Jen loves Free Stuff

Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches–and $5 gift card offer

2011-12-31T13:30:00.001-08:00

You know those days when you are super busy and haven’t planned anything for dinner. Days when you just need to grab a quick dinner and run? Tyson now has another product for those grab and go quick dinners and I was given the opportunity to try them out. #Tysongoodness

Thursday I began making my grocery list, then I took kid A with me to Walmart to go shopping. We knew Tyson was having a demo of this new product, but we showed up at 9:30 in the morning, not realizing the demo wouldn’t be until lunch time. Silly me! We did look all over for the Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches and couldn’t find them though. They weren’t with the other Tyson chicken products nor with the other Tyson appetizer products. We asked someone who worked there and he didn’t know anything about them, and he even asked his boss, but no dice, so we went home with the rest of our groceries, but no Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches.

So, kid B and I went back in the afternoon. The demo was on, was easy to find and everyone was very helpful. The demo lady helped me find the sandwiches in the freezer isle (near other chicken sandwiches, but not by any other Tyson products)and my son told her he loved her. We both had a bite of the sandwich, took several pictures, then we bought 2 boxes of the Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches, one regular, and one with cheese and headed home.

Once we got home, Kid A was very excited that B and I had found the sandwiches and he wanted to help me make them for our lunch. Each box has 4 packages with 2 mini-sandwiches each, which is a serving size. I split them up so my husband and the 2 boys who were awake and I each got one regular and one with cheese. Without even opening the plastic packaging you microwave the sandwich for 45 seconds one each side and voila, a quick bite to eat. Super easy. If my kids were taller and could reach the microwave they could do it themselves!

The sandwiches got mixed reviews. The boys each gave a thumbs up, but my husband thought they were fairly bland. Next time I serve them he thinks I should add lettuce and tomato. The ones with the cheese had a lot more flavor than the regular ones. I liked them well enough, but would probably do them more for lunchtime for the boys during the summer or for an afterschool snack. I can’t imagine really serving them for dinner for my family.

I will buy them again though, along with other Tyson products since I think they make good stuff.

Do you want to try them? Tyson and Walmart are teaming up again to help you buy some. First of all, check out this link to find a Walmart near you that sells the Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches. Then buy 2 packages of Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches at Walmart (keep your receipt of course), go to THIS WEBSITE, then you can fill out the form to get a $5 gift card to Walmart. At my store each package was $5.14, so once I submit the receipt I’ll almost be getting a box for free!

I also posted this on google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/109486339814854904060/posts

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias As always, although I was asked to review this, all opinions are of course my own. I wouldn’t write it if I didn’t believe it.

My newest favorite food blog

2011-12-18T20:44:00.001-08:00

I’ve been cooking a lot lately. Not so good for my waistline, but really good for my mouth! Along with a lot of cooking, I’ve been trying lots of new recipes. I’ve made lots of freezer meals and lots of crock pot meals from some great websites. (I’ll share with those interested)

I was recently introduced to what is now my favorite food blog. Jamie Cooks It Up.

I’m blogging about it because I like it so much!

So far these are the recipes I’ve tried

All four of these recipes were fabulous! I can’t remember the last time I found a website where I actually tired multiple recipes and they all turned out great

Here are the recipes I can’t wait to try!

I’m sure there are even more recipes on her site that would be fabulous and I look forward to finding and making more great meals.

Thank you Jamie for blogging. I love your pictures, I love your step by step instructions, I love your “voice.” Thanks for being real and thanks for sharing great recipes with me and my family.

Post Thanksgiving soup

2011-11-30T07:26:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about cooking up a turkey is being able to make turkey noodle soup the next day. I took home the turkey frame from my moms house and started it boiling on the stove Sunday. After letting it boil with a few spices for an hour or so, I took it out of the water and began picking off the meat. I was the one who carved the turkey originally and I had left a lot of meat on the frame! We used some for turkey sandwiches that afternoon, but all the rest of the meat went into my stock pot with onions and carrots and more spices.

When I got home from church I turned my pot back on, and cooked it until the carrots were tender then I added some egg noodles. The soup was delicious but I made a lot of it! Some of it I put in tupperware and I've been eating the leftovers for lunch this week. But I also took some of the soup and put it in muffin cups and froze it!

I now have a dozen soup disks for lunches later! I'll put 2 or 3 disks into a bowl and heat it in the microwave when I want soup later! There's my freezer assignment this week!

Gratitude Thursday 4

2011-11-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Here are 5 more things I’m grateful for today!

1. Aaron

I am so impressed with Aaron. He’s growing up to be such a wonderful boy. I can’t believe he’ll be 8 in just a few months. He’s so smart and is so kind and thoughtful. His prayers are so sincere and heartfelt. He is amazingly helpful (when he wants to be) and is polite as well. He loves to read, play games, design games, make up math problems and play video games. He made me a mom and I love spending time with him. I’m really glad he’s mine!

2. My Testimony

I am so grateful for my testimony of the fullness of the gospel restored to the earth today. I know that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, atoned for my sins and that I can return to live with him and my Heavenly Father someday. I testify that God knows each of us personally and loves us and wants us to become the people he knows we can become. I pray for His help to be able to become that woman someday. I am very grateful for my own personal testimony.

3. Thanksgiving Dinner

I love to eat, lately I love to cook. We will be eating with my mom and one other family that I’ve known most of my life. 7 adults and my 4 kids. Should be fun! I am really looking forward to the four new recipes I am making for todays feast. (Homemade rolls – my friend Travis’s recipe, Green Bean Casserole – Pioneer Woman’s recipe, Sweet Potato Casserole – my sis-in-law Tiff’s recipe, and Chocolate Pumpkin Pie – from The Chew.) My mom is in charge of the typical turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a fruit salad and another pie. It will all be yummy and I’m excited to eat it!

4. My Mom

My mom and I have always been close. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve disagreed and had the typical mother/daughter fights from time to time, but even when I was in high school we mostly got along. She taught me how to cook, how to sew, how to host a dinner party and how to be a mother. She showed me by example how to reach outside myself and think of others. She babysits my kids when I need her to and takes me shopping and buys me stuff just because! I see her almost every week (often multiple times a week) and I talk to her multiple times every day. I am very grateful that my mother is such an important part of my life and I love her a lot!

5. The temple

Paul and I were married on the day after Thanksgiving 9 years ago in the Houston, Texas temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were sealed together as husband and wife for time and all eternity by someone holding the proper holy priesthood power. Because of the promises we made in the temple with our Heavenly Father our four beautiful boys have been born in that covenant and are also sealed to us for eternity. I am so grateful we have a House of the Lord in our city and that we are able to attend the temple often.

DIY Go-Gurt and Instant Oatmeal Packets

2011-11-23T12:51:00.001-08:00

Last week I worked on two projects, both of which I think turned out pretty well.

First, I made yogurt. I initially heard about this when I followed “A year of slow cooking” and I thought it was interesting but never did anything.

Then I heard about it again at a Relief Society activity and again ignored the idea.

Then I saw it yet again on Money Saving Mom and finally decided I’d try it.

I followed the recipe shown here, starting with half a gallon of milk (I also added powdered milk as Money Saving Mom suggested) and my crock pot. The next morning I had yogurt and I was surprisingly pleased at how it turned out. It really did have the consistency of yogurt. I basically made a half gallon of yogurt for about $2!

But I didn’t stop there. I froze 2 cups of it in ice cube trays to hopefully use in smoothies later. We ate some for breakfast (added honey to some, raspberries to others). The rest I made into go-gurt as suggested by Money Saving Mom. I added a package of strawberry jello and put about 1/4 c each in a dozen snack bags and they are in the freezer now!

The boys ate some for lunch this week and they liked it, but didn’t love it. They didn’t like it so much for breakfast either, but I did. I probably won’t make it again anytime soon, but I’m sure I will make it again someday!

When I finished that I took a page from Life As Mom and made my own instant oatmeal packets. My boys love oatmeal and will each eat 2 packets in the morning! Do you know how expensive that can be! Well for the same price as a box of 10 generic instant oatmeal packets I can buy a container of quick oats and make 60 homemade packets. (I didn’t make that many though! I started with 20!)

I combined a few recipes here…started with 2 cups of oats, then ground an additional 2 cups to powder. Then I added dried milk, salt, brown sugar and cinnamon. Then to half I added raisins and to the other half I added dried apples (which I’ve had for years in my food storage from the cannery.) Each packet has a little more than 1/4 cup oatmeal and to that I added 6 Tablespoons of hot water to make our breakfast.

In hindsight, I added too much cinnamon…it’s fairly overpowering. I might re-empty them all, add more oatmeal, and repackage them into more packets, but haven’t done it yet. I really do hope to get this right because this will save me a lot of money!

Gratitude Thursday 3

2011-11-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

5 more things I’m grateful for this week

1. Brian

I have never met a child as loving as Brian. If you’ve ever met him, he’s probably hugged you and told you he loves you. He is so sweet to his baby brother and tries to cheer him up when he’s crying. He loves to laugh and cracks me up often. He probably infuriates me more than the other boys right now, but I can’t stay grumpy at him for long because when he smiles, his eyes twinkle and he knows it! I am so grateful I get to be his mother and have his spirit in our home.

2. My house

Years before we bought our house, the subdivision had a model home of this floor plan. When I had friends in town I’d take them through the model just because I loved the floor plan so much. We weren’t really in the market to move, we were happy in the house we were in, but when this house came on the market at a super low price we bought it. I really do love my house! There are lots of projects I want to work on, but it makes me so happy as it is too. And I love that several families in our ward are also on my street and we have lots of great neighbors too. I am so grateful for such a beautiful house in such a friendly neighborhood.

3. The change in the weather

There is a slight chill in the air. The sun is shining. It finally feels like fall. We had a miserably hot summer and I was very pregnant and grumpy. I’m loving being able to play outside with the boys before it gets dark. I’m grateful for this beautiful weather while it lasts!

4. Ritters

For those who don’t know about the Frozen Custard shop down the road from my house, let me introduce you to heaven in a cup! My favorite is a small chocolate glacier with snickers mixed in. Or a small cup of chocolate covered banana or strawberry romance. And they do sell gift cards (hint hint!) So yummy!

5. Anna

Our shared love of Ritters might be one of the reasons why Anna and I are such good friends. We have kids the same age and serve in the Relief Society together, but those things wouldn’t automatically make us as close of friends as we have become. I feel so blessed that I’ve had several best friends in my life. Lindsay in high school, Melanie in college, Julie when I was single and now Anna as a mother of small children. We talk almost every day and since our husbands and kids get along too we do things as a family together also. Not only does she put up with me, she “gets me” too. Thank you Anna for being my friend!

Cooking up some chicken

2011-11-10T11:17:00.001-08:00

I recently ordered 40 lbs of chicken from Zaycon foods. It arrived for pick up this Tuesday (and the line was HUGE!) but I waited until today to deal with it.

Inside this giant bag were 17 full chicken breasts which I cut into 34 breasts. These breasts were huge. My husband liked hearing me talk about each set of 2 big breasts…hehehehe. Unfortunately these breasts had a lot of fat on them that needed to be trimmed. But still, it only took me an hour and a half to trim, cut, and bag everything up!

I took 18 breasts and put them raw into freezer bags. The other 16 breasts I boiled then shredded. I recently saw information online about shredding hot cooked chicken in a kitchenaid mixer. I tried it and was amazed at how easily and quickly it shredded my chicken. I put about 3 breasts in at a time, turned the mixer on to a 4 or 5 for about 30 seconds and voila! perfectly shredded chicken. So easy! I put my shredded chicken into freezer bags (2 cups each).

I ended up with a full table of chicken for use in a myriad of recipes and amazingly enough I got them all to fit in my kitchen freezer! 23 bags of food calculates to $2.60 per meal and each meal will likely have leftovers. I’m happy!

Gratitude Thursday 2

2011-11-10T10:43:00.001-08:00

Here we go again with 5 things I’m grateful for today

1. This handsome boy

Christian turned 2 yesterday and is my main companion during each day. He doesn’t talk much, but he is amazing! He loves to play with balls and cars, say “HI”, give kisses, have me read to him, and has quite a shoe fetish! He goes to sleep easily and still takes great naps most days which allows me to get something done. He cracks me up and I’m so glad that I get to spend each day with him.

2. My Freezer

I got an extra freezer about a year and a half ago and LOVE it! I am currently trying to do “something” for the freezer each week. Last week was egg rolls, this week I handled 40 lbs of chicken. Next week I’m going to attempt homemade gogurt (including homemade yogurt in the crockpot). Freezer meals rock and this makes it SO much easier!

3. www.lds.org

I LOVE our church website. They are constantly updating the content on it. So much information and so helpful. I use it almost daily. Whether I’m studying my scriptures, looking up phone numbers, or reading about my responsibilities in the Relief Society, it’s fabulous. If you aren’t using it regularly, I highly recommend it!

4. My Kitchen Aid

I got this for Christmas about 2 years a go and LOVE it! Today I shredded cooked chicken in it. (It was seriously SO EASY) I love to make cookies and banana bread in it. As I mentioned last week, I make bread in it now. Technology is awesome!

5. My sister

I remember growing up and NOT being grateful for my sister. We were not always the best of friends. (Remember those fights driving to school…the hair pulling and everything?) But now that we’re both moms we talk to each other almost every day. Often multiple times a day. She is one of my best friends and I’m so grateful that even though we live over 1600 miles apart we are so close. (I can’t wait to see you at Christmas Sissy)

I’m so grateful for so many things, it’s hard to pick 5 each week. Maybe I’ll keep doing this ALWAYS! (maybe not!)

Gratitude Thursday

2011-11-03T06:59:00.001-07:00

My friend Anna often does Gratitude Tuesday and I’ve been saying I’ll do it too, but I never do. Today my friend Brittany did a Thankful Thursday. I think I’ll take her lead and try to post 5 things each Thursday that I’m grateful for. And I’m going to post this on both of my blogs!

1. This guy slept through the night last night!

Now I’m under no illusions that he will sleep through the night again tonight, and in fact yesterday evening he had a really rough time and both Paul and I paced the floor with him trying to help him finally fall asleep. But a good night sleep feels WONDERFUL and I’m grateful that he did sleep well last night!

2. Yeast

My sister told me recently that she’s afraid of yeast, and I used to be also, but I bought a large container of dry active yeast and now I’m using it! I have a recipe that makes ONE loaf of bread. It’s perfect for doing something special for dinner. Tuesday I tried THIS RECIPE that makes 12 rolls and tonight I’m going to try to make THESE breadbowls to make with THIS soup. I haven’t gotten any of theses recipes to turn out as perfectly as I expected yet, but I’m trying. I have a friend teaching a class on making bread in a few weeks, so maybe he can help my bread turn out better!

3. Good books

I love to read and always have. I’m in 2 book clubs which both had their discussions last week. We read The Woman In White and To Kill A Mockingbird. Both totally different from each other, but I really enjoyed reading them both. I’m currently trying to get ready to teach Relief Society on Sunday, and I’m using Daughters in My Kingdom as my text, so I’ve been pouring through it again. I’m very grateful for books that inspire me.

4. Electricity

From the TV that’s entertaining my 2yo while I write this to the computer I’m writing this on, I am very grateful electricity. I’m glad I was born in this day and age of modern conveniences. I’m glad I can see in the dark. I’m glad I can talk to my sister in New Jersey almost every day. I’m glad electricity exists and that we know how to harness and use it to make our lives easier.

5. My amazing husband

Not only does he support our family financially allowing me to stay home with our children, but he is an amazing support to us spiritually and socially. He loves spending time with us. He treats me wonderfully. He’s everything I ever hoped to have in a husband. He’s smart. He’s funny. He’s a great dad. He’s athletic. He’s handy. Right now he’s in the middle of woodworking, making a Christmas present which I won’t talk more about so it can stay a surprise. Now I’m not saying he’s perfect, but I feel so lucky to have him.

I love the feeling I’ve had this morning as I composed this post. I should write about what I’m grateful for more often. I look forward to doing it next week!

Crystal Deodorant Review

2011-10-24T15:52:00.001-07:00

I’ve been wearing the same brand deodorant for YEARS now. It works for me, no need to make a change. But I was given the opportunity to try out the Natural Crystal Body Deodorant Roll-On and liked it well enough.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this product has the pink ribbon on the front and a note that it is endorsed by cancer treatment centers on the back. That’s because this deodorant is made of natural mineral salts (only has 3 ingredients) and doesn’t have any aluminum chlorohydrate and is paraben free, both which are causes of concern in the breast cancer research world. It’s also hypoallergenic and fragrance free. I think that’s pretty cool!

On the back of the bottle it says “It is non-sticky, non-staining, leaves no white residue and can be used by both men and women.” Once I read that, I asked my husband to try it with me for a week. I figured two opinions were better than one!

We’ll start with my husband. He wasn’t too impressed. He said the roll-on caught in his underarm hair. He also thought he had a mild body odor by the end of the day and definitely by the next morning. He’d rather stick with his Degree deodorant that he’s been using for years.

I on the other hand didn’t mind the change. I hadn’t used a roll-on ever before and found it just fine. It didn’t make a mess on my clothes which was important for me. I don’t sweat a lot (and didn’t work out this week – just made and ate lots of cookies) and didn’t notice any body odor myself.

I liked the price (bought it at Wal-Mart for less than $4) and liked that it’s natural. It won’t be long before my 7yo son starts to need to wear deodorant. I wouldn’t mind getting something like this for him.

Overall, I think it’s fine, works well enough, and is worth a try, especially if you are trying to go the more natural route.

Disclosure: This review has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions expressed are my own and may vary from others.

All My Children

2011-09-23T11:48:00.001-07:00

While it may not be popular to admit, I have watched soap operas my entire life. All My Children on ABC has been a staple of my childhood and adult life.

And today it ended.

And yes, it made me sad.

Actually, I was really disappointed in the ending.

It was fun this past month seeing the cameos of those who I had watched over the years come back and the funny jokes tying in what they have done since then. The last week as they tied up “MOST” of the story lines and took family pictures of the large families actually made me almost cry a few times.

Most people have heard of Erica Kane, one of the main characters of the show which has been played by Susan Lucci for over 40 years. The “Gone With the Wind”-esque ending of her on again off again love interest walking out on her and telling her he doesn’t “give a damn” was funny and fitting.

But there were too many unresolved story lines. To end the show with an unknown someone getting shot and still not knowing who else was assumed dead but was brought back to life was really annoying to me.

And now it’s over. (There are talks of the show being continued online, but I can’t imagine it will really be the same.)

So please excuse me as I mourn the loss of my noon hour indulgence. A moment of silence please!

My first Bountiful Basket

2011-09-23T11:11:00.001-07:00

I consider myself somewhat of a foodie. I enjoy cooking, read lots of food blogs, and definitely enjoy eating! (Dishes are a different story though – yuck!) Several of my friends and the blogs I read talk about getting their fruits and/or vegetables through co-ops or CSAs or farmers markets and such. I’ve always wanted to try one and finally did for the first time.

Bountiful Baskets is a co-op that started in Utah, but has spread to several other areas of the country. This past week was the first week they opened a location in Houston and it’s about 20 minutes away from my house so I signed up! The first time you sign up you have to pay an extra $3 for the baskets, but typically it costs $16.50 for a basket full of fruit and a basket full of vegetables.

Here’s what was in my baskets this week:

1 large head romaine lettuce
2 heads broccoli
5 green bell peppers
10 roma tomatoes
2 cucumbers
7 potatoes
1 cantaloupe
1 bag of grapes
1 pint strawberries
4 apples
1 bunch of bananas

All pretty normal fruits and veges, nothing that I was like “what am I going to do with THAT?” Although 5 bell peppers is a few too many for my recipes, I’ll find someway to use them! I went to my favorite grocery store with this list and figured out that it would have cost me over $25 for the same foods.

Right now the Houston location will have baskets available every other week, and I hope to buy one at least once a month. The next time to sign up is this Monday at noon at this link.

Who else has tried something like this before and have you liked it? Do you think it’s worth the price?

Movie Review “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie”

2011-08-10T13:13:00.001-07:00

Last night my husband and I were given the opportunity to go to an advanced press screening of the new Glee movie. Let me preface this by saying that I DO watch Glee and enjoy it. I’m not saying it’s the best show out there, and if I had teenagers I probably wouldn’t want them exposed to some of the subject material in the show, but I thoroughly enjoy the music and dancing and for that reason, I did like the movie.

I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I went to this movie, but I wasn’t expecting it to be a concert movie…yes, I know…it’s right in the title…but I’m 9 months pregnant…give me a break! I think I expected a little more of a story line like the TV show. I did like the vignettes of other Glee fans – they discussed how the show has affected their life, and there was a great underlying theme of acceptance of yourself and others.

The music was GREAT (a little too much Rachel if you ask me) and the dancing was impressive. I obsessed a little over how beautiful Britney was and her amazing flat stomach, but then again since I’m due to give birth to my 4th son ANY DAY NOW, I guess it just stood out to me too much. I will NEVER look like that! Oh well…maybe in my next life!

As for the 3D effect of the movie, it’s still a novelty to me, I’ve only ever seen two or three 3-D movies. I don’t think it really added much to the movie, unless you REALLY want to see Rachel up close! I liked Britney’s comment that her boobs look great in 3D…that made me laugh!

Overall I’m not sure I would recommend this movie to a friend, unless they really like concert movies and love Glee. But if you do, then yes, you will enjoy this movie. Hope this helps!

Colgate Building Smiles Tour

2011-06-16T12:22:00.001-07:00

I joined Collective Bias several months ago, but this is the first opportunity I was given to do something for them. I volunteered and happily participated in the Colgate Building Smiles Tour today. The Colgate Van pulled up to my local Wal-Mart today and was there from 10-1pm.

I got there just a few minutes after 10 and was greeted inside by 2 other local bloggers covering the tour and another friend from church.

The Colgate Van was a nice big RV with 2 dentist chairs inside.

The driver of the van was distributing balloons and “goodie bags” to the kids there. I didn’t bring my kids, so I didn’t get one, but it looked like there were fun things for the kids and some coupons for Colgate products. They also had a cartoon DVD on for the kids about fighting the plaque monsters and good oral care.

Those of us in the RV sat there and waited...and waited…and waited for the dentist to arrive.

Evidently there is a dedicated dentist for this RV, but she had another obligation and had made arrangements for a different dentist to volunteer his time. Unfortunately, after waiting in the RV for 45 minutes then doing my grocery shopping for 30 minutes, the dentist still hadn’t shown. It was pretty disappointing.

The normal dentist is scheduled to be at the next Wal-Mart down the road from 3-6pm and I hope that the experience is better for those who attend that one. There were signs in the windows of Wal-Mart, but in general I don’t think it was very well advertised. I think the Colgate Building Smiles Tour is a great program and probably helps lots of people with free dental screenings for those age 1-12, but it didn’t help a lot of people at my Wal-Mart from 10-11:15am.

I spent some time before, during and after, thinking about my family’s oral care habits. About 6 months ago or so I really buckled down and made my kids have a better routine for oral care. We started using www.myjobchart.com around then and they became very motivated to get their points so I listed brushing their teeth as one of their morning and nightly chores. While we still don’t floss as often as we should I’m proud to say my 7yo and 4yo have a pretty good brushing habit.

Unfortunately, I don’t do a great job with the 1yo. He got teeth really early (and surprisingly I still nursed him over a year!) and although he enjoys chewing on a tooth brush from time to time, I can’t get him to let me brush his teeth. Not that I try very hard, but he is not a very cooperative 1yo!

We do go to the dentist often (3 times a year, not just 2!) and my kids never put up a fuss, they are happy to go! I hear of way too many adults who hate going to the dentist because they have had many bad experiences. I hope I can teach my kids the importance of regular check-ups and that they never have a fear of the dentist or bad experiences.

I think the thing I learned the most from this experience was that although there are great programs out there to help those that need help, sometimes these things work better than others. It’s still a good idea to evaluate your current oral care routine and try to make improvements.

Intersect Story

Disclosure: This post has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #CollectiveBias. I was grateful to have the opportunity to work on something as important as oral care and hope other people who attended the tour learned a lot.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

2011-06-13T19:34:00.001-07:00

Tonight I was given the opportunity to go to an advanced screening of Mr. Popper’s Penguins. My good friend Stacey of the blog Tree, Root & Twig was able to get several reserved seats for the advanced screening (it doesn’t open for real until this weekend) and I was lucky enough to score some for my family.

We left the baby at home with a sitter (it is his bedtime anyway!) and we took A and B with us. We had a great time. Other than my 4yo being way too loud in general, we loved the movie. I was worried about exposing my kids to Jim Carrey being…well TOO Jim Carrey, but it never went over the top. It was funny, cute, and very entertaining.

Thanks Stacey for letting us go with you and watch this fun movie.

Meal Plan–Theme Nights

2011-04-17T18:45:00.001-07:00

Several of the food blogs which I follow have talked about having theme nights and how much easier it makes planning meals. Recently I started watching “The Food Nanny” on BYU-TV (we just got U-verse) and she is all about theme nights.

Last summer I started doing salads on Thursdays, but often just did the same chef salad week after week. Luckily, my kids and husband never complained, and actually liked it. This fall/winter I did less salads, but added several soups each Friday. It did make things easier that I didn’t have to think as much about what to make for dinner those nights.

Now I think I’m ready to try it each night. We’ll see how it works.

(Isn’t this a cute board I made!)

As I tried to catalog my recipes I found MOST of my favorites fell into the category of Comfort Foods, so I’m putting that for 2 nights, plus we are often at my moms house for Sunday dinners.

I’m not so excited that for Monday night, my birthday, the boys picked mac & cheese & hotdogs, but I doubt I’ll want to cook much either, at least until Paul is done with school in a few weeks.

I’m curious, has anyone else tried theme nights? If so, has it worked for your families?

How to make 5 meals from 5 chicken breasts!

2011-02-28T09:43:00.001-08:00

I haven’t tried this yet, but since this goes along with one of my previous posts, I had to post this too. I will try this, but not today!

Please take a look!

http://parentingthetiniestofmiracles.blogspot.com/2011/01/prepping-five-meals-from-five-chicken.html

Any by the way…the baby has been sucking my brain power lately…hopefully I’ll get back to blogging often soon!

Cooking up a chicken

2011-01-28T10:24:00.001-08:00

I try to be frugal, I try to cook homemade as much as possible. I’ve cooked up several Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey frames to make soup. I think once, years ago, I tried making my own chicken broth, but it didn’t turn out very well. Then on Wednesday one of the blogs I read, Money Saving Mom, had an article linking to another article from Heavenly Homemakers whom I was previously unfamiliar with about using one chicken to make 6 meals.

I thought, WOW, I wonder if I can really stretch one chicken into 6 meals? So today I bought myself a 5 lb chicken for $0.88/lb. Using her recipe for making homemade chicken broth, I stuck it in a pot with half an onion, 2 stalks of celery and a dozen mini carrots. A few hours later my whole house smelled heavenly.

Oh how I love the smell of homemade soup! That reminds me…I should make some bread too!

Once it was obvious that the chicken was done (ie falling off the bone) which took about 3 hours, I took my chicken out so I could pull the meat off the bone. I let it cool first and burned my tongue eating some of the carrots I had put in to begin with. I have no will power!

I ended up getting 6 cups of chopped chicken.

Most of my chicken recipes call for 1-2 cups of chicken. But the recipes that use this great chicken broth I’m making I’ll probably put less chicken in since the broth is so rich and good.

So let me think of what recipes I can make in the next few weeks or so with this 6 cups of chicken. Chicken Noodle Soup today (3/4 c), Chicken Manicotti (1 1/2 c), Chicken Enchiladas (1 1/2 c), Chicken A La King (3/4 c), Chicken Quesadillas (1/2 c), Garlic Chicken Pasta (1 c). That comes out to 6 meals!

I put the meat into freezer bags and continued making more broth by putting the bones and skin back in the water to get all the good stuff out of them. A few more hours of simmering and I ended up with 8 cups of broth. (some for todays soup and some for later recipes) I cried when I accidentally spilled a cup of it down the sink!

Homemade broth, homemade soup, homemade noodles, homemade bread. I bet some great-great grandmother is in heaven all proud of me right now! I felt like quite the Homemaker today!

Now if only I had finished picking up the house or folding Monday’s laundry instead of playing online today!

So my question to those of you who make this kinda stuff…what would you have done differently?

This morning’s disaster

2011-01-28T07:33:00.001-08:00

This morning I woke up and to my disgust I looked like this

What? You don’t see it? Neither did my husband. Let me show you again.

And for those of you who still don’t see this atrocity…here’s a gross close up!

Yep, it’s a cold sore. It may not look as bad as I think it does, but it feels icky. I seem to get them about once a year (usually when someone like my in-laws come into town or I want to impress someone). Usually takes a week before it’s all better and it usually gets worse before it gets better. Great!

Let’s hope the day gets better!

Wordless Wednesdays–Sometimes it’s easier being a mom than others

2011-01-26T12:41:00.001-08:00

I’m not going to talk about the hour it took to get kid B asleep, I’m just glad kid C is so easy to nap these days!

Marv n Joe

2011-01-22T11:50:00.001-08:00

A good friend, Angie, posted a week or so ago that they made Marv n Joe's for dinner the other night. She was very mean...she posted pictures of them. MADE ME SO HUNGRY!!!

I kept that picture up on my computer for a week and it kept making me hungry.

Let me give you a little background for those of you unfortunate to have never had a Marv n Joe. I attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I loved it. The food court (HUB) in the student center (TSC) has a bakery named Hazel's Bakery. Delicious thick fresh baked bread. (I'm getting hungry again).

As an engineering student I knew who Dr. Halling and Dr. Joe were and they were really funny guys. They had experimented with different open face sandwiches and found a combination that they liked. It caught on and became a regular menu item. They even wrote an article in the student newspaper about it which I’ll share here.

Since it’s specific to USU you can’t get it anywhere else…unless you make it yourself. SO I DID! Yesterday my husband came home for lunch and I made us some Marv n Joe’s. And they were FABULOUS!!!!!

Bread, garlic butter, tomatoes, salt and pepper, provolone, parmesan. Then toast it. (I’ll admit I don’t know how to do oil and vinegar at home!)

My husband ate 2, I ate 3. Definitely a success. I’m pretty sure I’ll make more of them again and again.

So let me ask a question. Is an open face sandwich really a sandwich? Does there have to be meat for YOU to like a sandwich? If you did have to have meat, which meat do you think would go best with this? Ham? Bacon? What do you think?

Provident Living Class

2011-01-14T05:57:00.000-08:00

Last night our church had a class on provident living - how to get started on food storage. The recommendation that we should have a 3 month supply of food for a rainy day is nothing new, but saying it, knowing it and doing it are different things.

Here's my personal plan.
1. Inventory my pantry.
2. Plan meals for the next few weeks to eat up anything in my pantry that might be old.
3. Make a basic 3 month meal plan
4. Restock pantry to ensure I can make my 3 month meal plan.

One of the other things I want to do that was talked about last night was making a list of the common things I buy at the store. One of the ladies who spoke last night, Janet, has a typed up list of what she usually buys and it's organized relative to the store she typically shops at. When it's time to go grocery shopping she buys what is circled on her list based on what she has used up. This would make it that I wouldn't have random grocery lists scribbled on papers throughout my house.

I'm not going to try to do these all at the same time, but I'll try to start on my list one at a time and I'll let you know how it goes.

Maybe someday I'll get really good...I'll even coupon...and my grocery bill will be really low!

The joys of a fully stocked freezer

2011-01-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

While I'm still thinking about the pantry challenge vs food storage idea, I'm hoping I can do both. I know I have several boxes of hamburger helper and I'm going to put it on my menu at least once a week for a while, then use a coupon and buy more. I realized though that I was out of ground beef.

The last time I was at Sams Club I saw that they were having a good price on ground beef if you buy a case of it. That's 80 lbs! I had been meaning to call around and see who wanted to go in on a case with me, but my friend Julie beat me to it and I got a case to split with friends.

I took 25 lbs. 10 got cooked up in the oven and put in 10 bags for tacos, spaghetti, hamburger helper etc. 3 lbs became 12 1/4 lb hamburgers, some of them bacon and bleu cheese burgers, some of them cheddar butter burgers. 3 lbs became 24 mini meatloaves from 2 different recipes.

I LOVE knowing I have a full freezer. I've got chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks, fajita meat, pork chops, 2 turkeys and a ham. Not to mention the other miscellaneous stuff. I shouldn't need to go to the freezer isle for a while now! Feels great! I can use up my pantry, use up my freezer and just buy dairy and produce. We'll see how long it lasts.

My kitchen is mostly cleaned up, but not totally. That's the worst part of filling the freezer. Whether I'm doing a big freezer meal session or just doing my ground beef, I HATE cleaning the kitchen after. I wish there were a kitchen fairy that would magically do it for me. Or a husband in town who might want to help. Oh well, enough blogging...back to my kitchen!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-05T08:02:00.001-08:00

You might not be able to tell from this first one, but we are flying kites and my 6yo was concentrating very hard.

This second one if you squint you can see both kites! Nothing better than family time flying kites!

Pantry Challenge vs Building up Food Storage

2011-01-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Several of the food blogs I've read lately have talked about doing a pantry challenge. Using up what's in your pantry, buying only fresh produce and such and saving a bunch on your grocery budget for a month or so. It sounds very appealing to me. I know I have boxes of hamburger helper, cans of soup, cornbread mixes etc that really do need to be eaten up.

On the other hand, we're talking at church about provident living, building up our food storage. Wouldn't it be great to have a year's supply of food for a rainy day. Living in Houston I know how crazy it can get when a hurricane is pointed our way and people go CRAZY buying everything the can in the store. I also know many people who have had job issues and have been so blessed to have food storage built up to use when funds were tight.

Are these two idea contradictory? Can I use up my pantry foods and build my food storage at the same time? Which one is a better idea? If I decide to make more freezer meals...where does that fit in? Can anyone offer any ideas/suggestions to my quandry?

The difference of 1pm church

2011-01-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

We've gone to church at 9am for a long time. We had a few months the end of last year and a few months the year before that when church wasn't at 9am, but for the most part church has started at 9am. There are a lot of things I like about 9am church, but starting today, our church is at 1pm. That may seem odd to those not of my faith, but since our congregations are organized geographically and we share our building with another geographic unit (called a Ward) we trade back and forth each year with what time our ward starts.

I'm amazed at how productive I have been today. This morning I was up with my 3 kids by 6:30am like normal (I wish they slept in a little more, but they seem to wake up at 6am like clockwork!) and I got a lot done. I started watching a church video, made breakfast, chatted with my husband who is in China over the computer, got the older kids in and out of the shower, the baby down for a nap and I showered and dressed all before 9am! Then I cleaned the kitchen, read some in the scriptures, wrote in my journal, got all my papers ready for my church lesson and began composing my first blog post.

We had an early lunch and left for church around 12:30. (My mom came to help me with the boys since my husband is out of town...thanks Mom!) Church is 3 hours long and I have responsibilities in the third hour class which is just for women. I knew we wouldn't get home until after 4:30, so before I left I threw one of my favorite recipes in the crock-pot.

I got the recipe from 365 Days of Slow Cooking and while it doesn't look exactly like hers does, it tastes great and is one of my favorites!

I also made a chocolate pudding cool whip parfait with some strawberries. Again, not the best picture, but delicious!

The kids were wiped out today (and not feeling very well) and all 3 were in bed by 7:15! I guess having church at 1pm works out pretty well!

New year, new goals

2011-01-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

We all make new years resolutions...we rarely keep them. Often things go from something we've RESOLVED to do, to something that's a goal, to something we wish we had done. I think it's human nature and we shouldn't feel bad about it. But I can resolve to make reasonable resolutions and keep them.

Often one of my problems is making too many resolutions. As part of the Pursuit of Excellence (a challenge program from my church) I'm setting goals in the categories of spiritual, intellectual, physical, service and character. I hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew.

One of the intellectual goals relates to developing a new interest in a creative field. Since I'm not typically very creative this one seemed out of my normal comfort zone. I'm thinking that maybe if I try to write interesting creative blog posts on a regular basis it will count. It will definitely be a stretch for me.

I read lots of blogs, food blogs, parenting blogs, product blogs. I'm not really hoping to "break into the blogging world" but I'd like this blog to exist for more than what it currently does. Wish me luck as I resolve to write regularly.

2010-11-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

I love 5MinutesforMom and they have the best Christmas giveaways. Can you believe there are only like 50 days until Christmas? Crazy huh! Well, head over to their website for info about the upcomming giveaways.

Baby Sign Language Material Sale

2010-05-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Many of you know I started my own business several years back called Let's Sign Baby where I teach Baby Sign Language classes. I love teaching and have had lots of fun over the years teaching my own children sign language and helping teach other parents how to sign with their children.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to teach much in the past year with the new baby and Paul being in school. I still have a lot of materials though that I haven't sold and would love to get out of my house. I decided I'd rather loose money on the product than not sell it at all, and I can buy more inventory in a few years when I start teaching on a more regular basis.

Anyway, almost all my products are from the company Sign2Me and specific information about the products can be found on their website.

Here's the products, the ridiculously low prices I'll sell them for today and how many I have available.

The Complete Learning Kit $30 - 7 available
Pick Me Up $25 - 7 available
Flash Cards $10 - 16 available
Nursery Rhyme Posters $30 - 3 sets available
Reminder Series Posters $60 - 3 sets available

I also have 2 Signing Time Sets
Baby Signing Time Vol 1 and 2 Gift Set $30
Signing Time Vol 10-13 Gift Set $40

If you are interested in buying some of these products for yourself or as gifts for others, or if you have any questions at all, please leave me a comment or e-mail me. We can work out payment and delivery. Have a great day and I hope you enjoy learning to sign with your children as much as I have with mine.

End of January Progress Report

2010-01-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

I'm headed out of town so for me this is the end of working out in January, so here's my report.

Well, I finished my first EA Sports Active 30 Day Challenge yesterday. I think it technically took me 31 days, but that's cause I don't workout on Sunday and I had some extra lazy days in there. I did it on the "Easy" setting and I think I was most surprised at how my knees hurt. There were A LOT of lunges in there and my knees were just not ready for that much bending. Overall I enjoyed the 30 day challenge, and while there were some parts that really challenged me (kick ups and high knees) most of it wasn't too challenging and it was pretty enjoyable. I plan on working out on just the Wii Fit Plus for February, and I'll go back to EA Sports Active on a "Medium" intensity for March.

Now for the progress report. As you can see from the picture below, I did a pretty good job of working out every day. Sunday is my day of rest, and there were 2 days last week when it just didn't get done, but other than that I'm really proud of my progress. But...I don't feel like my weight or BMI really shifted at all. I tried hard to work out at the same time (between 8-9am) most days and wear the same workout clothes each day too (I did wash them of course!). I hoped that would reduce the crazy fluctuations I've experienced on the scale, but it didn't. I'll try even harder this next month to work out at the same time and in the same outfit, and will hope again for less fluctuations, but I'm not holding my breath.

My baby was born in November and when he was 1 week old I tried on, and fit into, my non-maternity, size 10 jeans. At 2 weeks old I started wearing my size 8 jeans that I have worn for the past 3 years since kid B was born. I'm proud to say that when kid C was 2 months old I bought some size 6 jeans! I was wearing that size before and after the birth of kid A, but haven't worn those for YEARS and was super proud of myself. While the scale isn't always my friend, I'm happy in my jeans and that's at least something. I still have to get rid of "the belly" and I'd still like to lose 15 pounds or more, but the other day I caught a glance of myself in the mirror and liked the way my butt looked, so I can't complain too much. I will keep up the good work and keep updating this blog to make myself accountable. Wish me luck!

Working on my routine

2010-01-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

I have almost finished my EA Sports Active 30 day challenge. I've been doing it on an easy intensity and assume throughout the year I'll get to the medium and high intensity. I'm enjoying it and feel sore during and after my workout, but I don't always feel like I'm pushing myself. I haven't done much with other workouts, but I plan on working on some of those when I finish the challenge. Anyone who has suggestions on what they've liked doing on Active please let me know.

On my rest days I've been using the Wii Fit Plus. Last year this time I was really good at using the Wii Fit and would do 30 min every day of yoga, strength training and mostly aerobics. So far this year I've tried putting together some of the routines they have, but haven't found exactly what I want. I really wish it was more customizable. I'll admit when I do get on the Wii Fit Plus I'm often playing around with the new stuff on Training Plus, but most of that isn't very aerobic...but they are fun.

I need to get myself organized and figure out a good routine...or a few good routines...that will help me feel myself pushed and help me see results.

Working out with the Wii

2010-01-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

I got the Wii Fit Plus and EA Sports Active for Christmas. Yippee!

I am working hard to get myself organized and exercise everyday. I know, for myself, that if I don't work out first thing in the morning, it's just not going to happen. Once I shower and get dressed though, I'm not going to exercise, so I have to do it early. I try to exercise immediately after Kid A gets on the school bus, but before Kid B needs to get driven to preschool. Kid C (2 months) still feeds on demand and that makes it hard, but I still have to loose all the residual baby weight.

My mother taught me the saying "Horses sweat, Men Perspire, Women Glisten." I don't sweat. I've had gym memberships, I've worked out regularly on both of my Wii workout games, but I don't sweat. I get winded, I get sore, I feel "gross, I need to shower" but I don't sweat. My husband says I'm not pushing myself hard enough, and maybe I'm not, but part of me thinks maybe I just don't sweat. Any thoughts for me?

Luckily, so far the pounds are slowly slipping away. The scale is getting a pound less every 2 or 3 weeks. It's not nearly as fast as I want it too, but I'm pleased it's moving. This weekend I bought a pair of jeans one size smaller than I've worn in 4 years and they fit! I'm pretty excited!

Fitness Friday

2009-12-17T11:57:00.001-08:00

Didn't do so great with my exercise this week...only did it one day, but at least I got one day done! And it said I had lost weight too, which is amazing considering all the Christmas goodies around the house. I still have more goodies to bake (and eat) but I'll try to exercise even more next week and I've got to drink more water.

Anybody have any idea how many calories a nursing mother "should" eat...especially if I want my baby and I to stay healthy...but I still want to loose weight?

Wish me luck!

Getting back on the horse

2009-12-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

I know I've said this before, but I'm getting started again on the Wii Fit. I want to do it everyday again like I did before I got pregnant with Chris, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't accomplish it. I'm still waking up multiple times in the middle of the night to nurse so I don't always have the energy to work out first thing in the morning, and I know for myself, that if I don't do it early in the morning, I'm not going to get it done. I got on this morning, did over 30 min (mostly aerobics) and feel great! I've already lost the 18 lbs I gained while pregnant and am down another 5 lbs on top of that. I still have 10 lbs I want to loose, but I'll be patient and keep working out. I'm still hopeful my husband will buy me the EA Sports Active and the Wii Fit Plus for Christmas, so I know that will help! Wish me luck!

$150 shopping spree at 5 minutes for mom

2009-11-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

5 Minutes for Mom is starting their Christmas Giveaways with a $150 shopping spree from their stores. Check it out here and see all the awesome stuff they have on their site!

Wow...look at the time!

2009-11-06T05:57:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's November already? I'm having a baby in 3 days! AAAAAHHHHHH!

I'm a little freaked out and realize I haven't blogged in quite a long time. Then again, I don't think anyone really reads this blog, so it's probably not that big of a deal.

Anyway, I've got lots of great goals I want to try to accomplish and other than my personal journal, I think this is the best place for me to try to keep track of some of them.

Here are the goals I've set recently:

1. Drink water like a fish. I will be nursing my new baby and I really think that the water intake will help me drop the 18 lbs I put on with this pregnancy, plus the extra 15-20 lbs I want to loose on top of that. I believe it helped with kid A but I didn't do it as much with kid B. Maybe that's partly why I didn't drop the weight as easily with kid B. I'm not going to focus on working out or anything until after the holiday season...still hoping I get Wii Fit Plus and EA Sports Active for Christmas.

2. Read scriptures daily. Now that I'm in the RS Presidency (seriously...what was He thinking?) I know I need to focus more on the spirituality stuff. I am going to start with the conference Ensign, read The Church News and Mormon Times, and study with Preach My Gospel. I know this won't be easy with a newborn to set a schedule yet, but that's my goal and I'm sticking to it!

3. Keep the house cleaner. I finally after MONTHS dusted off the top of the entertainment center and fireplace. GROSSSSS! I've got to do a better job. I'd love a maid to come help me clean once or twice a month, but that doesn't magically seem to be happening, so I'm going to endeavor to do better myself. Again, this one might not be a priority on days when I can't even find time to shower due to the baby, but I've got to at least try cause that was really gross!

4. Get all Christmas shopping (including stockings) done before Thanksgiving. I'm well on my way, but still feel I have a lot to do. I'd like to get the Christmas cards out sooner rather than later too, but we'll see. I'm starting to enter the Christmas giveaways on some of the websites so you'll see more posts about those randomly on this site, plus see more buttons on the side. I started this last year and have actually won quite a few things over the past year. Hopefully I can win more stuff this year.

I have no idea how crazy life will be starting next week with a newborn, but I'm going to try to keep some of these goals. Wish me luck as I embark on this next phase of life...life with 3 kids!

Cloth Diaper Giveaway

2009-09-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Check out the giveaway at

http://designerclothdiapers.blogspot.com/2009/09/grand-opening-and-free-give-away.html?showComment=1251825326736#c5210123086113306860

Or don't...since I hope I win!

Giveaway Winner

2009-06-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

The winner of my Poster Printing giveaway by uprinting.com is Julie! Congrats and I hope you enjoy your new poster!

My first Giveaway!!!! A Poster Print from UPrinting

2009-05-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to host my very first giveaway! I was contacted by UPrinting earlier this month and they are sponsoring my blog and have asked me to host this giveaway.

Who wouldn't like a free 18x24 Poster Print to hang on your wall? I'd probably put a family picture in, but it might be something just of my boys...then again we're heading to Hawaii soon, so maybe we'll get an amazing scenery shot. There are so many options to choose from. And with Father's Day coming up this giveaway has perfect timing.

I haven't personally tried their Poster Printing or Canvas Printing but my mother-in-law has a fabulous canvas print of our last big family group picture on her wall and I'd love to have something similar in my home.

Check out the different options available at www.onlineposterprinting.com and you'll be amazed at how reasonable the prices are and I'm sure you'll want one of your own. And what better way to get one on your own than to win one here!

Here's how to enter. Leave a comment on this post describing the photo you would use to print your prize if you won. Those of you who have a blog, post about this giveaway with a link back to my blog and you can get a second entry (leave a second comment letting me know you did it.) This giveaway is only open to US or Canadian resident and will run from this Friday until next Friday. I will use random.org to choose the winner on Friday, June 5, 2009 at noon and will announce the winner that evening. I will e-mail the winner later that day.

Good luck everyone!

Fitness Friday Post

2009-05-05T14:21:00.001-07:00

I started this week with big aspirations and a goal to work out at least 3 times for 30 min each. But this first trimester isn't quite done yet, and mornings were really quite difficult for me. I only got one session done, but at least I did that. Monday I worked out in my pajamas, since my workout clothes don't fit. My pants were a little too long as I did the step aerobics and I really should have worn a sports bra for the run, but I did get first place on the Basic Run - Short with 205%! I haven't moved on to the Long or Island Lap because I am still so winded so easily. I did my 30 min and moved on with my day.

I'm super proud of my husband, I think he worked out every single day, and did at least 30 min each time. I need to take a page out of his book and do a little better. Oh well, there's always next week! Wish me luck (no more morning sickness and a little more energy.)

JVC BlogHer Sweepstakes

2009-05-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

I entered the JVC BlogHer Sweepstakes to try to get to the BlogHer conference in Ohio. Check it out here.

Fitness Friday Post

2009-04-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't posted on Fitness Friday for way too long, but that's because I haven't exercised in way too long! Don't think I'm just lazy, I'm finally ready to announce this pregnancy and morning sickess has taken it's toll in the past month or so. I'm just about done with this first trimester and hoping that I start feeling better any day now. Some days are better than others, and I decided I was ready to start working out this week. I like working out in the morning best, despite how hard it's been in the mornings. My goal is to work out 3 times this week for 30 min each. I won't push myself too hard, but I've got to get started. I'm beginning this pregnancy 13 lbs heavier than the last 2 and while I still want to loose 10 lbs, I know it's more important to just stay healthy for the baby. Morning sickess has caused me to loose 5 lbs and my goal is only to gain 20 lbs in total. Wish me luck!

Here's how the week turned out.

Monday - I got up at a good time, ate breakfast with my kids, got my oldest off to school, and thought I was doing good, but then I began to feel sick to my stomach so I laid on the couch for an extra 2 hours then still felt sick. I finally just took a shower and got ready for the day. Guess working out will have to wait another day.

Tuesday - Despite the heavy rain and flooding here and no school for the kiddos I finally got on the Wii Fit for the first time in over a month. I started off with Yoga and Strength Training and was totally winded after just a few exercises. I moved on to Aerobics and did the Advanced Step and Walked the Basic Run. I did the last 10 minutes in Balance Games to cool down and was still exhausted at the end. Then I did my Body Test and it confirmed that I've lost 5 lbs in the past month. That's not from exercise ladies, that's from being sick and not wanting to eat anything. I was pleased that my age was 2 years younger than my real age and I think it was a great first start back to being fit.

Wednesday - I allowed myself to be pretty relaxed this morning, but did get started about 9am. I was too winded to go on after 20 min, but at least I did it! I did pretty much the same routine as Tuesday, but with different Yoga and Strength Training and I didn't do any balance games. I was happy again to have my age be 3 years younger than real life! I think I'm going to have to get new work out clothes though, because these are already too tight on my belly and are uncomfortable.

Thursday - My husband got up early this morning and worked out for the first time in a month then left it on for me, so I had to do it! I did get my 30 min in and I'm finding while I do get winded easily, I am doing better and lasting for longer before I feel I'm too tired to go on. Guess that means I'm getting back in shape a little. But I am exhausted right now and need to shower!

Friday - I had my dr apt this morning and showered and got ready instead of working out, but hey, I already got my 3 days in so I'm a winner! I heard the heartbeat today and so far everyone is healthy so I can't complain about anything! Wish me luck and any advice you can offer about exercising while pregnant will be greatly appreciated.

Want a Video Cam?

2009-04-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Try the review and giveaway from The Dirty Shirt

Who doesn't love chocolate!

2009-04-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Try to win free chocolate (yummy!) at Full Nest Reviews.

Diaper Bag Giveaway at Full Nest Reviews

2009-03-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

My good friend Stacey just started a new blog called Full Nest Reviews and is hosting a giveaway for an awesome diaper bag. Check it out!

Fitness Friday Post - Week 8 and 9

2009-03-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

I was out of town last weekend, Spring Break and all, so I didn't get to post about last week and now it's past time already to post for this week. Where does the time fly?

Last week I didn't do great on the Wii Fit, but it was Spring Break so what do you expect? What is it about having the kids home that means you don't get anything done? My schedule was totally off. I did get my 30 min Monday and Tuesday and actually did some good workouts, but Wednesday was the 1 year anniversary of my father's death and I spent the day with my mom visiting the cemetary and trying to keep her occupied. Not ideal for working out. Then we went camping for a long weekend...things were pretty busy and pretty crazy, but it sure was a lot of fun!

This week I did much better. Despite a few days of having very little energy I did work out Monday - Thursday, and most of them I got a full 30 min in. Monday I was afraid of how much weight I had gained pigging out on our camping trip, but it said I hadn't gained or lost anything. Yippee! Tuesday I did 20 min of the free run, and Wednesday I did 20 min of the free step. Wednesday night I started feeling sore and Thursday morning I could barely move, my legs were so SORE. I took it easy and didn't do any aerobics, just yoga and strength training, but still had a good work out. Friday was my DS 5yr old birthday party and I was too busy (excuses I know!) but chasing around a house full of little kids counts!

I haven't lost any more weight, but that's ok. While I'd still love to lose 10 lbs, if I can maintain where I am for a while, I'll be happy. Staying healthy for me and my family is most important. I'm changing my goal to maintenance for now but I'm motivated to eat healthy and continue to exercise for now. I'd love to stay in the normal range and never move up to overweight, but I'll let you know how that goal goes. Wish me luck!

Fitness Friday - 7

2009-03-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

I participated in the Wii Mommies Blogswap this week and send my entry to Jen over at www.onemomsworld.com But she's going through some family stuff right now with her dad and she hasn't posted my blog post yet. That's ok. The girl who was assigned to post on my site hasn't contacted me at all, so I'll just go ahead and post my own entry here. If it gets posted on both sites, that'll be ok.

I’m excited to post here on Jen’s site for my Fitness Friday post. I think the Wii Mommies have a great idea here with this blogswap and I’m sure this will increase traffic on lots of posts!

Here’s a little about myself first though. My name is Jen also and I am a SAHM with 2 little boys, 5 and 2. They keep me plenty busy, but in my “spare time” I work as an environmental consultant, teach Baby Sign Language classes and work with the youth at my church. I typically blog at http://jenlovesfreestuff.blogspot.com I blog about contests, giveaways, and my Fitness Friday updates.

I try to work out every day on the Wii Fit for 30 min (except Sunday) and have been doing this for about 7 weeks now. I typically start with some aerobics, then do a full row of yoga and the corresponding strength training, then move on to more aerobics and finish with a column of balance games. I’ve lost approximately 5 lbs, but want to lose 15-20 more (unless I get pregnant soon which I REALLY hope happens).

My whole family does the Wii Fit too. My husband and I have a healthy competition going. I beat him on most of the yoga but he beats me on the strength training. We’re pretty even on the Aerobics and Balance Games though. My 5 year old really likes to do it (it’s his first introduction to any video games!) and can do most of the exercises fairly well. My 2 year old likes to stand next to me and pretend to do the exercises, but can’t really do it well standing on the board, so he doesn’t even try much anymore. If I stand behind him and hold onto his hips, I can get him to have the highest score on the Table Tilt though!

This week I haven’t done as well as I would have liked too. Saturday I had to go teach a class at 9am, so I only got 5 min done in the morning. That evening my 5yr old got sick and he stayed home Sunday – Thursday. Monday I got 16 min, Tuesday and Wednesday I didn’t get any. Thursday I did my full 30 min and felt really good about it.

It may not be my best week, but I still feel motivated and promise to get back on that horse this next week. For anyone looking to loose weight and have fun without paying for a gym membership I definitely recommend the Wii Fit. You could even try to win one from the Wii Mommies contests and twitter party this Saturday!

Good luck and thanks to Jen for letting me post on her great website!

Who reads this?

2009-03-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

I know some read this blog on Fridays when I link up on the Wii Mommies Fitness Friday posts, but I'm really curious who follows this blog on a regular basis. If you subscribe to my feed on Google Reader or follow me on Blogger, or check this often just drop me a quick comment and let me know.

(I'm trying to decide what I can and can't post here based on my audience!)

Wii Mommies Contests and Twitter Party

2009-03-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

So I'm totally excited about the Wii Mommies newest contests and twitter party. I've never been a part of a twitter party before, but I'll definitely log in on Saturday night. And you can go to each of the mommies different websites to enter for different prizes for the Wii. I would LOVE to win a new game for the Wii. Check it out!

Fitness Friday Post - 6

2009-03-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

First of all, I had so much fun in the Wii Olympics Saturday! I did my events first thing in the morning, got new high scores for everything and was pretty excited. Then my husband came along and beat me in every category! I had to go back and beat him on a few later when he was at a church meeting! And we won some stuff too! Yippee!

Saturday, as part of the Olympics, I did the Island Lap 3 times, the Hula Hoop only once (I'm so bad at that one!), and did each of the 3 balance games LOTS! I think my final time was 1 hour 16 minutes.

Sunday I did my balance test as always, but I don't work out on Sundays.

Monday I wasn't really into it, still a little burned out from Saturday, plus it was cold, so I had turned on the fireplace, but then it was too hot to do my exercises. I did some aerobics, deep breathing and ALL the balance games. It was fun and I got my 30 min.

Tuesday I got 33 min done. I did one row of yoga, and lots of aerobics.

Wednesday I got 30 min, did another row of yoga, some strength training, quite a bit of aerobics, then tried the soccer heading. I'm getting better at it, but there's no way I'll ever get it perfect!

Thursday I just didn't feel like exercising. I did my body test to get the stamp, and it said I had gained 2.5 lbs which made me grumpy. True, I had fast food for lunch and ice cream for a snack after some major potty training setbacks yesterday, but I had a nice big salad for dinner and didn't eat any food at the party I went to in the evening. 2.5 lbs! Grumpy!

Friday I did much better again. Got 31 min in of one row of Yoga, no strength training today though, lots of aerobics and just a little balance. Luckily it said I had dropped 3.1 lbs, so that makes up for yesterday's scale error! That puts my total at 5.1 lbs since I started. Yippee! And my age was 27 (I'm almost 32 in real life) So I'm happy today.

If only I could get my 5 yr old to not have potty training issues...then I'd be REALLY HAPPY!

Olympic Results

2009-03-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

I am proud to say that the Thomas Family represented well at Saturday's Wii Olympics.
Paul won second place on the Soccer Heading and the Penguin Slide and fourth place overall.
I got second place on the Ski Jump and 3rd Place on the Basic Run!

However, the woman who won first place in almost every category was international, so we got even better prizes than we thought!

I do love free stuff! Thanks to the Wii Mommies for putting it together! I hope they do it again.

Paul's Wii Olympics

2009-02-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

My husband Paul competed too and here are his scores

Island Lap

Hula Hoop

Soccer Heading

Ski Jump

Penguin Slide

Wii Mommies Olympics

2009-02-28T06:34:00.000-08:00

Here are my entries for the Wii Mommies Olympics.

This is for my Basic Run - Island Lap

I did the Island Lap 3 times today. The first time I only got 101%, the second time I got 204% and the third time I got my 280%. Still not as good as the 309% I have in first place, but I'm still proud of it!

This is my Super Hula Hoop - 10 minutes

This is for the Soccer Heading - Advanced

Here's my penguin slide. I've done it several times, but this one was first and is the best time I've gotten so far.

This is my ski jump

I was happy with my 346m, then my husband got 355m so I had to try again and got 372m!

Fitness Friday Post - 5

2009-02-26T06:14:00.000-08:00

This week I decided to push myself harder. I've been enjoying working out, but am still a little frustrated that the pounds are not melting away. Instead of working out for 30 min a day I set a goal to work out for 45 minutes. I also set a goal to work out first thing in the morning instead of after the kids naps.

I had already exercised Friday before I posted last week, so the 30 min on Friday goes to last week.

Saturday I got 45 min. I didn't do any strength training, but I am having fun doing the running and I think I have all 10 spots on the Advanced Step.

Sunday I don't ever work out, but I did do my body test.

Monday I got 47 min. I did half the yoga and the corresponding strength training, then a bunch of aerobics. I've been working on the rhythm boxing and finally got the trainer to say "Good Job." I didn't get any balance games in today, but I enjoyed my workout regardless.

Tuesday I got 48 min. I did the other half of the yoga and strength training, lots of aerobics and some balance games.

Wednesday I got 45 min. I have been unable to get 800 spins on the 3 minute Super Hula Hoop, but I keep trying. I'm still running every day and am enjoying it.

Thursday I couldn't muster the motivation to keep going. I think I had burnt out a little. I woke up, put on my exercise clothes, then checked my e-mail, played on facebook, and goofed off some to avoid working out. I did get 20 min done, but my heart wasn't in it. I did the Island Lap, thinking it would give me an easy 12 minutes, but my burn rate was only 65% and it only gave me 8 minutes. :(

Friday I re-dedicated myself and did my 45 minutes. I did my yoga, strength training, aerobic and balance games. It was a good workout, but I didn't push myself too much. I'm really enjoying the boxing (Thanks to Tiffany from www.noordinaryhomestead.com for encouraging me to try it!)

At the end I was proud to see I had lost another pound, which brings my total to 4. Still not the progress I want, but I'm proud of myself regardless. I sure wish I was seeing more results, but I'm glad I'm still having fun. I'm also proud of myself for doing it everyday this month!

You can bet I'll be doing it tomorrow with the Wii Fit Olympics also.

Congrats to Jenn from the Coupon Coup for the expansion. I look forward to the new section on the forum for prenatal care. I still hope to have an expansion of my own soon as I am just finishing my 4th round of Clomid. I hope to have something to announce in a few weeks. Wish me luck!

Fitness Friday Post - 4

2009-02-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

I'm dang proud of myself! I haven't EVER had an exercise routine before, but here I am, still doing this 4 weeks later everyday! Now I was out of town Friday and Saturday, but I did manage to do my body test before I left Friday and after I got back Saturday and again on Sunday. So far my pretty pink calendar for February has a beautiful pink heart on EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!

This week I've still been able to get 30 min in Monday through Friday and I'm feeling good about it. While technically I've lost 3 lbs since starting in December, I still think the scale is wacky and I don't believe I've lost any weight. I think I need to start eating healthier, but I'm just not there yet. Somehow I've got to work on eating a healthy breakfast every day and drinking more water. I don't drink soda anyway, but I do need more liquids. I am working on a goal with some of the young women in my church to "Improve your health by developing and implementing a regular fitness program and learning to cook and eat food that is part of a healthful diet." I've got my fitness program, but gotta work on the healthy diet part.

As for what I've been working on this week, the 3 minute hula hoop is still kicking my butt and I've only once accomplished my goal of getting over 800 spins on it (796 today...grrr!). I'm still not ready to move up to the 6 minute. I did fall in love with the running this week though. Thanks to Cynthia's post on Tuesday I've been running at a slower, much more steady pace and tried to actually enjoy the "sights" on the Wii Fit Island. The first time I tried it my burn rate was a whopping 228%! Heck Yah! The next time it was 202%. My Yoga Form is getting better, but some of the strength training is just too hard for me. Seriously, push-ups! Not my cup of tea, but I do some everyday, so hopefully I'll get better eventually.

Although still trying to get preggers with #3, I'd like to loose the "mommy belly" I still have from my 2.5yr old son. Any suggestions on which exercises are going to help get rid of that flab the best? Is hula hooping every day really going to melt it away? Let me know your thoughts!

Fitness Friday Post - 3

2009-02-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

Here's my third week posting my Wii Fit experience and I'm proud to say that I exercised EVERY DAY. Now granted I didn't make my 30 min goal over the weekend, but I did make it every week day and I'm pretty happy about it.

I'll admit, I'm impatient! I want results and I want them NOW, but as I tell the families I teach Baby Sign Language to, "don't give up, you will see results, just keep trying." I AM still motivated to keep going and while neither my waistline nor the scale shows improvements, I get 1st Place, New Record one something every day, my balance on the body test was perfect twice this week and my Wii Fit age is in the 20s often, so that's something.

My routine is holding up so far, a row of Yoga with the corresponding Strength Training, some Aerobics, then finally the fun balance games. Then I top it off with my Body Test. I'm still having fun, and my little guys keep watching me, cheering me on, which I love!

I'm trying to work my way up to the challenge on the 6 minute Super Hula Hoop but the 3 minute is still kicking my butt. Hopefully I'll post more about that next week!

New Crock Pot Blog

2009-02-04T06:20:00.001-08:00

Check out this blog for 365 days of crock potting. I can't wait to try some of the recipes!

Fitness Friday Post - 2

2009-02-02T12:51:00.001-08:00

Here's my second week of being accountable for my fitness. Knowing that I'm going to be posting this does make me want to do better! Thanks Wii Fit Mommies!

Friday I worked out for 30 min as soon as I posted last week! I felt good!

Saturday we had battery issues and it kept getting disconnected :( My husband finally fixed it, but I had already taken a shower, so...oh well, it marked that I had 5 minutes!

Sunday I did my body test and worked out for 5 minutes, but I was working on family history with my mom and felt that was more important. When I did my body test it said I had gained 15 lbs since Friday. AS IF! Whatever!

This week I've kinda gotten into a routine. Start with one aerobics, then do a full line of yoga and some of the strength training that go with it, then move on to some more aerobics for most of the time, and finish with a column of balance games. Then I do my Body Test. I find I do better on my body test at the end.

Monday I worked out for over 30 min. I tried the Super Hula Hoop 10 minutes...that wore me out! But I was pleased to have my Age be 24! Too bad my weight was only down 1 lb.

Tuesday I again got my 30 min and did the basic run, island lap, for the first time. I was exhausted by the end and was glad it gave me 9 minutes credit for that. In general I wasn't really feeling it as I did my yoga and strength training. Again it said I lost less than a pound.

Wednesday, I didn't do as good. I can make lots of excuses about taking the kids to the library and having a church activity I was in charge of, but they are just excuses. I did do my body test though, so that's something...right? Two pounds gone today. I don't trust the scale though!

Thursday my mom was over, my husband came home from work early and I taught a baby sign language class. Seems like the same excuses from the day before! My body test today said I had gained 3 lbs. Grrrr.

Friday again, I know I'm about to post but I did just work out for over 30 minutes and felt really good about it! I've got kids home sick today, but not too sick thank goodness. We all just worked out then took a nice long shower together! Again my scale was wacky. I took it and it said I had lost the 3 lbs from yesterday, but then one of my kids was playing with my remote, so I had to re-do the test and 2 minutes later it said I had lost 5 lbs. Whatever!

I'll keep at it and post again next week...I promise!

Fitness Friday Post

2009-01-30T06:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't been as valiant this past week on the Wii Fit as I tried to be, but I'm still pretty proud of myself. And I won on the Wii Fit Mommies Forum yesterday! Yippee!

I worked out for over half an hour on Friday, Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. Sunday and Tuesday I only did my body test and nothing else and Thursday I didn't even turn it on (although I did play bowling on Wii Sports with my little boys.) Both Friday and Saturday I did a full row of Yoga and then the Strength training exercises they told me to do to complete the workouts. I'd also do some aerobics and MAN WAS I SORE Saturday night and Sunday. Monday and Wednesday I did more Aerobics and Balance Games and just a little Yoga.

I'm really loving doing this, and I feel pretty motivated, both by myself and by my 2 kids and husband who are also all doing it. I don't trust the scale on it though, it'll tell me I've gained 10 lbs one day and that I've lost 10 lbs the next day. Ignoring those few random outliers, I think it says I've lost about 5 lbs since I started right after Christmas. I haven't noticed it on my body yet, but I really hope that happens soon.

I'm also really hoping to get pregnant again soon (we've been trying for well over a year) and feel confident that this will be a good way to exercise when I'm preggo, although it may throw my balance off some. Pray for me that I get blessed with another child soon!

Gift card to Carrabas

2009-01-28T09:44:00.000-08:00

Go to 5 Minutes for Giveaways to try to win a $50 gift card to Carrabas. It's where Paul and I went on our first date so I love it!

Car Seat Cover

2009-01-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

Check out Momma Findings for a chance to win an adorable car seat cover from Sprout Shell.

Stroller hanger

2008-12-23T07:23:00.001-08:00

Our strollers always get in the way, but here's a new product to help us get organized.
Win it here!

Sugar Cookie Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-12-19T15:06:00.000-08:00

Sugar Cookie Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-12-13T11:16:00.001-08:00

movie and game giveaways

2008-12-10T05:27:00.000-08:00

Try to win the video Prince Caspian at 5 Minutes for Giveaways

Or, try to win a Wii PopStar Guitar at The Dirty Shirt.

Check these out!

2008-12-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

5 Minutes for Giveaways is giving away a new car seat! I tried to win one of these last month, and didn't, maybe I'll get lucky today!

The Dirty Shirt is giving away a software package from Avanquest and some Christmas CDs.

5 Minutes for Giveaways

2008-12-08T06:07:00.001-08:00

Because they are getting so many things to give away, 5 Minutes for Mom just started a new site, 5 Minutes for Giveaways!

They are starting out by giving away an awesome digital picture frame. Click here to try to win it.

I hope I win!

3 more giveaways

2008-12-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Dinner Party Frock Giveaway at Grograin

Temperal Scanner Thermometer at Dirty Shirt

Sweet Baby products at Dirty Shirt

2 giveaways

2008-12-05T07:08:00.001-08:00

1. Hoopnotica...heard of it? Me neither, but Momma findings is giving away a hoola hoop and exercise information. I'd love to try it!

2. 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a $500 gift card to Home Depot! We love that store!

Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-12-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

Grograin giveaway of vinyl decals for your home. Check it out!

Scribble It GIVEAWAY!!!!

Dress at Grograin

2008-11-30T20:29:00.000-08:00

Check out the website at Grograin to try to win an adorable dress. Now if only I had a little girl to dress up!

Thanksgiving is over, but here are some giveaways!

2008-11-29T18:03:00.001-08:00

On Thanksgiving I found out I won the Pillsburry giveaway! I was so excited. Now for today's info.

5 Minutes for Mom is having a giveaway for a family meal planner. I love hosting family meals, and this would probably be great! Plus it has recipes! I love recipes

The Dirty Shirt is giving away a copy of Christmas Sucks. It's supposed to be funny and again, has recipes!

Good luck!

So many giveaways this morning

2008-11-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

I'm just going to list them all really quick before I get swallowed up by the laundry. Good luck!

The Kandy Kisses Boutique is having a Black Friday Sale and Giveaway. Adorable stuff. Check it out!

5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a Beatle the Bard book. Pretty cool.

It also has a give away for new jeans. I totally need this!

Momma Findings is giving away a V-Tech system. I KNOW my kids would love this!

The Dirty Shirt has lots of stuff, but I liked the paci-partner. It would have helped with my kids!

More giveaway info...see below

2008-11-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

The Dirty Shirt is hosting a giveaway for The Shrunks products. they look pretty cool.

Also some Lands End products at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Another fun giveaway at The Dirty Shirt

2008-11-21T05:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a giveaway for Voice Lessons. Click Here.

Outfit giveaway at Grosgrain

2008-11-21T05:50:00.001-08:00

She seriously makes the cutest clothes. Check out her latest. Here.

Room Art from Bosco Bear on 5 Minutes for Mom

2008-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

We still don't know how to decorate Brian's room, but removable art from Bosco Bear would be great! Check it out at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Lots and Lots of Giveaways at The Dirty Shirt

2008-11-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

I just found a great site for giveaways! It was a link off of Momma Findings. Thanks for sharing.

Here are some of the great items we can try to win.

A momAgenda Desktop. Who couldn't use that! Here's the giveaway.

Next is a basket of indulgence including spa stuff and chocolate chex mix. YUMM

How about an apron from Carolyn's Kitchen. They are super cute and I could use a cute apron. Here's the giveaway.

Happy Panda has some adorable clothes for the bigger baby. Which my second definitely was! He could have used this stuff. Try for the giveaway here.

Need some baby shoes? Try See Kai Run. Try to win here.

Have you tried Zoobies? It's a toy, pillow and blanket in one. Super cute. Win it!

The Dirty Shirt is giving away a Sheep Sleep from Cloud B. Looks like a cute product.

Almost done. If you need a new stroller, check out Joovy products. They are giving away a Zoom!

Lastly, I know my kid would love a V.Smile Baby. I'm sure if I want him to have it, but I'll try to win it anyway. Here's the link to this giveaway.

Crayon Roll at Momma Findings

2008-11-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

This adorable crayon holder that rolls up...My kids need this. Check out Momma Findings for the giveaway and Retrorugrats for more cute ideas.

Christmas ornaments at Momma Findings

2008-11-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

Today's giveaway is some beautiful personalized ornaments from Whimsical Creations. Check it out!

T-shirt giveaway at Thrifty and Chic

2008-11-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

The Grateful Mom t-shirt company is giving one away at Thrifty and Chic. These are so cute! I'd love to proudly display that I'm a happy mom!

Pillsbury basket at Momma Findings

2008-11-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Pillsbury is giving away a great basket of stuff at Momma Findings. Looks like a great set!

Custom Camera Strap at Grosgrain

2008-11-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

My husband would love this strap! Check it out! Custom Camera Strap GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Custom Photo Jewelry at 5 Minutes for Moms

2008-11-19T06:01:00.001-08:00

I saw some other custom jewelry yesterday and was sad to find out the giveaway had ended. Imagine my excitement when I saw this one late last night! Check it out here!

FREE Cookbook - Finish the Feast at Auction Girl Vintage

2008-11-19T05:44:00.001-08:00

I am excited to be doing Thanksgiving this year and hope to have lots of leftovers. Here's a downloadable cookbook of recipes to use with leftover Turkey. And check out her other site too. She's awesome!

Zip and Go from Mom Loves Today

2008-11-18T14:22:00.001-08:00

They are giving away a Zip and Go on the Mom Loves Today site. Totally cool. I hope I win!

Beautiful frame at Better Home Interiors

2008-11-18T14:12:00.001-08:00

Giveaway for a gorgeous frame. Check it out at Better Home Interiors.

Construction Toy at 5 Minutes for Moms

2008-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

Check out 5 Minutes for Moms for their giveaway of a Totem Boys Recycled Construction Toy.

Poingo at 5 Minutes for Moms

2008-11-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

One giveaway today at 5 Minutes for Moms is a Free Poingo. If you don't know what it is, go check it out!

WowWee Alive at Momma Findings

2008-11-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

Momma Findings is hosting a really adorable giveaway of WowWee Alive stuffed animals. My kids LOVE their stuffed animals, and one that's "alive" would make their day. Check it out!

Christmas Delights Blog Party at Momma Findings

2008-11-17T07:01:00.000-08:00

Momma Findings has started their Christmas Delights Holiday Blog Party. It will last for a week I think, so I hope to blog about it every day!
Today's giveaway is for a blog makeover from For Goodness Sakes. The design kits she has on her site are totally cute! Who couldn't use a makeover?

Zehn T-shirts and cute jewelry at Thrifty & Chic

2008-11-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Check out Thrifty & Chic
Adorable stuff!

Christmas Giveaway 2008 at 5 Minutes for Moms

2008-11-14T19:21:00.000-08:00

What a great site and giveaway they are doing at
5 Minutes for Moms
They are adding new prizes every day, so keep checking back to try to win some great prizes!

Baby Wearing Giveaway part 2 at Thrifty & Chic

2008-11-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a second baby carrier giveaway. I really hope I win one of these! They look great!
Thrifty & Chic

Watercolor Portrait Giveaway on Grosgrain

2008-11-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

So, not only does Grosgrain have the coolest outfits, but look at this cute custom portrait giveaway! This would be AWESOME to Win!

Commissioned Watercolor Portrait GIVEAWAY!!!!

Photo Cards and Postage from Skip to My Lou

2008-11-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

The site Skip to My Lou
is hosting a giveaway for photo cards and picture it postage. Looks totally cool! I hope I win. You can try too!

Baby Wearing Giveaway at Thrifty & Chic

2008-11-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

I love the baby wearing I've done and look forward to doing more with more kids. Here's a great giveaway.
Thrifty & Chic
Love it!

Grograin Grand Opening

2008-11-12T11:37:00.000-08:00

This site has the cutest little girl clothes! I can't wait to have a daughter to wear them!
GROGRAINSTORE.COM
Check it out!

Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

GrosgrainStore.com Grand Opening & Giftcard Giveaway!!!!!!!!

2008 Holiday Mom-preneur Shop-a-thon! at Tip Junkie

2008-11-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

Another great site is
Tip Junkie
It was started by a lady that used to be in my ward, but then moved. She's awesome and has some of the cutest kids!

Anyway, it is having a Mom-preneur Shop-a-thon and is giving away free stuff too. One of the most awesome things is a good friend of mine, Kim, is one of the mom-preneurs. If you click on the shop-a-thon button on the right, She's listed under the Baby Boutique as Prarie Mama Creations. She has some of the cutest stuff!

Enter, win, and give it to me!

Baby Shower at A Daycare Life

2008-11-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

Do you guys know this site
A Daycare Life
It's so cute and it is having a Baby Shower with some of the coolest giveaways!
Check it out and try to win stuff.
Of course, if you win stuff you should give it all to me! HaHa!