Meal Plan Monday

September 27, 2009 By Momstart 3 Comments

This is such a great meme, planning out my meal keeps me on track every week. I want to be creative for my families’ sake but I can’t really think outside the box tonight.

Monday – egg burritos

Tuesday – hot dogs

Wednesday – Sandwiches and fruit

Thursday – Beef and Cheese Enchiladas

Friday – Left Overs

Saturday – Chicken Salad

Sunday – Chili Pie

Now for the grocery list..

Eggs, Whole milk, hot dog buns, tortillas, salad, salad dressing, Fritos. Not too bad, I hope I can find some coupons somewhere.

Decorating Kids Rooms with Lockers

September 26, 2009 By Momstart 1 Comment

I remember when I was at Sears Holdings Corporation and they were showing us their back to school line and they had rooms set up. They had quite a few different things like cinder blocks. I used cinder blocks in my room to put the bed up higher. Lots of people did. You’ll do anything to get more storage out of a little room.

Well, since I’m remembering those rooms and how they were set up, and I have new rooms to decorate. I was thinking about lockers. Lockers could be a fun way to decorate a room. I’m not talking about school lockers. I only want one locker, I’m not going for the lined up look one after the other. Just a cute storage idea. Something modern and unique.

I really like this blue one pictured here. I think that could be cute in a little boys room. You could paint it with a baseball theme and center the whole room on a sports theme. I’m starting to get excited here. It’s too bad his memaw has already started making pillows and blankets out of cars and trucks because I’m really digging the baseball sports theme for his room now.

Get him some balls, well he already has three baseballs, and put the glove we have in it. I’m sure I can find him a cheap plastic baseball bat too. I would print his name in paint in red. I’m really running with this one. I’ll have to take pictures if I do go this direction.

This particular wood locker is quite expensive. So maybe by the time I can afford it I’ll be able to put it in his room and not worry about him locking himself in. I mean, my little man can do the unthinkable in seconds. I’m learning so much about boys now that I have one. I mean they are trouble to a “t”.

I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or anything but I love having a new house. There are so many possibilities and I still haven’t even put anything on the walls yet because I don’t want to put a new hole in yet. I need to start decorating the kids rooms so they don’t look so boring. I just don’t know quite where to start.

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: decorating, kids room, lockers

Hot On the Range Children’s Book

September 26, 2009 By Momstart 2 Comments

Perfect for every seven year old girl that is on love with horses. This book was just a big above my children, they had no interest in it and I received this book to review right before we found out our house sold and all you know what broke loose. So, this was also on my forgotten stack.

It is a wonderful book and my sister; still in love with horses and wants one of her own, would love this book: I also think that as Zoe gets older she’s going to start liking this book more

It is cute because it is coming from the horse. You’re right there in the mind of the horse on the range. My daughter and son are starting to make animal sounds all the time and they are crawling around the new house pretending to be animals. So it’s cute to see this come out of them.

Hot on the Range is the first children’s book by R. D. Jentsch and was illustrated by David C. Bryant. The author is an admitted horse-lover herself and owns a ranch with fourteen horses – each with its own unique personality and challenges. The book was published in November of 2008 by BookSurge Publishing and is 36 pages (paperback edition).

Book Description:

The tale begins with two horses seeking shelter from the sweltering Texas sun. Willie, a laid back palomino ambles over to a shady spot under a tree, while Chester a paint horse, looks under rocks and every other corner of the pasture to find relief. From rolling in the mud to smelling cactus flowers, it will be Chester’s own master who will save the day with a cool stream of icy water from the outdoor spigot. Recommended for an award in children’s literary fiction, this book is loosely based on the behavior of two real horses and proves to be a whole lot of summer fun for the whole family.

Filed Under: review Tagged With: book review, Children's book, HOT on the range, R. D. Jentsch

Peach Prints Invitations and Pinata’s #giveaway

September 26, 2009 By Momstart 206 Comments

With Halloween quickly approaching you might be getting ready for parties and get togethers and everything in-between or that comes after. The Christmas decorations are already out at Target. I am not joking. When did they start coming out before Halloween? I love Halloween. I love dressing up, I wanted to be an actress just so I could dress up in costumes all the time. I love period pieces and just being goofy.

With Holiday times comes parties. We love to get together with friends and family and just have a great time. So, why now send out some fun invitations?

Peach Prints

Peach Prints is run by a mother and daughter team that make invitations and matching piñatas.

About Peaches Bonnema and Peach Prints:

I am a recent graduate from Columbia College Chicago. During my senior year to make extra money, I started Peach Prints, a personalized invitation company. I loved designing invitations so much I decided to make a huge effort to make it a full time career. My goal for Peach Prints is to offer stylish, personalized, great quality invitations at a low cost. Most of my designs are for children’s birthday parties. Because I love the design aspect, I offer complete customized invitations for a low price. That means if you like the design, but the colors don’t match your colors, I change the color free of charge.

Along with the invitations, I have teamed up with my Mom who has been making custom piñatas for as long as I can remember. The piñatas are truly amazing creations that can match almost any party theme.

The Piñatas can be custom made to go along with your party theme. They start at 25.00 in price and are a good size piñata.

All invitations are 4.25 x 5.5 and come with envelopes and start at 1.13. They are printed on 120lb card stock and include envelopes. The invitations can be customized if you do not see what you like.

We offer stylish baby shower invitations wedding shower invitations, birth announcements and save the date cards.

Enter to win the above piñata and invitation set.

To Enter:

Visit Peach Prints and tell me what your favorite theme is.

Extra Entries:

Vote for me for 5 extra entries

Non-bloggers get an extra entry for every e-mail they send out linking to this giveaway cc louise@looksblue.com (be sure to leave a comment for every person you e-mail, for example if you e-mail 10 different people leave 10 different comments)

Subscribe to my blog
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Blog about the giveaway include a link to me for 10 extra entries
Tweet the giveaway (every time you tweet you get an entry) Link to the giveaway please!!!
Add my button to your blog/blog roll 10 extra points if it is on your homepage
Dig, Stumble, or fav me on Technorati (two entries for each one)
Comment on any other post and come back here and tell me you did.

Milkshake Great Day for my kids music collection

September 26, 2009 By Momstart Leave a Comment

Here’s another great stocking stuffer music CD that has been added to my kids collection. We were sent Milkshake Great Day weeks ago to review and with all the hustle and bustle of our life it sort of missed my queue. Great Day has been one of my favorite additions because of it’s childlike songs with a hippy hip type feel. Maybe I call it a Hippy type feel because it’s up and down and like a roller coaster traveling everywhere all at one time.

‘Great Day’ begins with a high-energy song, “Shake it Up.” With that, everything changes, having songs ranging from the Cajun-inspired “Statue of Me” to the alt-country “Enemies” and the fun, summertime “Dance in the Sun.” “When I’m Old,” featuring Cathy Fink on banjo, is part ode to Lisa Mathews’ mom and part “hey, wouldn’t it be fun to have a country song?” I mean it’s crazy jumping from genre to genre. “Recipe” was written with former Glenmont Popes front man Rodney Henry in mind. Henry, who owns Dangerously Delicious Pies in Baltimore, plays a Gretsch hollow body guitar on “Recipe”. Mandolin artistry by Marcy Marxer is displayed on “Travel Far;” the poignant lullaby, “I Love You,” written for Lisa Mathews’ nine-year-old daughter Jesse is also great. It’s soothing; and the title track’s ending jam, containing the band’s thoughts on what a great day should be. There are two different versions of the song, with the CD containing the shorter version. Milkshake’s Facebook and website friends will be able to download an 8-minute version, free of charge.

Product Description
Great Day is Milkshakes fourth CD for kids and kids at heart. In keeping with the bands desire to grow with their own children, the songs on Great Day touch on issues of friendship, age, self-esteem, goals and desires among other things–things that matter to a 6 – 10 year old. In Milkshakes short seven years together, the band has released three award-winning CDs, a Parents Choice Silver Award for their DVD Screen Play, and had music videos on Noggin, PBS KIDS and Discovery Kids Emmy-winning ToddWorld. As Parents magazine says: If kids don’t push the replay button, parents will.

“Milkshake rocks out the entire family.” - Time magazine

“A fizzy contemporary band that really rocks without losing sight of its target audience.”

– Los Angeles Times

“While many of Milkshake’s songs describe the world from a kids’ point of view, others are more like love letters from parent to child.” – The Washington Post

Filed Under: review Tagged With: cd review, Children's CD, Great Day, Milkshake, music review

Amazon 20.00 Gift Card Winner

September 26, 2009 By Momstart 1 Comment

Random generated number 129

Sonya on September 25th, 2009 3:03 pm (Edit)

I love playpens, especially the large area ones. We have lots of small toys for older kids, so it’s a perfect way to let the baby play however they want while still having them be safe.

Congrats!

Filed Under: winners Tagged With: winners

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly Beach Clean Up Projects, Community and Facebook #giveaway

September 25, 2009 By Momstart 546 Comments

I’m sitting here thinking about writing some blog posts and reviews and well, I’d rather drink this wonderful bottle of wine that Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. I’m a light weight when it comes to drinking and I hardly ever do. I can’t drive after one sip practically so, no drinking unless I’m at home.

So yes, I’m enjoying this wine and reading about Barefoot Republic and how they have events everywhere. Sometimes it will be a beach clean up or they have one for a Crocs tour. The one that’s closest to me is on October 10th 2009 from 6 to 10 pm in Oregon. It’s called Basic Rights Oregon Dinner and Auction. The event is open to everyone and the proceeds will go to Basic Rights.

You can sign up to volunteer for a Beach Rescue mission on-line. Each year, over 25,000 beaches in the United States are closed or posted as unhealthy [source: www.surfrider.org]. To remedy this, Barefoot Wine and Surfrider Foundation encourage local residents to volunteer at cleanup and restoration events across the country to help make these beaches "barefoot-friendly."

About Barefoot:

We believe that we can both promote our brand and satisfy our desire to make the world a better place by partnering with various non-profits and pouring at various fund-raising events. Over the years, Barefoot has been a part of thousands of non-profit events and our popularity has grown along with our support of these ground-breaking organizations.

Over the years, our wines have garnered numerous accolades and professional awards, but more importantly to us, we have a growing circle of loyal fans who love to enjoy our wine and who have joined us in the spirit of giving back to our communities and to our world. For us, and we hope for all of you, that’s an achievement well worth toasting with a glass of Barefoot wine.

AND I must say their wine is yummy, delicious and relaxing, so try some wine, take your shoes off and go barefoot.

Enter to Win:

Event Image This is the first time I have set this rule but you must be 21 to enter.

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly Beach Gift Basket

includes a tote bag,
wine opener,
stemless wine glass,
and a big soft beach towel.

To Enter:

Visit Barefoot Wine & Bubbly flavors and tell me your favorite flavor and what you would like to eat with it.

AND / OR

Join the Barefoot Republic and come back here and submit your user name in the comments

AND / OR

Become a fan of Barefoot’s Facebook page.

Extra Entries:

Vote for me for 5 extra entries

Growing up with a poker family….

September 25, 2009 By Momstart 1 Comment

My family loves to play poker, and I mean my whole family. My dad and mom played it with family when they were still married and then when they got divorced my dad didn’t have time to play anymore because he was a single parent.

My mother would take me to bars and hang out and drink and play pool or cards or just have a good time. Sometimes we would play at home and then I would get to play. So I know how to play a few different games. I love playing poker games on the Xbox 360, well one in particular but I’ve never thought about playing on-line poker and I don’t think my family has either.

Being that they are the older generation they still like to get together as a family and play and drink. They aren’t so computer savvy if you know what I mean. They would have no idea where to begin. I suppose that the place to start would be to look at a PKR Review. That’s an on-line poker review if you weren’t sure about the abbreviation. In more detail it’s a PKR Poker review.

I had no idea that in the United States according to 2006 legislation that US customers can not use real money while playing on-line poker. No Gambling. So playing on-line is more like playing on the Xbox 360. Hmm.

So if you choose to use a site like PKR you’ll need to understand things like how to get a PKR-Bonus and then when you get the bonus how to use the PKR Bonus Code. I was reading up on this on their site and it says that if you sign up you get a 250.00 First Time Bonus. So go check that out if you are into poker, on-line or off. I really think the whole world is moving to on-line action and not the out-side action anymore.

Filed Under: Announcement Tagged With: on-line games, on-line poker, PKR

What being a mother means to me

September 24, 2009 By Momstart 4 Comments

I’ve been a mother for 3 months shy of 3 years. Now that I’m a mother I can appreciate my parents more and know what it is to be a mother now.

Being a mother means I can’t go to the bathroom when I want to. One, I have to know where my children are and what they are getting into before I can go to the bathroom. I have to have the youngest in there with me sometimes so I know he’s not getting into anything.

Being a mother means sleepless nights for the rest of my life. Even when my kids become adults I know that I’m going to worry about them making the right decisions and when they are hurting I’ll be up too.

Being a mother means no privacy. They are everywhere all the time and want to know everything. Nothing is off limits

Being a mother means you have to know everything at all time. I.E. Where everything is no matter how messy the house is. My stepmom still has to tell my 18 year old sister where everything is. I imagine I was probably asking the same questions while I was there even though I have to know where all my kids things are.

Being a mother means that you eat last. Every mouth must be full before you can sit down otherwise there will be another request. I’m not saying I give in to every demand because I don’t. I have a you eat what I make or you don’t eat rule. But they are still young and need to be pushed up to the table or strapped down and need forks and spoons and I forget to get them involved.

Being a mother means being a doctor. You have to kiss every boo boo and bandage the babies’ babies.

Being a mother means being a teacher. They are little sponges and they pick up everything. Everything you do in front of them is another lesson that they are about to repeat.

Being a mother means you get to experience a lot of firsts again: first kiss, first steps, first words, first smile, first tooth, first loss

Being a mother means having a mess made in your name. I was having a terrible week this week and they made me a cookie today with my name on it.

Being a mother means the knowing the greatest joy and happiness you’ll ever know in life.

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: Being a Mom

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Movie Bucket #giveaway

September 24, 2009 By Momstart 997 Comments

“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is currently in movie theatres and ready to be watched. It was created by Burger King and Sony Pictures. As part of the promotion, BK is supporting Feeding America, the film’s charitable partner, by promoting awareness of Feeding America’s childhood hunger initiatives and philanthropic empowerment in kids. Go BK! We love Feeding America at Mom Start.

BK’s newly revamped kids’ site, www.clubbk.com, offers kids the opportunity to become “Hunger Helpers” and rally behind the charitable organization, via a movie-themed online game where they can earn “Crowns” (the virtual currency for Club BK) and then donate them to show support for the Feeding America cause. They can also access more information about the charity and get tips on how to support local food banks all at ClubBk.com

Kids have donated more than 1 million Crowns in charitable shows of support to Feeding America only after seven days. They have just surpassed the community’s goal! How excited but the fun isn’t over. Children are still asked to go on and make contributions.

· To celebrate Club BK’s efforts toward philanthropic empowerment to kids and as a valued partner to both Feeding America and Burger King Corp., Kraft Foods is supporting Hunger Action Month with a $25,000 donation to Feeding America.

And now for the prize:

My children are helping me to show you what you will win with this promotion. BK has a movie promotion bucket to share with one lucky reader.

The bucket contains:

· $20 BK Crown Card to grab a bite to eat before or after the movie

· $40 movie gift card to see the film

· Full set of Club BK Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs kids toys

· Club BK’s Adventures newsletter

· Original Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs book

The full set of toys got my children and I through this afternoon. I wasn’t feeling very well so I opened all the packages and let them play with it. We also looked through the book. Not as many pictures as I was hoping for but my kids like listening to words.

To Enter:

Visit Club BK and tell me what you think of the children’s involvement in charity.

Extra Entries:

Vote for me for 5 extra entries

Meal Plan Monday

Decorating Kids Rooms with Lockers

Hot On the Range Children’s Book

Peach Prints Invitations and Pinata’s #giveaway

About Peaches Bonnema and Peach Prints:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

Milkshake Great Day for my kids music collection

Amazon 20.00 Gift Card Winner

Barefoot Wine & Bubbly Beach Clean Up Projects, Community and Facebook #giveaway

About Barefoot:

Enter to Win:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

Growing up with a poker family….

What being a mother means to me

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Movie Bucket #giveaway

And now for the prize:

The bucket contains:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

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