Author: Mary | Posted: 09-07-2011
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Oh a new Kindle 3 would help me banish all the book clutter in the house. We cannot seem to part with any of our reading materials very easily, as is plain to see.
I would love to be a shining example of how the before and after could be with a new Kindle3. My friends would be amazed if there were not books everywhere. They would surely wonder what we are doing to keep up our reading hobby.
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Author: Mary | Posted: 01-06-2011
Wow the Holidays fort of flew by, it was crazy busy at our house, and now we are hoping to get back on track.
I was so excited to get a great packaged delivered by my trusty UPS man…..
Not 1
But 2
bags of Lindt Truffles!! The first bag is Dark Chocolate Peppermint (yeah, no one else likes them much so all the more for me) and the second bag is Assorted chocolates (so I’ll have to share those).
I won these at a great giveaway from Marcy over at Stretching a Buck! Be sure to stop over and check out her blog where she posts all the great deals from places like CVS, Rite Aid, Target and several grocery stores.
Thanks Marcy!
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Author: Mary | Posted: 11-27-2010
Author: Mary | Posted: 08-17-2010
Wow the Back to school Giveaways this year are plentiful and some of them are so awesome!
One great giveaway I see is over on Moms Need to Know, it is for an Acer Aspire 4280T! She is participating with 11 other bloggers to offer up this and some other great prizes such as:
Belkin router prize pack
Lands’ End Backpack
$100 AmEx gift card from Invisalign Teen
.
.
Other blogs participating are:
Bargain Brianna
Mommin it Up
Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Common Sense with Money
Coupon Cravings
Mommy Snacks
Passion for Savings
Saving cents with Sense
Southern Savers
Stretching a Buck
So head on over and try your luck, and be sure to stick around a bit and see all the other good stuff they have to offer.
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~~It’s Autumn at Boden! Get 12% off plus Free Shipping on Boden’s Autumn line!
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Author: Mary | Posted: 08-10-2010
I just got word of a great sale from Boden!
This is great for Back to School shopping (or a little something for Mom).
- 25% off all tops and t-shirts
- Offer Code AFTT
- Valid 8/10 – 8/12
Click the link below to get to Boden USA for this great sale:
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Author: Mary | Posted: 07-17-2010
Do you like Dry Erase boards?
Are you working on a Command Center for your family?
This new product may be just the thing you need!
I recently found out about IdeaPaint™ on the BzzAgent site. After perusing all the ideas on the IdeaPaint™ site I thought of so many ways to use this product in our home.
The product can used to paint one whole wall, or frame in a small spot, make a design (it comes in several colors), and even can be used to cover a desk or table. Check out the Home Gallery for inspiration, or read their blog.
Other uses are for work or school (painting over existing chalkboards is my fave idea, I mean who likes writing with chalk? )
We’re deciding where to put our IdeaPaint™ project, and will follow up with a review after having a chance to try it out for a bit. You can buy it online or find it at Lowes. Want a dry sample? Request one here.
What do you think of the concept of Idea Paint™?
Where would you use it?
Have you already tried this product?
Disclaimer: I have not been compensated for my opinion, nor have I received any complimentary products from IdeaPaint™. My opinion is based solely on what I have read about the product.
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Author: Mary | Posted: 07-16-2010
Wow Summer is really into full swing here, and we have been pretty busy.
The boys made a great summer to do list of all the fun things they want to do or accomplish. We tacked it up to the wall in the kitchen as a constant reminder to fill our days with some fun. This was a great idea I saw last summer on The Inspired Room, see this post for her list and some inspiration.
A few things on our list:
- See Fireworks (check)
- Take Swimming lessons (we’re into that this week)
- Make a bean pole Tee Pee (it is growing, need pics soon)
- Go to the Beach @ the ocean, not just our lake’s beach (check)
- Pick Blueberries (check, but we will be picking more, just like last summer)
- Build new beds from Knock-off Wood (not yet)
Do you have a Summer Fun to-do list?
What is on it?
What have you done so far?
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Author: Mary | Posted: 02-16-2010
YIKES!
My desk is a mess!
Obviously there is work to be done here.
Sometimes I wonder where all this stuff came from…IKEA 2006 catalog, 2 bottles of hand sanitzer, spa hand & nail kit, rechargeable battery plug, those pesky Coke rewards codes, random photos and artwork, spool of thread, a coffee mug and a Megaman toy figure for eBay, ink cartridge for the printer I no longer have, an obviously unread copy of “Easy Household Tips”, paper, paper and more paper.
Thankfully this week FlyLady is tackling the home office as one of the Zones for cleaning and decluttering!
If you don’t know who FlyLady is, well you may want to go check out her site.
So I am tackling this mess one mission at a time.
After I get it cleaned up, I am working on a new system for organizing all the paper and other stuff that finds its way into my office area.
Stay tuned for more photos, updates and ideas.
Feel free to join me in a little desk cleanup. The great thing about following FlyLady’s plan is you only have to do a little bit at a time, so as not to get overwhelmed or burnt out. That makes the process a little bit easier to tackle.
With this project you never know what you may find. I used to have a large wooden desk with one of those big center drawers, and at the bottom of that drawer I left this quote ”Cleaning one’s desk leads to exciting discoveries”. Gee sometimes just getting to the bottom and seeing that would make me smile because I made some progress.
If you join in and have a blog, be sure to do a little post on your blog with some before & after photos. Everyone who joins in please come back to leave a comment, and mention some wacky or random thing that was your “exciting discovery”.
Ready, set, go!
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Author: Mary | Posted: 02-07-2010
I have been told if you make meatloaf in a muffin tin it looks more appealing to kids, so I thought I would give it a try. Bubba is not too fond of meatloaf at all so I searched high and low for a recipe I thought he would enjoy. The one I found has both broccoli and cheddar cheese in it, two of his favorite things. Besides adding cheese to meatloaf makes it a little more like a cheeseburger, don’t you agree?
We had just gotten a great deal on ground turkey so I decided to sub in the turkey for ground beef in this recipe from the website of my local grocery store, Hannaford. Bubba was very excited to help make Muffins (a favorite food). He measured and mixed, but when reading the nutrition info said ” there is not very much sugar in this, that is healthy, and there is a lot of protein”. Of course later when he tasted them he said “these are not like regular muffins! I thought they were very tasty eating just plain, but the boys chose to try dipping in various condiments like Ranch dressing, A-1 steak sauce, and Barbeque sauce. Hey as long as they eat them they can dip away!
The best thing about having any leftovers is they make a great grab & go breakfast! Mr B&W took a few to work on a hurried morning and said they definitely hit the spot. We are going to make a double batch and freeze them.
| Cook Time: |
25 minutes |
| Prep Time: |
20 minutes |
|
Cook Method:
|
baked |
|
Cook Temperature:
|
350 degrees F |
Ingredients:
| 2 ea |
Egg |
| 1 lb |
Ground beef, 90% lean |
| 10 oz |
Broccoli, chpd, fzn, 10oz pkg, thawed |
| 1 cup |
Panko bread crumbs |
| 1/2 cup |
Light ranch salad dressing |
| 1/8 tsp |
Black pepper, freshly ground |
| 1/2 tsp |
Garlic powder |
| 1 tsp |
Onion powder |
| 1 cup |
Cheddar cheese, shredded |
Directions:
What Kids Can Do to Help
* Crack and beat eggs.
* Measure ingredients and mix together.
* Scoop mixture into muffin cups.
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with vegetable cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use a fork or whisk to beat eggs until yolk and white are completely mixed. Add all remaining
ingredients and use a wooden spoon or fork to mix until well combined.
3. Divide mixture among muffin cups, about ½ cup mixture in each cup. Press mixture into cups.
4. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, until cooked through and browned on top. Let muffins rest in pan for 5 minutes. To serve,
run a knife around edge of each muffin. Use a fork to lift muffins out of pan and transfer to a plate. Serve warm.
May be refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen. Reheat in 350°F oven, 5 minutes for refrigerated, 12 minutes for frozen muffins. (or you can reheat in microwave for 30-50 seconds depending on the power of your microwave)
Recipe courtesy of Hannaford fresh magazine March/April 09.
Click here for a printable copy that includes nutrition information (when made with ground beef)
Let me know if you try these.
Have you made meatloaf in muffin tins? What recipe do you use?
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Author: Mary | Posted: 01-31-2010
What’s a busy mom to do? Some days getting the kids ready and out the door to school can be a whirlwind of activity. I am so not a morning person, therefore getting up at the crack of dawn on a school day to cook a full course meal is not happening! My boys love the quick, and the easy, so cereal very often fills the bill. If you saw my pantry you may be shocked to see no less than 25 boxes of cereal in it at any given time!
Now many of us probably struggle with that fine line between healthy breakfast and convenience. Some studies have shown that kids do benefit from eating breakfast, performing better in school, so we know they need to eat something! Cereals can be a quick way to get them to eat something before heading out the door. Add some fruit on top or on the side and that is even better! Here is a Cereal & Health guide provided by General Mills.
General Mills has recently committed to lower the amount of sugar in cereal advertised to children under 12 to single digit grams per serving. In addition they are increasing key nutrients like Vitamin D and calcium, along with providing whole grains.
Some other cereal benefits:
- Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets.
- These cereals are often the #1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet.
- More frequent cereal eaters tend to have a healthier body weight and lower BMI measurements.
Recently I went on a quest to find some of the new lower sugar cereals to have my boys and I do a taste test. We were provided some free coupons* from General Mills and MyBlogSpark in order to try some products. In my area we did not find too many with the single digit grams of sugar, so I think either my store is still selling out of current inventory or the products have not rolled out everywhere yet.
One product we did try that has only 8g of sugar per serving was Berry Berry Kix, part of the Big G family of cereals. Now my boys have never eaten Kix cereals before, so they could not compare before and after taste, but I do recall having Kix myself long, long ago. For me the taste was less sweet than I expected, but was satisfying. Actually I preferred it to the taste of some of the other children’ s cereals I have tried. Of course I am not the target audience, but I suppose if Mom thinks it is not too sweet then it may pass muster and make it to the shopping list. Bubba was the first to try it, and he really enjoyed it, no mention of it not being sweet enough! Score! AJ is not a fan of corn cereal, so he did not really have strong opinion, it was just okay, no mention of not being sweet enough, but he probably will not eat it again. He likes some of the other cereals better.
The other cereals we tried were still in the double digit grams of sugar range…Lucky Charms Swirled (11g), Cinnamon Toast Crunch( 10g) and the new Wheaties Fuel(14g). All of them were big hits for Bubba, he especially likes Lucky Charms and the new Wheaties Fuel. AJ’s top pick was Cinnamon Toast crunch…although he loved the cool new packaging on the Wheaties Fuel boxes. I thought the Wheaties Fuel tasted great, with a nice solid cinnamon flavor that was not overshadowed at all by a sugary taste. Cinnamon Toast Crunch was less satisfying for me, both in taste and texture. I would choose the new Wheaties Fuel if I were looking for a cinnamon flavor. Younger children are probably not the target audience for this cereal, though.
I did noticed on the shelves that Honey Nut Cheerios had 9g sugar, so even though they are not as heavily marketed to children, they may be another alternative. We will be looking to see if the lower sugar versions of some more General Mills children’s cereals arrive soon in our stores.
If you want to try some of the General Mills cereals here you will find a coupon for $1 off one of four children’s cereals: Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast crunch.
So is cereal a hit in your house? What kinds do you like?
Do you struggle with the sugar issue? Have you noticed any of the new General Mills cereals in store near you?
*Disclaimer: General Mills via MyBlogSpark provided us with coupons good for free products in order to test some of their Children’s Cereals, and asked if we would pass along our thoughts on the products.
