. But will you really be able to wear them comfortalbly? If not, they will probably spend more time in the closet than on your feet. They may be wore once and never again. Now a toned down version with a couple inch lower and thicker heel just might become your most reached for shoes. So, keep in mind that day to day looks need to be something you can actually wear....day to day.

Accessorize Accessorize Accessorize! Update your old wardrobe quickly and inexpensively with the current hottest look in accessories. You will be able to take those classic base piece you own and give them a whole brand new look. If big bold jewelry is in, add it. If sweet simple scarfs are the rage, tie one on. Everyone on the runway sporting hats? Grab one yourself. You will always look up to date and you won't have to pay a lot ot do it.

Pay attention to your hair and makeup. Watch trends in makeup. Is the smokey eye look in? Is a bare and nautral look what everyone is trying to get? Is hairstyles going tword long or short? Are Blonds still having all the fun? Is curly, wavy or super straight hot on the runway? Beside your clothing your hair and makeup can really make you look updated.

Its in the jeans! Its true jeans are always in. For most of us moms, jeans are our everyday look. So why does your denim seem so outdated? Watch to see what cut is the rage. Is baggy in? Is everyone in flares? Is skinny hot? What about color? Is black the rage or is it so yesterday? Is old and faded new? Maybe the darker the better? So although denim is were to stay, we still have to keep it fresh and new.

Whatever look fits you, make sure it FITS you. Ill fitting garments will turn any fashion do into an immediate don't! You will no longer look trendy if you are busting at the seams. You may look like a little girl borrowing her mother's clothes if things are too big. Take your time to get a good fit.

So even while toting toddlers we can look great and modern everyday.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Kenmore blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Enter the Kenmore Runway to Washer Sweepstakes
Grand prize includes a Kenmore washer and dryer, a year’s supply of Tide®, and a trip for two to NYC with seats at Thakoon’s show where you’ll meet the designer, and receive items from his collection.

More About Kenmore Washers and Dryers
Introducing the Kenmore Elite Top-Load High Efficiency Washer. With Smart Motion™ Technology, it custom-blends six different wash motions to ensure the right cleaning and care for your clothes. Even designer styles from Thakoon’s collections have been washed in this machine.

Comfort in a time of need

2010-11-18T21:12:00.002-05:00

Do you have a special memory of a time when someone did something that brought a soft touch to you? Have you seen those Kleenex commercials where people are reminiscing of some moment in their lives and they are brought to tears and handed a Kleenex? Whenever I see those commercials, one moment comes to my mind from my own life.

A few years ago I found out some wonderful news. I was expecting my fourth child! I was immediately thrilled and began to envision my life with this new little life growing inside me. Weeks passed. Months passed. My pregnancy was progressing normally. I'd been to the Dr. a few times and heard the pattering of my baby's heartbeat. I was now awaiting the time for my 20 week ultrasound, which is always a special highlight in a pregnant woman's life.

I went off for my ultrasound at the scheduled time. It had to be done at the hospital as they didn't the equipment at my Dr.'s office. I laid there alone, the hospital didn't permit others in the ultrasound room with you, as the tech and her assistant began running the doppler over my belly. I tried chatting with them but they were not really receptive to my chatter so I ended up just quieting down. After a few minutes I began to get an uneasy feeling about the whole thing. Watching the two glance back and forth to each other and tap away at their buttons was unnerving. The silence eerie. I was not allow to see the screen at all so I glanced uncomfortably around the room. The ladies left the room and came back in. Then they left the room and came back in again. I was told to redress. By now I was sure something odd was going on. I asked what was wrong and was told my Dr. would arrive shortly to talk to me. I begged and pleaded to be told what was going on. The tech just got annoyed with me. Crying, begging I persisted. She quickly left the room and I remained in there in the cold darkness, alone. Time passed and indeed my Dr did show up. As soon as she walked in I knew for sure things were very very bad. She comforted me and told me my baby no longer had a heartbeat and had died. She discussed what would have to happen in coming days.

I left the hospital devastated. I would have to check into labor and delivery soon the be induced and deliver my lifeless child. Many things passed through my mind. I thought of a work I had done many times in the past. I had often made tiny tiny clothing, blankets and wrappers for other families in situations similar to mine now. I thought of my own baby being laid to rest and knew the child needed to be wrapped in something special. I was in no state to make something at that point and had nothing on hand. I turned to online sewing friends I had and was assured my child would be laid to rest in something special. A day later a special package came next day air. Inside was a sweet and tiny beautifully sewn and hand embroidered wrap for my tiny child.

When I checked into the hospital on that dreadful day and was secured in my room I gave my nurse the little garment and told her my baby was to be send to rest in it. Both the nurse and my Dr. were brought to tears by the sweetness of that precious piece.

The kindness and love that went into providing me that special garment will always be remembered. There isn't much you can do for your child that you will not even being giving life to. To be able to lay them rest in something beautiful brings a bit of peace to a grieving mother. Yes, that garment was one of the greatest bit of comfort ever to me.

It certainly was a time in my life filled with grieve and sorrow. A time when you are glad to have to comfort and softness of Kleenex. You can share a little of that softness and comfort by sending someone a pack of Kleenex. Just use this link here
Softness Worth Sharing web site: http://kleenex.com/softnessworthsharing

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Kleenex blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

14 ways to have a fresh and festive holiday

2010-11-18T20:39:00.001-05:00

No doubt when you think of the holidays you get that "warm and fuzzy" feeling. You probably have lots of memories of years gone by and those memories bring back the comfort and festiveness those time brought. How can you ensure that this year and all future years will leave you and your loved ones with more wonderful memories? Here are some ways to make sure you have a fresh and festive holiday.

* Have a fireplace? Fire it up. Nothing brings to mind coziness quite like the crackling of a warm fire during this chilly time. Even the smell of the smoke coming from your chimney will be inviting for your guests as they arrive. Day or night, your occasion will be more festive with a fire.

*Bake a little. I highly recommend doing most of your baking ahead of time to avoid the unpleasantness of having too hurried a schedule and a last minute mess, however, a great trick is to keep a bit of cookie dough in the fridge or freeze some so that you can bake a batch of cookies right before guests are to arrive. Ummm....the scent of something yummy baking, that will leave them with memories!

*Get rid of static and get a fresh scent too. One problem many homes have in the winter is static due to the dry air. Having your hair and clothing cling to the couch as you get up is definitely unpleasant. Even worse than staticy hair is getting those static shocks when you sit down! I have found that I can loose the static in our upholstered furniture by taking dyer sheets and rubbing it across the upholstery. This eliminates the static but also leaves behind a great fresh, inviting scent that't not overpowering at all. Snuggle Dryer sheets come in a wide range of scents, there is sure to be one you love!

*If you are having overnight guests, wash their bedding right before they arrive. Freshly cleaned bedsheets feel wonderful and smell fantastic when you add a bit of Snuggle to your wash. Your guest will appreciate slipping into a bed that just radiates "fresh".

*Ask for help! Accept any offers for help as they come. When your guests ask "What can I bring?", don't quickly dismiss it with a "Oh, nothing"! Go ahead and accept the offer. If you are planning a party or get together, don't be afraid to put a statement such as "Please bring a covered dish" or "Please bring a plate of cookies". Sharing the work load will make things much more enjoyable for you. Your relaxed attitude and demeanor as a result will make things all around more festive!

*If baking to get that yummy smell in your house is impossible, make sure you light scented candles instead. I think food scents are the best and they really do smell like someone was baking. You will still get that festive feel without having to turn on the oven.

*Dim your lights. Things will feel much more cozy and festive with your lighting on low. People will feel more relaxed without bright lights. Things will feel much more intimate and relaxed. If you have that fire going, it will look even more lovely, too!

*Stock up on hot drinks. Even if you are not a tea drinker or can't stand coffee, you will want some available for your guests. Hot drinks on cold evenings will make everything feel festive. Warm drinks bring instant comfort! Have regular and Decaf coffee (make a pot of one type, put it in a thermal carafe, then brew the other variety), a couple kinds of tea (decaf too!), and don't forget the hot chocolate! You can also warm up cider if you like. Flavored creamers are a great way to allow guest to customize their drinks.

*If you happen to have snow, make sure you and your family go out and have fun in it! Build snowmen, go sledding, have a snowball fight! Just go out and have fun! Its a great way to get exercise and take a break from an otherwise hectic schedule. Chances are your children will remember it forever, too!

*Take a night to see the lights! After darkness sets in, gather the family into the car and go looking at the holiday lights. Some areas have special displays at parks or fairgrounds that you can drive through, take advantage of them! Ask people you know if there are any local houses that go "all out" in their displays. Or just drive neighborhood to neighborhood. Make it even more festive by dressing everyone in their pajamas. Pop up some popcorn to take with you. Play festive music in the vehicle. Keep it fun!

*Share generously. This is a great time of the year to bump up your charity work. Volunteer your time. Donate food. Donate money. Donate outgrown or no longer needed clothes. Visit a nursing home and spread cheer. There are lots of possibilities. One thing is for sure though, you will be spreading cheer and receiving it as well!

*Have the camera ready! Make sure you take lots of pictures. Some day your children will be looking back at them and recalling wonderful times past. Don't forget to snap pictures of everyday, normal activities too! Most likely you will have pictures of opening gifts and parties. But have you taken photos of Grandma peeking in the oven at the turkey? Grandpa starting the fire? Baby cousins that had fallen asleep on either side of an Uncle? These are sure to be treasured memories one day.

*Reminisce. Whether by your self or with family make sure to take some time to think of days gone by. Its a great time to pull out old photos. I started taking photos as a young child. I think I was about 8. I have those photos today. Some of my favorites are of family holiday gatherings. I can look back at relatives that have long passed. I can see how young Aunts and Uncles were. I can look at all us kids and remember the fun and magic those times held. Now that's festive!

*Take some time for you. No doubt you will be busy during the coming months. You will be doing a lot of giving. Take some time to recharge and relax. Perhaps you can take a small splurge and go get a message or pedicure. Maybe you could go get a special holiday outfit. Perhaps a fresh new hairdo would make you feel much better. Maybe the only thing your budget allows for is a simple bubble bath at home. Whatever you can do to make sure you keep the joy alive in you.

Remember, keep things fun and festive. Relax and enjoy this special time with friends and family.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Snuggle blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

10 tips for stylish layering techniques for all occasions

2010-11-16T21:08:00.001-05:00

I often dress in layers. I H_A_T_E hate being cold. I find layering my clothing to be a great way to stay warm. I even have to layer in the summer a lot. We don't have air conditioning in our home so I am dressed for the heat. When I go somewhere I find not being used to the cold air makes it feel even colder. I often wear sweaters in the summer!

So what are some layering tips from a self proclaimed layering expert such as myself? Here are 10 that I can share:

1. One time I layer is when shopping. I find that sometimes stores are just so overheated. This is especially true near the entrances it seems. Near the entrances where the cash registers are. So there you are in a long line, actively bouncing a crabby baby, and it feels like it is 100 degrees. I love to be able to pull off that warm fuzzy fleece sweater and wear my light weight tee. I also like to leave my coat in the car when going into stores so I don't have to worry about lugging it around when its too warm to wear it inside. I really appreciate that fleece sweatshirt walking into the store. But once it gets warm inside, I really appreciate a much cooler shirt.

2. Consider making your wardrobe based on a single basic color. I like to wear black. I think it looks good on me and I love the versatility of it. I purchase most of my skirts, pants etc in basic black. I try to choose black for my sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets etc too. I can then layer a turtleneck or tank in a fun color. Using a base color like black means that I can pretty much mix and match everything i own to create a bunch of great mix match and layered looks making my clothing selection seem much bigger than it is.

3. Are you a Breastfeeding mom? I have been breastfeeding for many years of my life now. Layering is a great way to build your confidence for breastfeeding in public. I was always pretty good at being able to get a baby latched on without flashing boobage to anyone, however what always made me feel pretty self conscience was wondering if anyone could see my no longer perfectly flat tummy exposed from having my shirt lifted. What about that back fat? Is it sticking out anywhere? My children were never still nursers and would like to rub their hands all around often lifting my shirt in the process. A great layering solution is to wear a tank under your shirt. They do make special nursing tanks that work wonderfully. They can be a bit costly, however, and you can still layer with tanks on a much lower budget! Just buy a tank that is a little big for you. One with some spandex type stretch is great. You can pull the neckline under your breast before unlatching your bra. This will eliminate all those tummy exposure worries!

4. Layering can make that low cut blouse or dress wearable! Have you ever seen a really cute dress in the store only to try it on and find it too immodest for your taste? Or maybe you bought a top and when you tried it on it seemed great but once you actually wore it you found that it slipped down in front or having to bend over and lift your children ect. left you exposed? Layering a nice fitting tank is the perfect solution. You can pick a color that blends well with the garment or you can pick a contrasting color for an extra fun pop! This is great to eliminate too much cleavage or droopy armhole issues. Modesty restored!

5. Do you live in a cold winter climate? We do. Layering is really important for your comfort when participating in winter sports or taking care of winter chores like shoveling snow. It will be cold so you want to be warm, but as you get active you will begin to sweat. Wet, sweaty clothing will then make you freezing cold. Its important to make your first layer something that can wick moister away. Layering garments can be made of different fabrics. Looking over Cuddl Duds website I found that they make layering garments in Bamboo. I love the feel of bamboo clothing. What a great layering option!

6. While there are times when you want your layers to show, there are times when you won't. Sometimes you are layering only as a way to control moisture (you don't want to sweat on your clothes!) or make a garment that may be scratchy or uncomfortable on its own more wearable. In that case you are going to want to make sure you match your necklines well! If you have a V neck top layer, choose a under layer with a similar neckline so that you don't have to keep trying to adjust your under layers to prevent it from showing. Constant clothing adjustments is a pain and will look rather awkward.

7. Get cold feet? I do. So I layer my feet too. Buying a great pair of dressy boots is a great way to be able to wear socks all the time. I wear my dress boots with a pair of socks inside to Church or any other dress occasion, all winter long. It so much more comfortable than shoes that would leave me with cold feet!

8. Wear layering pants under your skirts. A pair of tight fitting pants made for layering is a perfect way to add warmth under your skirt. A skirt that goes to at least your knee and a pair of boots means that no one will be able to even see your secret under layer. Coordinate your pants to match with your skirt and any time your pants do show everyone will think they are your tights. Cold drafts up your skirt are definitely no fun. What a great solution.

9. Pregnancy...the perfect time to layer. I always get quite the belly when pregnant. Its not long and I find that I have outgrown my maternity clothing. Over the belly pants are too tight and my shirts no longer are long enough to make all around the very large protruding belly I have and often leave my belly showing if not all the time, at least when I move around. They now have great layering options for pregnant women. A tube like band (think tube top looking) that you wear under your shirts will provide you complete coverage. No more belly flashing. These bands also work great in early pregnancy when you just can't quite button your regular pants anymore. You can leave them unbuttoned and cover with this band. It will also help hold up maternity pants in those beginning weeks of wearing them when your regular pants are too small yet maternity things are a bit big. After you have your baby you can wear those pre pregnancy jeans earlier leaving them unbuttoned again and wearing your band over them. No one will realize your secret but they will be amazed you are in your old clothes already! This is a highly recommended must have maternity item in my eyes!

10. If I had to pick the one most important must have layering piece it would be a turtleneck. i love turtlenecks. The only reason I would even consider liking cold weather, it would be because I get to wear turtlenecks. I love the comfort. I like the secure feeling of having my neck covered. Another great thing about the turtleneck is they are inexpensive to buy. You can have a nice selection of colors and prints. So when you plan to layer, never overlook your turtlenecks!

Cuddl Duds designs and manufactures high quality intimate apparel. As the leading warm underwear maker in America, Cuddl Duds has become synonymous with comfort and “feeling good.” Cuddl Duds is a wholly owned subsidiary of Komar.

Komar, the 102-year-old privately held apparel, consumer products and distribution services company, designs, markets and manufactures women's and children’s sleepwear, loungewear and lingerie. Komar is a progressive company with a global sourcing network that includes factories in fourteen countries andstate-of-the-art distribution facilities. Founded by Charles Komar in 1908, who stated “you only have one reputation,” the third-generation Komars adhere to this guiding principle while running the company today

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Cuddl Duds blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

10 Shopping and Gifting tips

2010-11-16T19:48:00.001-05:00

If your name is "Mom", chances are you are responsible for pretty much all the gift shopping in your family. Although many of us do love shopping, throw in a deadline, crowded stores, long lines and a few hard to buy for people and suddenly much of that shopping joy is gone. So how can you shop smarter? Here are some tips I have.

1. Don't start too late, but also don't start too early. Yes, if you dread long lines, impatient people, and hate last minute pressure you don't want to wait till the last day to do your shopping. So starting early is important. However, starting too early can be bad too. Why? Well lets say you find the perfect gift for your husband in July. That gives your husband a lot of time to decide he doesn't want that particular item after all. Or, if your husband is like mine, he will probably go buy it for himself! That will leave you with returns to make. Many stores these days are getting pretty strict with their return policies too. Some things need returned within 30 days. You may find that you can't return the item if a couple of months have gone buy. Children are especially risky to buy for too early. They change their minds frequently. What is the "I must have it toy" one month will be something they don't care about the next. Be especially careful when buying for children ahead of time.

2. Avoid peak shopping days. This may require that you take off work one weekday. Weekends and Friday nights are know busy times. Not only will this make navigating busy aisles more difficult (especially more difficult if you are pushing a stroller), but you will end up taking more time while you wait in lines etc. Weekday shopping will prove to be a much happier experience!

3. Consider hiring a sitter. No doubt about it, kids slow you down. You will have to walk at kid pace. Navigating a stroller can be tricky. You have to constantly consider where you are parking your stroller so that little hands don't grab things or knock things over. We won't even go into the bathroom visits required. There is back tracking through stores looking for the lost mitten or stuffed animal. Stopping to soothe the overtired baby. Going from store to store in the car requires buckling carseats then unbuckling carseats, grabbing hands, etc. Its so much quicker to be able to zip around all by yourself! So, find a babysitter or tell Dad he is on duty for the day!

4. Don't go shopping without a list. Before you leave your house have a plan. List everyone you need to shop for. List possible gift ideas. Leave space and take a pen with you shopping. You can make notes about where you see things and prices. Keep this list in your purse or car so that when you run your errands etc you can be on the look out for deals and ideas.

5. Use your sale ads. Purchase a newspaper every Sunday. Use the sale ads to shop and compare for things you are looking to buy. You will find this is a great way to make sure you are getting the best deal. It will also save you from have to browse around through many stores. Your time spent in stores will be reduce when you know exactly what you are going in for. I love my Sunday ads!

6. Stumped on what to get someone? Gift Certificates are your friend! Yes, gone are the days when a gift card felt impersonal! Teens especially are good candidates for gift cards. Its hard to know exactly what a teen might like. They usually have pretty specific tastes. Teens also tend to love their Mall trips! A gift card will most definitely be welcome. I do have mixed feelings on getting gift cards for younger children. Sometimes young children are disappointed to not have a gift right away and opening a plastic gift card can be a let down. There are children, however, that are real excited to be able to go out and pick out exactly what they were wanting and having their own money to spend is fun to them.

7. Research your Black Friday deals. Some years ago my husband saw a big screen TV in a Black Friday ad that he felt he just had to have. He had to leave our house at 3 a.m. to be at the store early enough to be in line and waiting for their opening at 5a.m. They sent an employee out a few minutes before opening to hand out tickets for popular ad items to the first people in line. They ran out of big screen TV's long before they got to my husband. He decided to drive out to another store that promised to match prices to see if they still might have their big screens left. Not only did they beat that competitor price, they would honor that price all day long. (No need to have gotten up so early!) When they were out of the TV they offered a better TV for the same price and delivered it for free! (The delivery was a big deal since we lived an hour and a half away!!) So know the competitors before deciding you need to get up and stand in freezing rain for hours for a chance at getting some deal.

8. Remember to get a gift receipt. Including a gift receipt with each gift is a good way to make sure that if the gift isn't quite as loved as you thought it might be, or ends up a duplicate, that it can be easily returned by the recipient. Including the receipt also lets the recipient know that you are just fine with them returning a gift if they feel they want to. They need not feel awkward about it!

9. Online shopping!!! How about shopping in your pajamas while sipping a hot cup of tea while your children and sleeping away in their beds? Sound wonderful? Online shopping allows you to do just that. You can fit in a few minutes of shopping here and there. You don't have to worry about finding a parking space and walking through a slushy, snowy parking lot. The downfall is shipping prices can be high these days so watch for shipping specials, like $1 ships all deals. Some places, especially as the holidays near, offer free shipping. Also, try to combine your purchases at one place so that you end up with more economical shipping rates.

10. Try to find great places that can be one stop shopping for all your needs. I honestly would have never thought to consider a place like Office Depot as a one stop shop but consider what you can get from there:

Do you think Mom would like this? Oh yes she would (hint hint hint hint)

Grandma and Grandpa would enjoy this

Could Dad use a new chair for his office?

Would your teen flip for something like this?

You will also find things like teacher supplies (teacher gift...check!), gift wrapping supplies, batteries and various other things that could make this a one stop and done trip! Think of it...saving time, gas money, and frustration! What a great idea!

So a little planning and preparing can really turn your season from one filled with frustrations to a great fun filled experience! Relax and have fun!

Office Depot, Inc. is a global supplier of office products and services. The company was incorporated in 1986 with the opening of our first retail store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In fiscal year 2009, we sold $12.1 billion of products and services to consumers and businesses of all sizes through our three business segments: North American Retail Division, North American Business Solutions Division and International Division. Sales are processed through multiple channels, consisting of office supply stores, a contract sales force, an outbound telephone account management sales force, Internet sites, direct marketing catalogs and call centers, all supported by our network of supply chain facilities and delivery operations.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Office Depot blogging program, making me eligible to get a $40 Office Depot gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Make your life easier

2010-11-11T20:35:00.001-05:00

With all the technology these days it seems like our lives should be getting more and more simpler. There is a gadget or machine to do about everything and anything. Many of our tasks can be accomplished by simply pushing a button. Unfortunately, however, it seems like it is far from simple these days.

So what are some things I do to help keep my life, and my family's life easy? Here are 10 that I'd like to share with you.

First, live within your means. I can't think of much else that is more stressful than hurting for money. Who would enjoy bills pouring in that you can't pay? Who likes to hear the phone ring and have to wonder if its someone looking for money? So, set a budget. Stick to it.

Next, teach your children to be happy with what they have. Make sure they realize that there is more to life than accumulating "stuff". Explain to them the fleeting joys of getting everything they want. Teach them to find the joy of using their imaginations. Let them experience the fun that can be had spending the day outside playing.

Reduce your clutter. Having to keep a house clean that has too much needless stuff takes a lot of time. Having to shift through clothes you never wear to find what you want is time wasted. A garage stuffed with junk is useless. An attic or basement storing things you just may need one day or feel an odd attachment to even though you never use it, is wasted space. Set out to tackle one area at a time and go through your house taking an honest assessment of what you have and what you really need or use. This will give you great satisfaction and you will find your life so much simpler.

Make family meals a priority. Eating together daily as a family will provide everyone with some great benefits. Your family bond will be strengthened by the time spent together. It will provide everyone with a good sit down and rest time especially on busy days. It will keep everyone healthy when they eat nutritious home cooked meals. You will be saving money as compared to eating out all the time. The list could go on and on.

To go along with eating together, a great tip is to plan out your menus. Its not too hard to do. The benefits will far outweigh the time you spend doing it. Here is what I do. I get out my cookbooks. Using a paper list, I figure out main dishes for everyday during the period I will be shopping for (I go grocery shopping every 2 weeks). Each time I find an item I want to make, I also use another sheet of paper to write down all the ingredients I will need to buy. After finding all my main menu items I go back through and fill in side dishes, veggies etc to round out the meals. Don't forget to include these items in your shopping list you started. I then take a calender and figure on what day I will make each item I choose and write it into the calender space. The calender gets hung on the refrigerator so I can be reminded to take things out of the freezer as I will be needing them. My grocery list is ready for shopping. I never have to try to figure what I am going to make moments before my family is expecting a meal...its already decided. This bit of organization really helps me feel secure and happy.

For my sixth suggestion I'd encourage you to consolidate your errends. Having to run out everyday to pick up this or that is exhausting. It wastes time too. It also wastes gas and money. This is especially important for me to do because we live out in the country and any errand will turn into an hour round trip of driving time alone. Also, since I started homeschooling my children, I have to schedule my time carefully so that I am there to provide a education for my little ones. I have a set errand day and keep a list of things I need to do or accomplish on that day as the week goes on so I don't forget anything. This works very well for me.

I am constantly amazed at how many activities some children are involved in. Parents have to run the children from one thing to another. Drop a child off here, pick up another there. We limit our children to one activity per person. This includes school related activities. My daughter takes ballet lessons. My son was in guitar last year when he had the opportunity to be on the school's quiz bowl team. It would involve an hour or two after school a couple days a week. So he had give up his guitar lessons for the duration of quiz bowl. Having to pick priorities like that, I feel, is good for kids. It also keeps my schedule, and theirs, simple.

Spend time with your friends not really doing anything. Each time you get together with people you don't have to be going somewhere or doing something. Enjoy time at each other's houses just sitting and talking. Maybe having simple snacks or meals together. It will save you money and will also keep things calm and easy.

Take advantage of the internet. Paying bills online can save time this is especially true when you schedule automatic payments when that option is available. By shopping online you can save driving time, and its often easier to find an item you are looking for by doing searches rather than having to run store to store. You can shop during times when stores maybe closed...nothing beats shopping in the evenings in your pajamas! You can avoid having to drag a bunch of kids into the store with you! You can arrange prescription medication refills online. Really, the internet can be a great simplifier!

And finally, remember to just spend time relaxing! Maybe for you thats a bubble bath. Maybe its enjoying the morning sunshine on your face as you read the paper and enjoy listening to the songs of the birds. Maybe its a cup of iced coffee while you put your feet up on the couch at 3 in the afternoon. Whatever your mode of rejuvenation may be, don't forget to indulge often!!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Oral-B blogging contest, making me eligible to get full-sized Oral-B Glide products and a $30 Target gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

How To Survive the Holidays

2010-11-11T19:34:00.001-05:00

This is a busy time of year. Many people begin to feel very overwhelmed with everything that must be done over the next couple months. Gifts to buy. Parties to attend. School programs. Kids off on vacation. Family trips. Company to have over. Visiting other people. And the list goes on. So how can you de-stress your schedule? Here are 10 tips that might help.

1. Don't be afraid to say "no". If you find that you get many invitations realize you don't have to attend everything. Before the invites may even start rolling in, decide how many you can comfortably attend. Maybe you will attend one thing a weekend. Maybe you will only accept invitations that fall on one specified weekend, no matter how many that may be. Maybe you will decide to only attend a few select friend or family members invitations no matter when they fall. Keeping to a limited schedule like that will free up your time to accomplish other things that need done and will also keep you from feeling that worn out overloaded drag that comes with having too busy a schedule.

2. Make assignments for your household. If you don't have a chore list for everyone in your household, its time to start one. If you do have one, let everyone know that they may be expected to do a little extra. Since you will be busy extra help keeping up the household will be great. Handing out a couple extra chores per person will free up a lot of time for you.

3. Consider paying your help. If your children are old enough to help out around the house, why not have them earn their shopping money this year? make a list of jobs that need done regularly around the house. Assign each job a payment value. Then the children can work to get the money they need to purchase gifts this year. This will actually accomplish several things. Your children will learn responsibility and it will help teach them the value of a dollar and work ethics. It will also help you keep your house well arranged and organized.

4. Plan family meals. Making sure the family has regular meals together will help with a few things. Planning meals and shopping for them will help keep you from having to eat out, thus saving money. It will ensure that your family is getting good nutrition during a time when they will be expose to lots of people and germs, and right when flu season is hitting too! It will help give you a good calm "downtime" and a chance to for the family to enjoy each other's company.

5. Use your freezer! Are you a big holiday baker? Start now. Make your cookies and pies and other things that can be frozen and store them until they are needed. You can use your time later to do other things. Maybe you can even throw a couple meals into the freezer to use later. Just make double quantities on some of your families favorites in the coming weeks and freeze on portion for later.

6. Simplify with gift cards. Sometimes you know exactly what to buy for people. Then there are the others. The people that just leave you stumped. Don't waste your time shopping around trying to find the perfect gift that may end up being not so perfect after all. Give gift cards. Even children love gift cards. Its fun for them to have money to spend. Teenagers are especially good gift certificate recipients. Teens love shopping and who can ever figure what they'd want anyways.

7. Schedule your portraits now. Whether you get a family portrait done or just take the kiddos in, getting this done early is a great idea. First, you will have a wider availability of appointment days and times than if you waited. Also, some places offer early bird specials and you might be able to score some good deals this way. And maybe most importantly, should the appointment go bad, you have enough time for a do over!

8. Volunteer. Make sure you include scheduling time to be a volunteer into your busy schedule. " Now wait", you might think," I am trying to free up my time and make things simpler. How can planning yet another activity help me?" Well, what it will do is remind you to be thankful for what you have. It will make you call to mind the "true meaning" of the season. It will give you a good warm feeling inside and that alone can do a lot for your survival!

9. Set, and stick to, a spending budget. Over spending will not only stress you now, it will be something that can prove to burden you for months to come. So know your limits. Set them. Stick to them.

10. Make your holiday card shopping easy! Check out Tiny Prints to find a great selection of beautiful designs and simple online ordering. Tiny Prints provides stylish, modern and unique stationery from photo cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards and business cards. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side the Holidays will be a cinch! They offer adorable Thanksgiving Cards, Christmas Cards, Hanukkah Cards, and even New Years Cards. All fully customizable and personalizable.You'll be able to check another task off your to-do list and you can even accomplish it while in your pajamas if you so wish.

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