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Do You Snore or Do You Have Allergies? Monday Mingle

March 14, 2011 By 10 Comments

Welcome to Monday Mingle!mondaymingle

Current questions {week of 3/14/11}:

1. Do you sew, crochet or knit?
2. Are you allergic to any foods? Bee stings?

3. Do you snore? Please describe :)

Remember, Monday Mingle is a chance to chat over video answering questions. It’s fun and the more video you do on your blog the more comfortable you will be in front of the camera. Want to participate? Monday Mingle is a Meme over at Eighty MPH Mom. Go over to her site, find the questions, take a video of the answers and post them to share. Then visit everyone that linked up and have fun getting to know each other. However, if you aren’t ready to do video, just post the questions on your site and answer them. Then link up and we’ll still come and visit you leaving the answers.

Here are my answers for this week.

 

No, No, No. I blog, take care of my kids and that’s all she wrote!

Allergies, I do have seasonal allergies, but no food or bug allergies that I know of.

Snoring, yes when I’m sick, but we do have a family member that is notorious for snoring.

 

What about you?

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: , ,

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole Recipe

March 13, 2011 By 21 Comments

Again, my neighbor said, you’re having dessert again. Yes, we’re having dessert again for dinner. We’ll stop having dessert for dinner when I finish cooking my way through the breakfast section of the KitchenAid Recipe Collection Cookbook . I love French Toast so I was really excited to try this, but it turned out to have more of a texture like a quiche than French Toast, maybe I didn’t add the right amount of bread, I didn’t have room for all of it so I left some of the bread out. You’ll find that I’m an imperfect cook that almost always gets the recipe wrong the first time I make it, and this one, I really messed it up. It looked nothing like the photo in the book. You should go out and get this cookbook, try this recipe, and tell me how you did!! (remember, this recipe is adapted, as I couldn’t find my apple peeler)Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:

1 large loaf French bread cut into 1 1/2 slices
3 1/2 cups milk
9 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 funny apples not peeled (get an apple corer and that’s how you make funny apples, my corer has lost it’s peeling blade)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

Place the French bread in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish

Whisk the milk, eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Next, pour half of the mixture over the bread. Then pull the funny apples apart, or cut them in half and it will fall apart. Places the slices you now have over the bread. Pour the remaining half of egg mixture over the apples.

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in small bowl; sprinkle over the casserole. Cover your creation and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake uncovered 1 hour or until eggs are set.

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Free Tombstone Pizza Coupon With Hasbro Game Purchase

March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Are you in the habit of playing games as a family yet? Have you seen my weekly post about playing games together on our Family Game night? Check it out, I strongly believe that playing games and spending time together as a family is very important. I also believe that sitting down together as a family to eat dinner is important and we do that every night. Thanks to Hasbro and Tombstone Pizza, Family game night just gained a pizza. YUM!

monopoly revolution game play

For a limited time when you purchase, any Hasbro game at your local retailer like Target, then visit the "Special Offer" tab at FamilyGameNight.com to download a mail in offer form to receive a coupon for a FREE (up to $7.01) Tombstone Pizza. Whether you choose MONOPOLY or SCRABBLE, Original or Garlic Bread, head to your local retailer before this offer ends on April 30. Visit FamilyGameNight.com or on Facebook for more information and full offer details.

 

I received nothing for this post, just thought you might want to know! We’re into saving money at my house right now!

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Join the Kind Movement with Kind Healthy Snacks Snack Bars Review

March 12, 2011 By 5 Comments

When you get a snack attack, be KIND to your body by snacking the right way! There are many snacks that lure people in by talking the 100 calorie talk … BUT what are you really eating? Do you know? Can you pronounce it? Is it a processed version of a whole food? Is it something you honestly feel good about feeding to your whole family? I face these snacking questions and challenges in my own life every day; I having feeling my life is not much different than some of yours in this way.

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clip_image003clip_image005I’ve found the perfect solution in KIND snacks, specifically their mini bars at 107-115 calories per bar of fruit, nuts, and seeds – Ingredients you can see & pronounce®. I was sent a box of KIND mini bars to sample and I have to say, “Yummy and convenient!” I’m also not falling off the wagon of trying to lose some weight by eating a bar to keep me satisfied and energized between meals. KIND mini boxes can be found in NEW variety packs of 12 bars which provides three of each: Almond Cashew + Flax (Omega-3), Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants, Almond & Apricot, and Fruit & Nut Delight.

My 19MO’s favorite KIND mini is the Almond Cashew + Flax and mine is Almond & Apricot (though I like them all as does my 19MO). My 4YO is in a phase and won’t even try one, but I really could care less because I get to have more that way; I mean I already have to share with my husband and 19MO!

So let me give you the bucket list. KIND snacks:

  • All Natural
  • Gluten & Wheat Free
  • Cholesterol Free
  • Non GMO
  • No Trans Fats
  • Dairy Free
  • Very Low in Sodium [0-10mg per mini bar]

Now why I think they’re great:

They’re compact! They’ll fit into your purse, diaper bag, office drawer, glove compartment, or where ever else you need to stow a snack. 
I can read and pronounce all the ingredients, so I’m not just promised their natural I know they are natural. 
My whole family likes the taste of the mini bar varieties. 
They’re not élite, you can find Kind at a store near you! In fact I just saw them at Starbucks today when I stopped by for a little pick me up.

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This New York City based company spreads their KIND message by giving back. One more reason to at least give them a try! You can find out about KINDING and KINDaholics. That’s right! KIND – aholics!

KINDaholic – noun {kayn-duh-HAW-lik} 1.Someone with uncontrollable love for KIND and spreading kindness.

To learn more visit the KIND Movement. One example is KINDaholics have been spotted on the streets of NYC giving out KIND Health Snacks and warmth to people in need. I love purchasing products from companies I know are giving back. You can see photos of KINDaholics in action on the KIND Facebook Page.

We’re practicing KINDaholics as I hope to pass this trait onto my children. My family carries individually wrapped healthy snacks in the car to give to people in need on the streets here in Seattle. We always have fruit leather and trail mix on hand, and these easy to tote KIND bars are a great addition to our supply. We also like to purchase extra groceries when we’re at the store or if it’s school season we pick up supplies to donate through our food bank.

Follow KIND and found out more! KIND can be found on their site, on their Kind Snacks blog, on Kind Snacks Facebook and on Twitter @KINDSnacks.

Summer received samples to facilitate this review

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.

Filed Under: review, Summer Tagged With: , , , ,

Take An Organic Challenge with Me: Save Money Shift Money

March 12, 2011 By 9 Comments

Summer and I decided to take part in a few Organic Challenges over the course of the next two months as part of the Easy Organic Living program, that happens to be co-hosted by Healthy Child Healthy World and Baby Center with Stonyfield as the sponsor. My husband and I are big fans of Stonyfield yogurt, we fed it to both children when they were little. My contributor Summer, many of you love her already, has inspired me to try using more organic in our lives. We are lucky in the area we live in; we have so many farms at our disposal and even Costco carries a lot of organics. Before I started reading Summer’s contributions here on Mom Start, the only reason we ate any organic was because it was a great price at Costco.

This Week’s Challenge is,

organic groceriesSave a dollar here, Shift a dollar there!

Everyone including me is under the impression that it takes a bigger budget to eat organically. The Easy Organic Living program is challenging us to start buying organic for the same price you would normally spend. For the next week try using some of these tips to save money to use on organic products.

Try Buying in Bulk

Use or freeze your leftovers for later use.

According to the USDA, 14 percent of all the food that we buy ends up in the trash, adding up to almost $600 thrown away each year.

Don’t buy soda, and use reusable cups for the water you drink

Buy the Whole Chicken instead of the pieces separately

Buy fruits and veggies that are in season, you’ll save a lot of money that way

You can save up to $130 or more per year by shifting to seasonal produce (i.e., apples in the winter, plums and nectarines during the summer).

Eat Less meat

If you were to cut meat out of your diet once a week and replace it with a vegetarian option, you could save about $250 per year for a family of four.

Why should you participate in this challenge?

You’ll focus on how much money you are spending thus saving yourself some money

You’ll shift your budget to support a healthier lifestyle

Your family will be eating organic food avoiding potentially harmful ingredients

 

In less than one week, I’ll tell you how I’m doing in the challenge and introduce you to the new challenge. Please leave comments and tell me how you are doing working on organic changes in your life.

 

 

 

I received a gift basket for participating in the program and will be giving one away at the end of the program as well.

Filed Under: green, organic Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Book Review: Mr. Bo Finds a New Home and a New Name Giveaway

March 11, 2011 By 57 Comments

My sons and I just read a new book, MR. Bo: Finds a New Home and a New Name. This book is told from the perspective of a stray cat named Linus who is in a Humane Society shelter waiting to be adopted. The cat is eventually adopted by the author Timothy Battle and renamed Mr. Bo.

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My sons love to read books. However for the ages of my children – 18 months and 4 years old –they became very antsy as the book was read aloud to them. The book is designed for readers age 4-8, so reading it to the 18 month old was worthless, he was out; though I did catch him later looking at the illustrations. Both sons loved looking at the cat and my young 4 YO did want to know if he found a home. However, reading the book to him was like reading it to a feral kitten as he strayed too much as I attempted to get to the end of the book for the conclusion; this made the book hard to stay into and focused upon. I think some extra patients and maturity might help his interest in level of this book and I would classify it as an early elementary age book (K-3rd grades).

One of the things that bugged me most about this book was that in the title they tell you Mr. Bo gets a new name, and in the beginning of the book the cat’s name is Linus. You know the name will change to Mr. Bo. The book constantly reminds the reader that Linus has a name that fits him, and then he gets renamed Mr. Bo, but then the cat discloses this is not his true name either. It bugs me that this “issue” is unresolved.

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My husband liked the book and thought it was great for children to see what pet adoption is all about. I agree; for me, MR. Bo: Finds a New Home and a New Name seems like a good fit for homes with adopted pets, pets headed to a shelter as the family can no long keep their pet, for children learning about pets or adoption, or children who maybe spending time volunteering in a shelter type of setting. This book can help children understand the process of adoption and what happens inside a shelter.

Mr. Bo and author Tim Battle gave me an autographed copy of this book in order to write my honest review. They have also offered a signed copy to one of our readers, so you can win a copy for yourself and tell us all what you think of the book. The neat and unique thing about this book is you not only get your paperback copy, but you also receive an e-Live link and special code to download the audio version.

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You can keep up with Mr. Bo on Twitter @mrbobooks and Like his page on Facebook. You can find author Tim Battle and Mr. Bo on their book’s website [] as well; you can even purchase a signed copy there. You can also purchase MR. Bo: Finds a New Home and a New Name on Amazon or at your local book store.

Enter to Win:
an autographed copy of the book MR. Bo Finds a New Home and a New Name to add to your at-home library

To Enter:
Tell us from the front cover picture (above) what you or your child would’ve named Linus/Mr. Bo.

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Book Review Giveaway: Mr. Bo Finds a New Home and a New Name http://momstart.com/2011/03/book-review-mr-bo-finds-a-new-home-and-a-new-name-giveaway/

Subscribe to MomStart
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig, stumble, like or share on Facebook (or use any of the share options listed below)
Blog About this Giveaway (10 extra entries, linking to the giveaway)
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This giveaway ends March 28th.  I received samples to facilitate this review. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway, review, Summer Tagged With: , , , ,

Scrapbooking With Rachel: Do Something With Your Photos!

March 11, 2011 By 3 Comments

Hi, I’m Rachel. Louise asked me to write a post about scrapbooking… like a week ago. Ironically enough, I’m down to the wire here, because I’ve been too busy… you guessed it, scrapbooking! Right now I’m working on my family album for 2009. I recently finished 2010, and I’m simultaneously working on my ongoing project for 2011 – Project Life. But more on that later.

scrapbooks

I am NOT a scrapbooking expert. Far from it. There is a lot I don’t know about, know how to do, or even care to know about. But I love it. Partly I love it, because I like to stick stuff on paper. Yup, it’s as basic as that. I also love it because I like to take pictures of my kids, and my pets, and the flowers growing in my yard, and the bees on the flowers in my yard, and weird signs I see walking down the road. (I’m the one walking down the road… not the signs… that sounded weird.) At any rate, you get the idea. I like to take pictures. Is there a mom out there who doesn’t?

I discovered scrapbooking when my first child was born, 11 years ago. A friend gave me an old-school Creative Memories album (8×10, if you can believe that!), and a ‘baby boy’ kit of papers and die-cuts and the like. I totally didn’t get it. I had no idea what that stuff was for. And what the heck are ‘photo splits’? It all made no sense to me, until I saw some albums my cousin had made. Ahhh… light was dawning. Then I was bit. I had the bug. I had one kid and a camera. Holy cow, did I ever do a lot of scrapbooking! I did so much scrapbooking that I decided to become a Creative Memories consultant! When I would try to convince other mothers that they needed to take up scrapbooking, they would tell me crazy stuff like, “I don’t have time” or “I’m not that organized” or something equally bogus in my mind. My eldest has 3 albums of just HIM and his first 4 years!

And then I had more kids.

It was around the time my daughter (2nd child) was a year old that I realized that all those other moms were right! I didn’t have the time. I wasn’t that organized! I didn’t have the space, or the presence of mind, or the ability to keep my sticker/paper/scissor loving toddler out of my stuff!

And so it sat. And my guilt began to grow, along with my files and files of pictures… This child has 1 partially done album that only takes her to about 1 month old! My youngest has ZERO albums. Count ‘em! ZERO. But still it sat.

Until this year. Finally. I feel like I have the ability and the desire to start to attack my boxes and files. What finally broke me through was my SIL introducing me to Project Life. This is the most brilliant system for busy moms with not a lot of time, space, money, sanity, etc. There are so many ways to use Project Life, but I am doing mine chronologically throughout the year, a photo a day (give or take). I try to update it weekly, so I can do it quickly, memories are fresh, and I don’t get bogged down in trying to sort out several months’ worth of pictures and stories. I look through my pictures weekly and send the ones I want printed out to Costco. I go there pretty much every week anyway, so I may as well pick them up there. If you are unfamiliar with Project Life, browse around a little. Watch the video clips. Read some blogs on the subject. I love it.

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Since I’ve been working on 2011, I decided to start working backward through my family’s pictures. I pulled out some unused Creative Memories albums I had, some adhesives, some scrapbooking paper, and my pens. I ordered ALL of the pictures from 2010 that I wanted to include, and got to work.

I used to be a much more creative/artsy-fartsy scrapbooker. I would use stickers and make fancy borders and do whole spreads for certain events. NO LONGER. My experience using Project Life has changed my approach. It is purely chronological, industrial, and economical. The goal is to get the pictures in the book; make it look decent; document what is going on in the picture. END OF STORY. Seriously, nothing fancy. I finished 2010 in about a week. I’m now close to being done with 2009.

So I guess my point is this: You can be a fancy, creative scrapbooker if you want. If that’s your thing, your albums will be a lot prettier than mine. Awesome. Go for it. Love what you’re doing. But, if you’re not inclined that way, don’t let it stop you from doing something with your pictures. Seriously do something with them. I wish I’d had my camera with me this morning when I was at my mom’s house. I could have taken a picture of WHY you should do something with your pictures. She has 3 or so crates stacked up with bags and envelopes of pictures in them. Some are old, some are newer. A few have dates on them. A few have labels on them. Some are in old, yellowed, sticky photo albums that have faded and yellowed the pictures in them. It’s overwhelming and sad.

You take these pictures of your family. Wouldn’t it be great if your kids and grandkids and great-grandkids could see these pictures and read about the people in them and the stories behind them? I think so. Maybe that sounds self-absorbed or something. But think of it like this: How cool would it be to have a wealth of that sort of information about the life of YOUR great-grandmother? It makes you think about it a little differently.

So, my mission is simple: Do something with your pictures. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to be creative or elaborate. BUT, protect your pictures. Label them. Display them. And tell the stories behind them. Future generations will thank you.

About Rachel

Rachel is also a MOMS club member. She is thankful for the blessing of staying home to raise her three crazy, wonderful kids. In addition to scrapbooking, she likes knitting, gardening, reading, blogging and otherwise avoiding the housework she should be doing. You can read about her adventures and disasters at rachel’s ramblings.

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Giveaway Jingle Link Up Your Giveaways

March 10, 2011 By 9 Comments

You’ve got a giveaway, I want to know about it! Oh, and if you list your giveaway on Mom Start facebook page then I will tweet it out to all of my twitter followers. At 8500 followers and growing all the time! Cool? I hope so!

boy with ballons

I’ve got a few giveaways you might want to check out too!

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Just Jen Custom Rhinestone Fashions Clothing Giveaway

March 10, 2011 By 126 Comments

Last week I had a play date at my house and I decided to show off my new Just Jen Custom Rhinestone T-shirt that had my blog name on it. The compliments came rolling in making me smile. Thank you friends! The Just Jen Collection can be ordered on-line with shirts and themes perfect for bachelorette shirts to bridesmaid t-shirts.

JustJen T-shirtA few years ago when I first started doing reviews, I had the opportunity to work with Just Jen so I knew exactly what I wanted this time. The first time I ordered a T-shirt from Just Jen I ordered a soft pink color and as much as I love the T-shirt I have to be careful what I wear under it as it is a little on the see through side. And since I really like dark colored bras, the pink, I love Texas shirt sits in the closet. So this time I went with black! Just Jen’s clothing line is soft, durable in the washing machine with little to no shrinkage. Oh and I have to mention that I love love love the ability to get the shirt in the longer length. I really like shirts to go below my waist since having kids.

The Custom Rhinestone Fashions Experience:

You make your shirt! You pick out the style first. Decide which design you want and what type of t-shirt fitting do you want. Then pick out the color of the t-shirt and then pick out the colors of the rhinestones. It’s completely customizable. My new black shirt sports my blog name MomStart with these customizations:

Just Jen T-shirtThe Design Name:  Custom Shirt

Shirt-Style: Cotton Spandex Long-Sleeve T-Shirt (Longer length)

Shirt-Color: Black

Shirt-Size (Please refer to the sizing chart): Medium

Crystal: Volcano

Symbol: None

Font: Block

Personalization: MomStart

Now you have the opportunity to get a customized shirt as well.

Enter to Win:

U.S. and Canadian residents

Either a custom shirt or any one Just Jen shirt of your choice

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what you like to eat at Red Robin

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Just Jen Custom Rhinestone Fashions Clothing #Giveaway @momstart http://bit.ly/fljCm1

Subscribe to MomStart
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig, stumble, like or share on Facebook (or use any of the share options listed below)
Blog About this Giveaway (10 extra entries, linking to the giveaway)
Follow me on twitter tell me your twitter ID
Follow/Like Mom Start on Facebook
Follow me on Google Friend Connect

This giveaway ends March 28th.  I received samples to facilitate this review. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

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Tasty Treat Thursday: Kiss Me I’m Irish, Hug Me I’m Not Cookie Recipe

March 10, 2011 By 11 Comments

This is my take on the “Peanut Butter Blossoms” that are popularly made at Christmas time for cookie exchanges and such. This week is my kid-friendly St. Patrick’s Day snack; next week will be my adult snack (though your children might enjoy it too). If you have a child allergic to peanut butter or if you desire to make these for a peanut-free/nut-free school investigate their policy on sunflower seed butter (which you can get at many national grocery stores, if you’re having trouble finding it check Trader Joe’s or your favorite “health food” store). Also wheat germ has a nutty taste so you could increase the wheat germ in your recipe by ¼ cup and reduce the flour but the same amount.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Kiss Me I’m Irish

INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup wheat germ
¼ cup ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (omit if you use salted butter)
½ cup sugar (plus extra (about ¼ cup) for coating balls
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, melted or room temperature
½ cup natural, organic creamy peanut butter*
1 egg (I get my eggs from a friend and neighbor, Angie)
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
24 Hershey Kisses® candies, unwrapped
24 Hershey Hugs® candies, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS

1. clip_image004Combine all ingredients, except extra sugar for coating and Hershey candies, into a large mixing bowl. Mix until dough forms.

2. Shape dough into balls about the side of a whole walnut. Roll balls in extra white sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake at 375oF for about 10-12 minutes (or until golden brown).

4. After cookies are baked immediately press Hershey candies into tops firmly. Cookies may crack around the edges a little.

If you enjoy them fresh the chocolate will be a yummy goo. For storing allow chocolates to harden.

*If you don’t use a natural, organic don’t substitute with a low-fat peanut butter as it’s more crumbly and balling the cookies for cooking will be hard as the dough won’t come together easily and even when placing the candies at the end my cause unfixable braking of the cookies.

Cooking with Peanut Butter Tips:
- Warm the cup you’re using to measure the peanut butter for easy removal of the peanut butter; I run the faucet warm and let the water run into the cup.
- I like to purchase natural peanut butters (only containing peanuts and maybe salt). You have to stir these butters, but I buy in advance and invert the jar. The oil then runs to the bottom (which is currently the top) and allows the oil to become more evenly distributed through the peanut butter.
- To prepare your peanut butter jars for recycling fill the empty jar with water and allow to soak for at least half an hour. When your dishwasher is becoming full dump the peanut butter water down your sink and load jar into washer just like a drinking glass. The jar will come out clean without all of the waste of time and soap and water, and will save you some dish-pan hands.

Filed Under: recipe, Summer Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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