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My Earliest Oreo Moment #OREOmoment

March 11, 2012 by Momstart

OREO is celebrating their 100th Birthday with an OREO moment. On the OREO 100th Birthday website you can share your OREO moment to be entered to win $200. Here’s my moment:

Growing up my step mom would make this OREO ice cream cake for me every year and I loved it. She would buy a carton of OREO ice cream, OREO cookies, Cool Whip, and toffee bits. She would mix half of the Cool Whip with all of the ice cream and a strip of the OREO cookies all crumbled up. That would then go in the cake pan. Then she would top it with the remaining whipped cream and then sprinkle the toffee bits on top of that. It was to die for. I’m looking for an occasion to make this in my house. I know the whole family will like it as much as I do.

Even with that awesome memory of OREO cookies that’s not my earliest memory. My earliest memory would have to be sitting with my grandparents in their kitchen. My grandmother always had cookies in a cookie jar on the very top of a china hutch. Even with a chair there was no way I could reach it. My papa would get it down for me and give me two cookies, and sometimes they were home made and sometimes they were store bought. I remember one time when they were OREO cookies. Usually we would dunk our cookies in coffee. Yes my grandparents let me drink coffee at a very early age, but it just encouraged my sweet tooth. My coffee was milk with sugar and then some coffee.

My first memory was of my grandpa opening a package of OREO cookies and giving me two and he took about five. Then he put the rest of the package in the cookie jar. We had our milk and our coffee, and he said it’s better in milk and to this day I still agree. OREO cookies are much better dunked in milk than in coffee. I remember leaving my first on in the milk to long and then when I pulled it out it folded over into my cup. I dipped my second one where it was soft enough to melt into my mouth. Then I gulped my milk down so that I could eat my first cookie that ended up in the bottom of the glass.

OREO is celebrating its 100th Birthday by encouraging all of us to take a moment to slow down, and celebrate the kid inside. Celebrate with us for a chance to win $200! Simply follow these two steps to enter:

1. Add your photo or video to the OREO Moments Gallery

2. Come back & reply below describing your photo or video, and tell us about your earliest OREO memory

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Oreo.The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Getting Kids to Eat Healthy How Do you Do It? #TysonNuggets

March 4, 2012 by Momstart

When it comes to eating in our house, I’ve never really had to battle with my children. My children were born with a love of food. They love to eat and I’m really fortunate I know. As Zoe is getting older she’s becoming more finicky about some of the foods she likes to eat. Miles however, still likes pretty much everything. I would say he prefers to stay away from green foods but usually changes his mind after he finds out his sister actually likes it.

Now as I was saying about Zoe, she’s developing her taste buds deciding that there are things she doesn’t like. That includes most meats are and a few veggies. She also insists that veggies are not a snack in her opinion. And sometimes she has issues with texture. I hear that’s a common problem with kids. So how do we get her to eat the things she doesn’t like.

We try a few different methods and sometimes none of them work. First off, in our house we have a rule that you eat what mom and dad make for dinner or you don’t eat. Sometimes, she’s fine just not eating and since I know she ate every other meal that day, no big deal. I don’t fight it. Other times, we try really hard to get them to have a no thank you helping. I have yet to actually get them to say no thank you. Most of the time it’s that’s gross mom. I don’t know about your house but we’re a work in progress working to say no thank you.

Also the biggest tip I can give you is telling you that we always have a variety on our plate. I try to have two veggies on the plate and I give them one that Miles like and one that Zoe likes. In addition to the variety we often add a dip of some kind. Low fat yogurt, hummus, and mustard are favorites in our house. It’s also worked in getting Zoe to try the meat she thinks she doesn’t like. Most of the time she ends up liking it, it’s just getting her to try it.

Tyson is offering you the chance to have your child features in ads in People Magazine, Parents Magazine and on a billboard in New York Times Square in the Get A Smiles Give A Smile contest. They are also donating 4 million meals to hungry families in need.

Thanks to Tyson’s 100% All Natural Chicken Nuggets, now you don’t have to choose between making your kids happy and feeding them balanced meals.

But I’m curious, how do you ensure your child maintains a balanced diet? Join the conversation and Tyson will select a winner and donate $500 in the winner’s name to a local food bank!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Tyson Nuggets. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Mom’s A Hero $2500 Allstate Cash Giveaway #heroicmom

October 23, 2011 by Momstart

Thinking about my mom makes me realize, I never truly appreciated how much of a hero she was until I had children of my own. Mom’s do everything and once you have children you realize how BIG everything is and I have to mention, I’m lucky enough to have two mom heroes. One mother gave birth to me, raised me for about five years and then I spent time with her on weekends and during the summer time. The other mother took on part time duties which were not part time at all because I lived with her and my dad for about seven year. You see, being a step mom has to be even more challenging at time because it’s hard to fit into each other’s lives. That’s one reason why I can’t pick just one hero, I have two.

One of my moms taught me how to cook and have fun, while the other taught me about responsibility and strength. When my daughter was born, my stepmom flew out to help out with the baby. Holy cow having children is hard work.

She cooked, she cleaned, she took care of Zoe so I could sleep and get used to being a new mom. She was my hero just for letting me sleep.

Remembering back to when I was a kid…

I had to be told to clean my room, brush my teeth, don’t hit my sister, play with my sister, do my homework, go play outside. I was told that I would ask question after question and that it drove my parents crazy. But through it all my mother (both of them equally) turned me into the strong independent mother that I am today.

My mom came out when my second child was born and again I was reminded how I want to be a great mom for my children. I want to teach Zoe and Miles everything they need to be great parents and loving adults. I want to make them feel like I felt, loved, secure, and safe.

Perhaps you know a heroic mom or see one when you look in the mirror. Share your story and be entered for a chance to win $2,500 cash from Allstate. Plus four runner-ups will receive a $100 Visa Gift Card. *The five finalists will be chosen from the Entries receiving the most votes.

One of the most important things any mom can do is purchase life insurance. Allstate has been helping to protect families’ futures with a range of life insurance products for over 50 years. To get a quote visit allstate.com/life

Disclosure: This is post is Sponsored by Allstate. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. Official Contest Rules