Saturday, August 7, 2010
Where did the Summer Go?
I have had a ton of fun putting my Fridge-to-go through the Mom paces - check that out here and here. But with school starting this Wednesday - I wanted to show you another product in the Fridge-to-go family.At $19.00 and up to 8 hours of cooling this Lunch Fridge Youth is a good choice if you are sending your kids to school with lunch.
While it has a ton of features...I think the coolest part - is it looks like a mini fridge!• Zip-out Chilling Panel
• Easy-Tote Handle
• Wipe-clean Interior
• Fully Collapsible
• Durable, Easy to Clean Shell
• 8-hour Cooling performance
• Interior Mesh Storage Pocket
• Outside Zippered Pocket
• Available in Pink, Purple, and Orange
I was sent the Luncheon Fridge-to-go thanks to Fridge-to-go and Business to Blogger. All opinion expressed is mine and mine alone.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Mess Free Ice Chest
Taking your own drinks along on a road trip can be a big money saver but who wants to deal with a big, bulky and messy ice chest? Not me. I was so happy that I could slide the Luncheon Fridge-to-go under my seat in the car. It was out of the way while doing it's job.
With 4 kids in riding along one our 5 hour trip...we had to stop about every hour for pit stops and being in a gas station is a great weakness of mine. I always want to buy a fountain drink and chips...but with the Fridge-to-go keeping 2 pops for both Hubby and I ice cold - I was able to abstain from wasting my money!
The best part? When we got to our destination - I was able to fold it up and throw it in the suitcase - no need to dump ice!
I was sent the product mentioned above thanks to Fridge-to-go and Business to Blogger. All opinion expressed is mine and mine alone.
10 Things I do Even Though I Know I Shouldn't
1. Let my daughter eat spaghetti with her hands even though I know at almost 3 she should be using a fork. It's just to much fun watching her slap it against her chin and cheeks in an effort to get it to her mouth.
2. Let me kids say Gosh Darn Dagnabit. It's just too cute.
3. Watch Celebrity Ghost Stories even though I then have trouble closing my eyes in the shower for fear that I will open them to a ghost.
4. Drink coffee at all hours even though I know that it might keep me up later than I need to.
5. Talk back to my kids when I know that ignoring them is sometimes so much more powerful.
6. Take my kids to the grocery store even though I know that I will more than likely buy more than I should and leave in a huff from all the I wants, I needs and It's not fairs.
7. Order a Dr. Pepper instead of a Diet Coke or better yet water while on vacation. Just because I am in a different state doesn't make the calories count any less.
8. Let my laundry build up on lazy days when I know that all it takes is a load a day to stay on top of it. But some days that is just one load to many.
9. Buy crackers even though I know my weakness for them. Some women love chocolate, hand bags or jewelry. My love affair is with Keebler.
10. Let my kids go to bed every once in a while without a bath - An hour on the water slide counts as a bath when America's Got Talent has finally been uploaded to HULU right?
I Just Want Something!!
While on vacation recently I made a stranger laugh out loud and I wasn't even talking to him...he was listening to a conversation my oldest son and I were having. We were visiting The Largest Toy Museum and were right in the middle of the gift shop - a place that I have come to dread. Jakob wanted to know why he couldn't have 3 different toys. I was honest. I said "Because you were born to a family with 4 children and not as an only child."
I then turned my attention to the stranger snickering behind me and raised my hands as to as - what am I supposed to do?
We had already been through Ripley's Believe it or not, The Wax Museum, The Dinosaur Museum and the Butterfly Palace. I tried to prepare my kids that they were going to want a lot of things - but that their parents could only afford to buy a couple...but I guess the thrill of being in the gift shop was just to much for them...we heard a lot of:
Can I buy this too? Can I get something from the gift shop? Is there a gift shop? Is $20.00 for a toy too much? I just want something, anything and everything. What about his cool thing? What is it? Can I have it?
I thought to myself often when I was younger - when I grow up I am going to give my kids the things that they want. I grew up with siblings and I know where my kids are coming from - but you know now that I am a Mother myself - I find it very easy to say no.
I know how hard we work for our money and I also know how long a toy will hold the interest of my children. So at every gift shop - I would say the same thing - I am not spending that much money on junk that you will not play with tomorrow.
I did let them get a few things on vacation - but I was very selective. They each picked out one small toy at the toy museum and then later at the Butterfly Palace they each got one thing.
Do you allow your kids to buy souvenirs while on vacation? Do you find it hard to say no?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
JCPenny and Levi's Sweepstakes
JCPenney and Levi’s are giving everyone a chance to win $50,000 for college tuition! It’s fully transferrable, so if you win you can use it for yourself, your kid, your niece or nephew, or a friend. You win, you choose. Enter daily for a chance to win!
Prize Eligibility
Only persons residing in the United States who are at least 13 years of age can enter.
Sweepstakes Starts
July 21, 2010 @ 10:00 am (EDT)
Sweepstakes Ends
September 06, 2010 @ 11:59 pm (EDT)
Congrats to the Winner!
Congrats to the winner of the Perricone MD Cold Plasma giveaway:Linda Kish said...
2
At 60 I need all the help I can get to keep my skin looking young.
I drew the winner using random.org and have sent her an e-mail. She has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be drawn.
Thanks so much to everyone who is taking the time to enter my giveaways. I have 5 from my 1 year Blogging Birthday that are ending on August 7th. Check out my left sidebar - click on pictures to enter!
Covergirl make-up masters with a $25 Walmart gift card
7th generation cleaning pack giveaway
Walmart Box Tops for Education with $25 Walmart gift card
Money Savvy Piggy Bank review and giveaway
NOVICA review and $50 gift certificate giveaway
Gorton's Seafood review with coupon giveaway
and
Crayola Green - Back to School Giveaway
I take my Fridge with Me everywhere!
Thanks to a combination of getting up later than expected and not pricing stuff - I had to spend almost an entire day outside having an very unsuccessful garage sale. The customers were about as peeved as I was to have to be asking me over and over - How much for this?Not to mention the fact that it was also brutely hot - like Oklahoma hot - 100 degrees with a whole lot of humidity...thank goodness I had just got my new Fridge-to-go Lunch bag. I threw it in the freezer the night before then asked Hubby ever so sweetly to grab me some pop the next morning.
I think I should have been more specific...he came back with a couple for himself too. This did help out in the end as I couldn't stick it out outside and he had to take over - all the while dashing inside to make sure that he didn't sell anything to cheaply.
The Luncheon Fridge-to-go holds 4 pops and keeps them ice cold. I left it sitting in direct sunlight and after 4 hours...this is the last pop...see all that condensation - wow baby it works.
My favorite part: No messy ice or melted to ice to dispense of...a quick wipe and back in the freezer it goes!
I think this will be great for after school snacks which have always consisted of crackers...but now I am thinking about everything that I would be able to bring with: fruits, yogurts or cheese sticks without fear that they will get to warm.
Model: Luncheon
Best for: Elementary school lunches, afternoon snacks for the family. This 4-can capacity bag can hold quite a bit for its size.
Price: $22.00
About the Fridge-to-go:
Fridge-to-go®’s Surround Cooling technology creates a refrigerator-like environment inside our bags. The chilling panels are built into the walls of the bag, so they cool a larger “air space” than a traditional ice pack does. Surrounding the contents with cold air, it chills and maintains a cool temperature, providing longer-lasting protection from bacteria formation than your average lunch bag.
Their bags require no electricity. Simply freeze the entire bag or the removable chilling panels (in certain models only) and pack the bag when you are ready to leave home.
Follow Fridge to go on twitter and facebook for all the latest news about this product and more.
Thanks to Fridge-to-do and Business to Blogger I received product mentioned for the purpose of review. All opinion expressed is mine and mine alone. :)
Muffins & Mayhem Review
This was a delicious read - not only because of all the recipes that were included and caused the author to reminiscence but also because it was one of those books that you just devour - I couldn't put it down. There were so many times throughout the book that I would just be reading along and nodding my head - as if the author could see me and know that I too have been there - done that.A truely wonderful read from beginning to end. I can't wait to try out some of the wonderful recipes too! How cool is that - part book - part cookbook! :)
I was sent this book for the purpose of review. All opinion expressed is mine and mine alone.
Muffins and Mayhem is a ticket back home.
The Ingredients for Happiness
Reminiscences and Recipes for Rediscovering the
Small Town in Your Heart
Pull up a chair and dig into this delicious dish of confessions and reminiscences from an everyday person who had big dreams. In Muffins and Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy – if Disorderly – Life (Touchstone; June 1, 2010), Suzanne Beecher, beloved creator of the hugely successful online book club DearReader.com, rediscovers her path to the present through a recipe box and opens her heart to her readers.
Raised in Cuba City, Wisconsin, boasting 2,000 people, with a firm appreciation for hard work, Suzanne recalls her own arduous childhood years followed by her evolution from single, drug addicted, teenage mother to successful businesswoman, mother, grandmother, and wife of her best friend – the man of her dreams. Tracing memories evoked by the recipes she loves to cook, Suzanne reassures us that with love and dedication even the most challenging obstacles will be overcome.
Muffins and Mayhem was inspired by a reader who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was wondering how to leave a legacy to her children. Suzanne suggested a recipe box filled with memories and family stories. Helping this reader turned out to be a gift to Suzanne as well, and she decided to share the stories and recipes that help keep her grounded in today’s unpredictable world.
Dished up with a healthy portion of hilarity; whether she’s ironing the clothing her mother deliberately froze solid, being the only girl in an auto mechanics course, or getting her pearl chandelier earring stuck between her teeth while driving, Suzanne’s personal tales remind us to take life lightly and enjoy our time with those we love.
So bake up some of Suzanne’s blueberry muffins, pour a tall glass of tea and take some time to savor the days when all food was slow food and people came together to enrich the quality of each other’s lives.
Bag It Forward with Elmer's
The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward is charity blog meme, bloggers are able to raise $10 per blog post for Adopt-A-Classroom by writing a blog post and donating a virtual bag of school supplies. Elmer’s will donate $10 per each post written to Adopt-A-Classroom, up to $10,000. I was sent a "Virtual Back To School Bag Challenge" by http://savingourway.blogspot.com/
You can join too, it's easy!
•Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward and by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post with specific rules described below.
•Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
•You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
•The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 12 PM EST on August 12, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
•The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
•In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:
Elmer's Virtual Bag It Forward Rules:
•Copy and paste these rules into your blog post.
•Create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
•Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
•Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
•Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
•Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by August 12, 2010).
•Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.
The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 12 PM EST on August 12, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
Would You Be Butterfly Bait?
We took the kids up to Branson, Missouri for our very first road trip with the whole family and I gotta say it was quite a success.While it was a lot more work, noisy and expensive...I can honestly say - everyone had a good time.
The Butterfly Palace was one of the last in a long line of museums we visited. If you are ever in that area...I think it's worth a stop!
Not only do they have over 1,000 butterflies all in one place, they have a great forest mirror maze, insect and reptile room and great gift shop!
While we were exploring all the different butterflies...I hear scream of terror - thinking that someone has fallen or at least been bodily injured - I turn to check out all of my children.
Turns out a butterfly is still a bug...and therefore Miss Maddy's worst nightmare.
While she was excited to have some great equipment to use - she was quite freaked out that the butterflies would dare to come near her.
With over 1,000 butterflies flitting around - you would think that some would have landed on us...but only 2 deemed us landing pad material.
I caught a picture of one on Hubby's shirt...and the other was set up for his blog post debut...but E decided to flip off his hat when he found out there was one on it.
Turns out that my kids are more "look at things behind glass" kinda kids.
5 Minutes for Mom ~ Go Graham Go! ~ Jolly Mom ~ Look What Mom Found… ~ Mom of 3 Girls ~ Frosted Fingers
~ Momspective ~ Momma Findings ~ Run DMT ~ A Daily Dose of Toni ~
Keeper of the Cheerios ~
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Peace Out Homies
We are leaving in a few for vacation...and I am not taking my computer...I know - it gives me a bit of anxiety too. But I think that you need a break from me as much as I need a break from posting...while I will have my Iphone...and will probably update facebook...that's it. No answering e-mails, tweeting, visiting blogs, or otherwise hustling. :)
I thought it would be fun to ask Hubby and the kids to give you a list of what you could do instead of reading my blog:
Hubby thinks you could be exercising, getting kids ready for school, cleaning your house, grilling outside with friends or taking an interest in your Hubby's hobby- he collects Invicta watches and I could care less. LOL.
Kids think you should go to the splash pad, go swimming, go to the park, read a book or learn a new sport.
But let's be honest - you are going to read a few more blogs lol - it's totally what I would be doing - do if you are looking for a place to go - click on "blog family" and check out those I like to read.
Have a great few days!!
