Tasty Treat Thursday Apple Muffins Recipe

My husband loves apple and muffins … so this is logical. I would love to make these mini muffins but I don’t have the patience to chop the apples that small. These aren’t heavy in sugar and are very tasty.

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INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup ground flaxseed
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ apple juice
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 400oF. Grease or line 24 muffin tip cups.

2. In Kitchen Aid stand mixer bowl combine all dry ingredients. Stir using the flat beater. When fully blended begin adding wet ingredients. Complete stirring until all ingredients are mixed well and moist.

3. Fill cups. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan.

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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.

In Loving Memory Choose To Live!

This is dedicated to my Aunt Lynn!

I’ve been sitting here all day thinking about my aunt and the fact that I’m complaining about a common flu and it disgusts me. My aunt died yesterday of cancer. 5.5 years ago, she was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 breast cancer and was told she would be lucky to live for the rest of the month. When she made it to Christmas family members told me it would be her last.

But no, she lived. She chose to live.

She had more life in her than anyone I have ever met. She was a prayer warrior and believed she would beat it. She never complained and through her example she taught me more about faith and living in grace than anyone else ever has. She was always thinking about someone else reminding me of needs all around me. She learned a lot about cancer and found unique ways to treat it, she had determination like no other. She was even in remission. I think she was in remission twice but that evil thing we call Cancer is relentless and kept coming back. I don’t want to get any of the details wrong (I just don’t know what all she went through) but I still want to share just how courageous a woman she was. She DESERVES to be remembered! Surgery after surgery, treatment after treatment. She was AMAZING.

My stepmom (I hate using that word, but I confuse everyone when I don’t, she’s my mom in so many ways) said it better than I can,

In the 5.5 years since she’s had this illness, she has had 2 breast surgeries, surgery to implant her port, liver surgery, brain surgery and countless scans and chemo/radiation treatments.  She has fought this illness with more grace, dignity and faith than I could ever hope to have.  God is waiting for her. She deserves the rest.

My regret is that I didn’t live closer to her to absorb everything she had to give the last five years, because she gave a lot. When I did have the privilege of spending time with her, she was always happy. She spent much of her time baby sitting her grand daughter and shared her knowledge of cancer, her love of life, and most importantly her STRONG faith in God. I know God gave her those extra years of life to show us all how to live in spite of pain, or anything bad that comes our way.

I agree with my stepmom, I can only HOPE to have the grace and dignity that my aunt Lynn had. She is already missed.

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I’m going to remember to Cherish every day that God gives me and enjoy every second I have with my family. I Choose to Live!

Cleaning with Staples, “That was [eco] EASY!”

It’s about time more companies became Earth Day friendly year round. Staples is making their mark with their Sustainable Earth line.

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I have used other brands of multi-purpose and glass cleansing products and compared to the Staples Sustainable Earth, I’d say in a blind test I won’t be able to tell the difference between my typical cleaner and the Staples Sustainable Earth cleansers. My house is shiny, steak-free, and without film residues. Staples Sustainable Earth cleaning products also leaves a very fresh, clean smell not a chemical sterile smell, which is important to me because I want to live in my home not a hospital! The reason is Sustainable Earth has no harsh chemicals but offer powerful ways to clean greener … BRILLIANT!

The Staples Sustainable Earth Glass Cleaner is alcohol-free, ammonia-free, and phosphate-free. The Staples Sustainable Earth Multi-Purpose Cleaner offers a natural pH, and is also ammonia-free and phosphate-free. It is an eco-conscious cleaner that was formulated in partnership with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exclusively for Staples and meets the Green Seal environmental standard for household cleaners.

Sustainable Earth by Staples is eco easy! Not only are they stepping up with eco cleaners, but their Sustainable Earth line offers toner, paper products, school and office supplies, and cutlery and flatware. The coolest of these Sustainable Earth products including a Bamboo USB Flash Drive (made from recycled bamboo) and notebooks made from recycled sugarcane instead of paper from trees!

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So keep Earth Day in your everyday, and with the help of Staples you’ll be saying, “That was easy!”

You can keep up with Staples on their website, via Staples on Facebook and by tracking them on Twitter @StaplesTweets.

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Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

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.

Make Your House a Veggie Party with Country Crock Giveaway [200.00 Amex GC 3 winners]

I love vegetables more than I love fruit. I would rather have a veggie any day. I love all kinds of veggies too and enjoy finding creative ways to present them to the kids.  We’ve tried cooking them together:

Roasted Asparagus

The kids and I made Roasted Asparagus, and they had a lot of fun helping me, and were even willing to try them. I’ve also tried giving them a rainbow of veggies meal.

 

Rainbow Kabobs

You know my daughter’s favorite color is purple and she loves purple cabbage because it’s purple, and she even tried eggplant because of the color, so using the color of veggies is a great way to get kids to try their veggies.

If all else fails, we have a bag of carrots available at every meal. The bag of carrots also serves for a filler. My children (I’m the luckiest mom in the world) love to eat, and if they are still hungry at the end of the meal then they get to have a bag of carrots. Usually that’s how I can tell if they are still hungry or not, because if they go for that extra bag of carrots then they are still hungry. They usually say, uh, no I’m full then.

That being said, carrots and all veggies are better cooked and country crock aims to help with 70% less saturated fat than butter. Country Crock ensures your veggies are not only nutritious but also delicious. Country Crock is my preferred butter choice, I have a HUGE tub of it in my fridge. We use it on grilled cheese, pancakes, and pretty much just about anything, especially when cooking veggies.

IMG_0106Country Crock sent us a “Veggie Party Kit” and it included:

Country Crock Samples
Re-usable eco-friendly grocery tote
”Today I Ate a Rainbow” Kids calendar
Vegetable chopper
Kids’ Aprons
Gardening How-to Kit
Vegetable cookbook

The Veggie Party Kit was a great tool in teaching the kids even more about veggies. I work really hard at teaching Zoe and Miles to make healthy choices and its’ working. Zoe is learning all about making smart choices and will choose a fruit/veggie & cheese plate over Danish.

Our favorite activity in the Veggie Party Kit was the gardening How-to Kit.

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The best way to get kids to eat their veggies is to get them involved.

Enter to Win:

200.00 American Express Gift Card (1 winner)

Veggie Party Kit (2 winners (100.00 value)

3 winners total

To Enter:

Visit Country Crock on Facebook and check out what recipes you like and come back here and share which recipe  you like the most.

Extra Entries:

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

Country Crock Love Your Veggies 200.00 AMEX GC #Giveaway @Momstart http://bit.ly/iw0R3b

Subscribe to MomStart
Comment on any non-giveaway post
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
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This giveaway ends May 30th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

Check Out the New Disney Store It’s Kid Friendly

The Disney Store has redesigned their floor plan and it’s a hit if you asked my kids. They both experienced their first dose of Disney Magic:

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As you enter the store you will find a Pixie Dust Trail. The Pixie Dust Trail pulls children throughout the store but they have to beware of all of the storytelling “neighborhoods” that will tempt them to get off the path. And the first question that Zoe had when we entered the store was, “where are the princesses”.

So our first stop on our tour was the Disney Princess Neighborhood and Disney Princess Castle with Magic Mirror.

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My reaction to the Disney store is that they put children’s desires at the forefront of this amazing redesign. The Disney Princess castle was really cool with the magic mirror. Zoe was able to use a flour bouquet/magic wand to pull up a princess. She chose Sleeping Beauty who was her favorite princess until Rapunzel came along. Girls can choose from Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Tiana then each Princess tells their stories through short film clips when they are brought to life by little princesses in the store. All the princess voices were recorded exclusively for the Disney Store magic mirror, and many were recorded by the original voice talent from the film.

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Next we had the opportunity to see the CARS Ridemakerz and boy Miles was in car heaven.

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Kids have the opportunity to build their own cars, the first ever Disney-Pixar CARS branded Ridemakerz custom car building experience serves as the hero fixture.‖ Miles loved looking at Mater, and Lightening, and his favorite part was that he could take things apart and they go back together with ease as the cars are put together by magnets. CARS Ridemakerz characters include Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Sally. Children are assisted by Cast Members as they use tools to assemble their car, and use their imagination to customize it by choosing from a wide selection of rims, side pipes, hoods scoops, blown engines, spoilers and many more accessories. The CARS Ridemakerz building experiences encourages interactivity and truly shows off Disney Store’s product quality and game play.

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The Magical Trees were fun to watch. You can watch as some of Disney’s favorite characters make appearances in the trees – look out for Tinker Bell or Buzz Lightyear and Woody-themed trees celebrating Toy Story, and hidden Mickeys have also been subtly inserted into the animation that appears on the trees.

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Everything is made for kids, including the fixtures:

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My kids love going to the Disney store and every Disney store has a TV screen in it where kids can see their favorite Disney movie scenes or upcoming movies right? Well the New Disney sore layout has a Disney Store Theater where kid can actually make their own choices on a touch screen. Can you guess what Zoe chose? Yep, Rapunzel, but she had to wait her turn.

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New content will be uploaded on a regular basis to keep the experience options fresh and new every time a child enters. The Disney Store Theatre is much more than just for viewing video content, it also acts as a ―community center,‖ and will be the place where Disney Store hosts family activities and events such as Disney character drawing workshops, storytelling experiences, trivia events, and more. New activities will continually be added to the calendar to bring families back to the store over and over again. My kids didn’t want to leave!!!

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You can check out the new features over at Bellevue Square Mall the store Opens Wednesday May 11th when the mall opens. With each new store opening in 2010, Disney Store will select a day to donate 10 percent of sales to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the United States.

 

Disclosure: We had a press tour.

Smallville Romances: Love or Hate?

Last week when I was asked to pick my favorite character/evil villain from Smallville, I chose Lex Luthor, he’s actually my FAVORITE character next to Lois. Which brings me to this week’s Smallville topic. If you had to pick between Clark’s Romances who would you choose. Smallville-Complete-Box-Art_thumb

Hands down for me it would be Lois and here’s why.

LanaOne, Lana Lang was just detestable in my opinion. Clark had a crush on her forever, She led Clark on for years and then married Lex. Who does that? Yes of course there were some good moments between the two of them and I’m leaving a lot out. She was a good friend to him in “Exile” Season 3, Episode one where she went to Metropolis to convince Clark to come back to Smallville when he was actually under the influence of the red kryptonite ring. She also saved everyone in Metropolis by defusing a Kryptonite bomb on the roof of the Daily Planet and doing so infected her with Kryptonite on a permanent basis and she could no longer be around Clark. Which left him free to pursue Lois.  Even though it took him a while to realize he had feelings for her.

Then you could say there was a little bit of a romance between Chole and Clark, but that was really almost completely one sided. As far as I know, they only had a relationship in one episode and Chloe has no memory of it. There is only a very strong friendship between the two of them, best friends and that’s it!

loisMy favorite!!! I love that Lois Lane and Clark finally get to be together. I remember when Lois first came to Smallville, she always had a nickname for Clark. Lois Lane made her first appearance in Season 4, Episode 1 “Crusade” and just knowing she was going to be a new addition to the show had me excited. I really enjoyed watching the relationship between the two of them grow, and struggle and finally they are now engaged. I thought it was funny when she ended up living with Clark at his house for a little bit. How he kept his secret from her for that time was amazing and how did either of them put up with all of the teasing (foreplay). I really felt that the chemistry between Tom Welling and Erica Durance was much more interesting than anything between Tom and Kristin.

 

With the ‘Smallville: The Complete Series’ DVD, fans will be able to relive all of Clark Kent’s romantic encounters, from start to finish! With an Exclusive Daily Planet newspaper written by DC Comics that highlights the important storylines developed during the 10-year run of the show, the Smallville Complete Series is a must-have for all Smallville fans!

 

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You can also Relive each heroic moment by downloading the Smallville series now on iTunes.

 

I have been hired by Warner Bros WBWord division to raise awareness for ‘Smallville’.

Keurig K-Cup Coffee Addict Green Mountain Coupon Code Wordless Wednesday

I’m a Keurig K-Cup Ambassador, but truth be told, I’m a Keurig K-Cup Coffee Addict and have been for YEARS with more coffee than will fit in my cabinets. This is just a small selection of the coffee K-Cups I have to drink.

 

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Save 15% on your own purchase of anything at GreenMountain.com with free standard shipping. Use AM0013-3602 at checkout.

Do The Kind Thing

Do The KIND Thing!

Mom Start wants to tell you about KIND snacks newest initiative, Do the KIND Thing. KIND is giving people everywhere the opportunity to turn small acts of kindness into a BIG philanthropic KIND Acts that give back to the world. The campaign relies on the collective kindness of its consumers and leverages the Groupon model of requiring mass participation to ‘unlock’ a deal. Here’s how it works:

· On the first Tuesday of each month (a.k.a. KIND Tuesday), KIND challenges its community to carry out a specific KIND act (a.k.a. KINDING Mission) for someone else.

· If enough people sign up at www.kindsnacks.com/world to complete the monthly KINDING Mission, KIND pays that kindness forward and carries out a big, philanthropic KIND Act for the world!

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Missions were completed in February and March; though April marked the campaign’s official launch and people were encouraged to give a flower to someone who helps keep the planet clean and green. The campaign was an incredible success and KIND hosted beach, street and park cleanups in cities across the country in honor of Earth Day (April 22). May’s mission occurred just a week ago! Everyday people, like you, were encouraged to give a healthy snack to an educator (a teacher, coworker, spouse, wise friend, etc.). When the mission was accomplished the BIG KIND act performed by the KIND snacking company was providing books for afterschool programs in underserved communities.

If you sign up to join the KIND movement then you’ll be in on the next movement on June 7! In June, the mission if you chose to accept it is to give an orange to someone who provides you nourishment (grocery clerk, barista, school cook, a roommate who cooks for you, etc.). What a great way to spread some KINDness and help your children learn about KINDness whether they’re involved or just seeing you participate. The KIND snack company’s BIG KIND ACT will then provide cooking utensils and host cooking classes for low income kids.

Mom Start is ‘spreading the kindness’ by featuring Do The KIND Thing and encouraging our readers to carry out the next KINDING Mission. In conjunction with the program, The KIND Food Truck is on a 32 week tour—giving out healthy, tasty KIND bars and spreading kindness in cities across the country. If you want to get on the WHEN and WHERE then you’ll have to track KIND on Twitter @KINDSnacks.

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You can find out when the KIND Truck is in our area:

June Washington, D.C.
July Boston, MA
August Washington, D.C.
September Seattle, WA
October San Francisco, CA
November Los Angeles, CA

KIND will also be hosting an event in my backyard, Seattle, on July 13:

Guest Chef’s on the Waterfront
Located on the end of Seattle’s Bell Harbor Pier, KIND will be in the company one of over 70 of the PNW most talented chefs, breweries, wineries and purveyors of fine food and beverage. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, who creates cheeses worthy Oprah’s "O List", will be sharing our booth to provide the over 2000 attendees with paired cheeses and KIND. Sharp cheddar, gruyere, Jamaican jerk flavors and cracked pepper go quite nicely with our whole nuts and fruit!

Other events will happen in:

Philadelphia, PA June 25-27
Boston, MA June25-27
Los Angeles, CA July
San Francisco, CA September23-25
New York, NY September

Stain Solver $1,000 Spring Clean Sweepstakes

Stain Solver launched their Spring Clean Sweepstakes and Mom Start thought you might be interested in taking advantage by entering. The grand prize is $1,000 to Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as a year’s supply of Stain Solver. Entering is easy: Simply click and fill out the contact form. For extra chances to win you can share the promotion and get an additional entry for each friend’s email address you enter on the contact form. Happy spring cleaning!

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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.

Word World The Train Escapade

I may be a strict mom but my kids are allowed one TV show each per day exceptions made on my sick days and as needed. I let them select from the shows we’re recorded on the DVR or have copies of on DVD.

My 4YO’s favorite is Word World on PBS kids. He is very interested in spelling and reading, and he’s just plan into the entertainment of watching TV. My 21MO who can’t say many words but can say Word Wolds likes to watch the show for the animals and he wants to be just like his big brother. I like letting my boys watch Word World because it offers lessons in friendship and literacy.

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Word World just released a new DVD on May 3, The Train Escapade, which offers four episodes and is 60 minutes long.

- You Can Never Have Too Many Oo’s – Monkey’s roof blows off during a storm and he needs to find an /oo/ to rebuild it. He searches Word World with the help of Duck and Kangaroo. (Season 2, Episode 8 )

- Ducks Hiccups – As the Word World friends try and stay cool on a hot day, Duck get the hiccups from drinking lemonade too fast. His Word World friends try to cure him with some /ă/ words. (Season 2, Episode 4)

- Achoo! – Sheep brings Pig peaches instead of apples for making his pies, but Pig is allergic to peaches! What /ă/words will the Word World friends discover before getting Pig his apples. (Season 2, Episode 4)

- Get Well Soon Soup – Pig makes some alphabet soup using all the letters of the alphabet to help Ant get some rest and relaxation. They build many bedrooms items before getting it just right for ant to get better. (Season 2, Episode 5)

We’ve viewed the episode and though they’re been on TV before my son loves watching the episodes again … and again … and again. The great thing is for only $12.99 (SRP) you can keep these treasured episode for viewing anytime your child wants to see their favorite episode! You can find Word World DVDs on N Circle Entertainment.

N Circle Entertainment also has your hook up on Animal Atlas (including Kitten Party and Puppy Party), Busytown Mysteries, Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Dino Squad, Dive Olly Dive!, Doodlebops, Heathcliff, Hopla, Johnny Test, Kitten Party, Legend of Zelda, Mighty Machines, Noonbory, Pajanimals, Pocoyo, Prima Preincessa, Sid the Science Kid, Sonic, Super Mario Brothers, and The Fairies. N Cicle Entertainment also has seasonal options. If you’re looking for something new then you can check out N Circle Entertainment’s Parents’ Choice section.

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Keep up with new releases from NCircle Entertainment on their website, on Facebook, and track them on Twitter @NCircle to get the latest on discounts and offers.

You can also find Word World on Facebook, track them on Twitter @WordWorld or keep busy with eBooks, videos, games, tunes and other resources on their website.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

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.