Sneezy Sniffy

So very excited to see what is in my Clartin box!!!! Waiting on pins and needles!

Coppertone Moms!!

I really love love LOVE being a Coppertone Water Mom!!! Look at all this! My kids and I are set for a summer in the sun. If you are looking to try a new Coppertone sunscreen but are afraid the price might be a little steep, let me know! I have lots of coupons! :) Water Babies by Coppertone is my favorite sunscreen to use on my kids. I know that their sensitive little bodies are well protected from the sun while I am using it. Bring on the sun, Georgia! Enough with the rain already! My kids want to go to the beach!!!

*I did not receive monetary compensation for my post. The views and opinions are of my own. Products were provided by Coppertone and Momselect in exchange for a blog review.

ProgresssOh!

LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE PACK!!       We all live for those little moments of Oh! when we look and feel our best. The feeling of Oh! when you button up your favorite old jeans … and they fit! Or the Oh! you get from your friends when you walk into a room confidently sporting a new dress! Those moments of Oh! are some of the best of our lives! When's the last time you had one of those moments? Who's said Oh! lately in your life? And of course there's the Oh! satisfaction when you discover a delicious ally that helps you beat diet boredom – Progresso® soup! With 40 delicious flavors at 100 calories or less per serving, you are sure to find a soup that makes you say Oh!

Oh! wait...there's even more! Since we all know how important it is to look and feel your best (and get the Oh! reaction from yourself and others), Progresso is giving you the chance to win the ultimate ProgressOh! Make-Oh-ver experience in Hollywood*! Three lucky grand prize winners will get to take the ultimate trip full of ProgresOh! experiences – from a head-to-toe makeover to sightseeing in LA! Here's what you could win: Round-trip airfare for you and a guest to Los Angeles, California 4 day/ 3 night hotel accommodations A head-to-toe makeover, including hair, makeup and a blue dress to get you ready for your own ProgressOh! moment in Hollywood Two tickets to this season's live finale of The Biggest Loser $2,000 spending money Here's how to enter: Visit Facebook.com/Progresso Complete an official entry form Share a photo Tell us why you love Progresso soup Tell us why you deserve a ProgressOh! makeover Don't forget to tag your content #ProgressOh! Three grand prize winners will each get the ultimate ProgressOh! Make-Oh-ver from Progresso®! #ProgressOh! ENTER TO WIN Comment below to tell me your favorite soup and you could be selected to win the following prize pack!! Your ProgressOh! Gift pack will contain: • 2 cans of Progresso® soup ◊ Light Creamy Potato with Bacon & Cheese ◊ Light Chicken Pot Pie Style • Cosmetic Bag • Compact Mirror and Brush    "Disclosure: The information, products and ProgressOh! gift packs were provided by Progresso through MyBlogSpark."

Fun and Exciting things coming to the blog SOON!

There are some things coming up on the blog that I am really excited for! Stay tuned! I know it has been awhile, but I am BACK!

The Best Meals Happen at Home Results

True Random Number GeneratorMin:1Max:6 Result:1

Results for the Publix Gift Card Giveaway. Thanks for entering!!!!
Congrats to the winner! I will email you for details!

The Best Meals Happen at Home Giveaway!!!

A busy weeknight doesn’t have to mean fast food for dinner! Publix knows that the best meals happen at home, so they are excited to help you enjoy family mealtime without having to stress about what to prepare or spending hours in the kitchen. Stop by Publix during their “Best Meals Happen at Home” event to find great savings on some of your favorite products. Be sure to visit BestMealsatHome.com to find fantastic recipes, which can be cooked in 30 minutes or less, and your family is sure to love.

Take advantage of great savings on some of your favorite participating brands during the “Best Meals Happen at Home” event at Publix from March 8th through March 14th As of March 8th, look for in-store for coupons that will be valid through March 28th, 2012 Visit BestMealsatHome.com to sign up and receive emails with weekly recipes and coupon offers that will help you save up to $200 this year To kick-off the great savings and enjoy valuable time around the dinner table with your family, Publix invites you to try one of the delicious recipes that you can find at BestMealsatHome.com, which uses Progresso ® Lemon Pepper Crispy Bread Crumbs and Old El Paso® Flour Tortillas to make Lemon Pepper Fish Tacos: Prep time: 20 Min Start to Finish: 20 Min Makes: 5 servings (2 tacos each) Ingredients: Fish 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 egg 1 tablespoon water 1 cup Progresso® Lemon Pepper Panko Crispy Bread Crumbs 1 lb white fish fillets (such as tilapia or catfish) 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Tacos 10 Old El Paso® Flour Tortillas for soft tacos & fajitas (6 inch; from 8.2-oz package) 1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled, and chopped 1 medium tomato, seeded, diced 2 teaspoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 small jalapeño chile, seeded, finely chopped if desired 2 cups shredded lettuce 1 small lemon, cut into wedges Directions: In shallow dish, place flour. In another shallow dish, beat egg and water. In another shallow dish, place bread crumbs. Coat fish with flour. Dip into egg mixture; coat well with bread crumbs. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add fish; cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until fish flakes easily with fork. Cut into 30 bite-size pieces. Meanwhile, heat tortillas as directed on package. In medium bowl, mix avocado, tomato and lemon juice. Stir in cilantro and jalapeño chile. Fill tortillas with fish, avocado mixture and lettuce. Serve with lemon wedges. Oven Method Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Follow step 1 above. Place fish in baking dish; drizzle with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Continue as directed in recipe. My readers have a chance to WIN a $25 gift card to Publix just for entering. That way the lucky winner can make Lemon Pepper Fish Tacos on us!! Just enter by commenting and telling me what your favorite fish recipe is!   Enter by 3/15/12 I will announce the winner in 3/16/12 “Disclosure: The Publix gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”

Back in the Saddle again!

Well, I have taken a nice break from blogging and now I am back in action. A lot has happened in the last year. My husband deployed. That was actually a HUGE deal and really the reason my blog has suffered to much. Then when he came back we had a lot of adjustments. Then in December we bought a new house. We have decided to stay in Georgia forever! Now I am ready to roll with this blog!

Thanks for reading!

Spring is coming! Shop here for some great deals!

Ever wish there was a place you could do all your shopping in one place? This place http://www.become.com/  has everything from stuff for your vehicle to stuff for your bathroom.

Around this time of year, I do a lot of online shopping. It is starting to feel a little warmer here in Georgia. So I am finding myself looking for Spring-like products. These towels http://home-and-garden.become.com/floral-bath-towels are SO cute and I would love to have some in my guest bath. I love the sweet flower print on them.

If you are looking for furniture, this website has it all. If you are in the market for a new chair, some of these http://home-and-garden.become.com/furniture-chair-sleeper can double as a sleeper for your out of town guests. I know when my family comes down from Michigan, we are always scrambling for a place to sleep for them.

During gardening season, I usually employ my hubby to haul all of my stuff around for me. I am adding one of these carts http://home-and-garden.become.com/garden-cart-tires  to my wish lists this year. It would make life much easier for him and for me!

Xigo Health Giveaway!

Okay readers. It is time for another great giveaway! This time it is Xigo Health. What is Xigo Health you ask?  Xigo Health is a family-focused company that has created a line of products designed to boost your immune system. From daily doses to maximum defense when your body needs it most, Xigo products make the immune system faster, stronger and smarter by detecting challenges in the body, defending against them and deterring repeat offenders. And setting them apart from other similar remedies on the market, Xigo Health products are all-natural and safe for everyday consumption. Post a comment about how SICK of being SICK you are this winter and for extra entries post a link on facebook, tweet or blog about it. Thanks and GOOD luck!!

disclosure-Momselect and Xigo Health sent me a product sample to try and are providing the prize pack to my readers.

Bruster's Ice Cream!!

I entered into a giveaway not long ago on Bruster's facebook page found here. It was a contest to win a free ice cream cake. YUMMMM! Okay so the contest was that I had to tell my favorite Bruster's story. Well I have quite a few because, come on, who doesn't have fun when they go get ice cream? :) Well in this blog post I am supposed to also tell my favorite story. I have two.

My husband is in the Army, as many of you are aware. We have made so many great friends along this journey. My friend Cindy lived next door to us at our old house. Her husband was deployed so we tried to keep busy doing stuff together so she wouldn't feel so lonely and because I just enjoyed her company so much. One of her favorite things to eat in the whole world is a Nathan's hot dog. So she ventured out to Bruster's to meet us for dinner with her three kids. It was such a nice time and a memory I will take with me the rest of my life. She moved a couple months later and I miss her terribly!! But I have come to love the Nathan's chili cheese dog almost as much as her. :) Mmmmmm. I like going for the hot dogs and the kids like the free ice cream! Who am I kidding, I love the ice cream too!!

Okay my second GREAT memory was with Lauren, my 2 year old. She fell into the couch and busted her lip WIDE open and we had to go to the ER. Well, it was around 10 am so in between meals. If you know anything about the military health care you know that you wait forever. Well, we missed lunch and I didn't have anything I could give to her because her lip was hanging open. Poor little baby. The only thing I could think of that she would be able to eat was ice cream. So I told her we would go get Bruster's ice cream and that would be her lunch that day. She was soooooooo excited that she was very well behaved and patient and only complained a couple times. When we were finished at the hospital, she didn't let me forget what I promised. We picked up the rest of the family and headed off to Bruster's. She was fine and didn't even need stitches. We ordered some "real" (yummy cheese fries!!) food too with the ice cream but she did have ice cream first.

I guess I do have another great story about Bruster's. When I did the Facebook giveaway they sent me a coupon for a free ice cream cake. We used it for Micah's birthday party and it was DELISH!!! It has this delectable whip cream frosting and the thing that surprised me about their ice cream cake is that it is ACTUAL cake on the bottom and ice cream on the top. It was sooooooooooo good. The adults had that cake and the kids got cupcakes. :) I would have to say that was my very favorite thing EVER at Bruster's.

They do quite a few giveaways and such so keep an eye out on their blog for them here. Thanks for reading!! Now go get yourself an icy treat! :)

Disclosure-I was compensated for this blog post with a gift card to Bruster's. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Random Acts of ZHU!!!

I was so excited to find out a couple weeks ago that I was going to be participating in a program called Random Acts of Zhu. Cepia, an amazingly generous company, sent 104 Zhu Zhu pets to 100 bloggers to spread a little Christmas joy.

It took me a few days to figure out which charity I wanted to benefit from this. At first I REALLY wanted the Christmas House on Fort Gordon to get them to help military families provide toys for their littles. Unfortunately I was about 2 days too late to donate! Bummer! So I had to think about it. I talked to my pastor and found out there were a few families that he knew of in the community that really needed a little help this year. I gladly gave him quite a few to help. Then I had a bunch more to find new homes for. I decided to take them to the Children's Medical Center at MCG hospital here in Augusta, Georgia. But I didn't really want to do Toys 4 Tots, even though it is a fantastic organization. I really wanted the kids on the floors to get the toys. Today we loaded up the back of the minivan with the remaining Zhu Zhu's and took them in. The nurses and staff were quite amazed at such a generous gift from the company! Having three very healthy children at home, it breaks my heart knowing that those babies in the hospital don't get to be at home for Christmas. As I was walking out of the children's ICU I noticed a mother crying. I cannot imagine having to deal with illness in my children. For those parents to see a smile on their kids faces from something as simple as a little toy hamster, it truly is a gift and a blessing to me. I am so grateful to have been a part of this Random Act of Zhu. Thank you Cepia for the absolutely AWESOME opportunity to put a smile on someones face. (Well LOTS of someones! 104 someones!) :)

If you haven't checked out the Zhu Zhu Pets, I advise you do. My kids can't get enough of them! You can learn a little about them here http://www.zhuniverse.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=24


To learn a little more about how you can help out MCG's Children's Medical Center check out this link here.http://www.mcghealth.org/ways-to-give/DefaultCMC.aspx

And the winner is......

Congrats to Christine for winning a $25 Kroger gift card and some Chex Cereal from Kroger, Chex and MyBlogSpark!!


Make sure to watch for upcoming giveaways!

Baking for the Troops

Help make the holidays sweeter for troops by sending cookies to deployed military with our partners Katy's Cookies, the USO and Operation Support Our Troops Illinois. Even sweeter, upon sending 250,000 cookies on behalf of Americans nationwide, Kenmore will donate $50,000 to Heroes at Home, which helps troops on the home front. The Food Network's Sunny Anderson will serve as head chef, welcoming Chicagoans as they help kick off the cookie count!

Best of all, you can either come on down to the Live Studio if you're in Chicago, or watch live online in the Live Studio tab on the Kenmore Facebook page! Sunny will only be in from 12pm-1pm, but you can watch the fun start all day!

Just go to the facebook page here for more information!

Chex and Kroger

Looking for an easy gift idea for friends, family or co-workers? Try wrapping your favorite Chex Party Mix in a colorful tin or bag and personalize it with your own recipe card.

To make things even sweeter, Kroger Family of Stores will have Chex cereal on sale so you can impress your guests without stressing your wallet. For 3 weeks, from December 2nd - December 25th, Kroger will offer Chex cereal at their lowest prices of the year!


My all time favorite Chex recipe is Puppy Chow. What is your favorite? I am going to be giving away Chex cereal and a Kroger gift card. Let me know what your favorite Chex recipe is for a chance to enter. For additional entries you can facebook, tweet about it or follow me on the blog. The contest will end at midnight Sunday, December 5th!

disclosure-the coupon, prize pack, information and giveaway were all provided by Chex and Kroger through MyBlogSpark.

Christmas Box of goodies!!

Momselect and a few other companies sent me a super cool Christmas goodie box! Let me tell you everything that was in it.
1. Build-A-Bear Smallfrys

Okay my girls are WAY into stuffed animals and baby dolls. They really like to dress them up. So I am thinking this is a cute stocking stuffer idea!

2. Christmas Cakes from Little Debbie 

They sent the chocolate variety. Not only do kids like the taste, they are also in fun Christmas tree shapes! These are a must have in school lunches this time of year.

3. Sneaky Puzzle from Patch Products

I have to be honest. I have never heard of these. But they are SO cool! They are big enough pieces that Leah can do it with a little help from Mom or Dad.

4. Play-doh Mega Fun Factory
5. Play-Doh Shape and Spin Elmo

I will group these two together. You cannot go wrong with Play-Doh. I don't know if it is just MY kids or if they are all Play-Doh obsessed. My children play with Play-Doh on a daily basis. This is a Christmas/Easter/Birthday staple in our house!

6. Playmobil Child's First Day at School Kit

This is a cute little toy. It is cheap and fun for the little kids to stick in their pocket. I would say for the price this is a great pick for stocking stuffers.

7. Smart Mom Solutions

Finally, a stocking stuffer for Mom! You know all those annoying notes you have to write to the school? These are great! It is a convenient way to save a few minutes. They come with handy little envelopes. I think it is a neat idea!

I have been showing off the contents of the kit to Mom friends of mine. If you are Mom and you are interested in learning more about any of the products in the kit, please click on the link to see a little more about them. If you are local then I would love to show you all the goodies! I hope this gives my readers a couple of good Christmas present ideas!

Mega Blok Party

Momselect and Mega Blok sent me an AWESOME party pack. We had such a great time at the play date. All of the kids (and parents!) were excited that they were able to take a toy home with them. The kids played hard and the Moms got a great visit. My camera was MIA so I used my phone. Sorry for the blurry pictures. When my oldest daughter turned one, Mega Bloks was just a given for me to get her for a birthday gift. I guess I didn't realize the older kids would get into it as well. We had everyone from one year to four years old and they all had a blast! There were no fights over toys because they all got their own little truck or bus to play with. We put their names on the bottom with magic marker so they wouldn't get them confused. My kids crashed out after everyone left. I am pretty sure some Mega Bloks will be in Santa's bag this year, at least for my kids!! Leah and Lauren especially like the big bag of Bloks to build castles. Thank you Mega Bloks and Momselect for such an AWESOME party!!!

  

Giveaway ends!

And the winner is Hotmama! Thanks for entering!

Pillsbury Giveaway!

Last week I received a wonderful package in the mail from MyBlogSpark and Pillsbury. It was a nice little scrapbook kit and a coupon for a free cinnamon bun from Pillsbury. We are going to use it to make a nice little breakfast memory with our family. They were generous enough to allow me to do a giveaway on my blog for the same kit! To enter please comment with your favorite family day memory. Please include your email address. For additional entries, you can tweet, facebook and follow my blog, for up to four total entries! Good luck! The winner will be notified Friday, November 19th.

Giveaway Ends!

Hey everybody! Congrats to Roisin for winning the giveaway from MyBlogSpark, Wanchai Ferry and Macaroni Grill!! Enjoy your romantic dinner at home, Roisin!

P.S. Watch me for another GREAT giveaway starting Saturday. :)

Who couldn't use a romantic dinner at home?

Myblogspark sent me an AWESOME dinner kit so that Jeremy and I could enjoy a date night without going out. It was just great! Jeremy and I have been married going on eight years and with three very small children at home, it is just plain hard to get out. They wanted me to share our first date with my readers. So here goes. Our first "real" date was in 2001. We went to Joe's Crab Shack in Michigan. It was really nice and REALLY expensive. At least we thought so at the time. :) Before we had kids we went out all the time. Like ALL the time. Now if we want to go out, we have to ask friends or hire a babysitter to watch the kids. Babysitters run about $10 an hour here. Okay so say we are out for three hours. That is $30!! Then if we go to a decent dinner that would be around $40. $70 for one night!!!!???!!! Heck no! Not anymore! We are on a shoe string budget. So we really really enjoyed having a date at home. For about $15-$20 you can have a nice dinner, restaurant quality, and enjoy each other without breaking the bank! They sent me a Wanchai Ferry meal and also a Macaroni Grill meal. Both of them were fantastic. I would have to say I liked the Chinese food a little better though. Both dinners were very easy to prepare.

MyBlogSpark, Macaroni Grill and Wanchai Ferry would like for you to be able to enjoy a date night at home as well. If you leave a comment you will be entered into a drawing to win the same kit I received. For additional entries, you can facebook, twitter or follow me for a total of 4 entries! Good luck! I will notify the winner on Friday, November 12th. Thanks for reading!

Disclosure-the products, prize pack, information and additional prize pack to give away were all given to you from Wanchai Ferry and Macaroni Grill through MyBlogSpark