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  • Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta: Review and Giveaway

    We had the opportunity to review Green Giants Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta.  I chose the Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli. The Princesses love macaroni and cheese, so I knew they’d enjoy this. Whether they would eat the broccoli or not, I wasn’t sure.
    Princess V said she liked the pasts but didn’t like broccoli. I think it was more a general statement from her, because I’m not sure she even tried the broccoli. She did tell me she likes carrots though, so next time maybe I’ll mix some carrots in hers.
    Princess C loved every last bite of it, and even asked if she could eat the rest of Princess V’s. 
    Princess R, will eat just about anything, but she too, didn’t eat her broccoli. She did at least try it. I think maybe the broccoli was still a little too hot for her though. 
    My personal opinion, it was very good. the packages don’t contain very much though, and it would definitely be better as a side instead of a meal (I served it for lunch), or as a meal for one. I would love to see these come in larger family packs.  The ease of putting the bag in the microwave and then serving, really made lunch smooth for us. Princess C has morning preschool and Princess V has afternoon preschool, and lunch can be quite a hassle sometimes. Having the Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta to serve really helped to save time in our rushed schedules.
    I received a serving bowl, fun surprise face spoon, two Green Giant Placemats, a broccoli stress reliever and a coupon for a free Steamers! Now one of you will have the chance to receive the same package!!
    To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter form below
    *note: look at the prize name on the giveaway. If it is the Cranberry Naturals prize, to enter the Green Giant Giveaway, click on the title of this post!*
    **“Disclosure: Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.” All opinions are my own**
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  • GUM Crayola Toothbrushes

    GUM&#174; Crayola™ Marker Toothbrush

    Teaching kids good hygiene can be difficult at times. Some days they are great and don’t mind brushing their teeth, other days it’s like they think a monster is going to take all their teeth if they open their mouth at all. 

    That’s why I love finding products that make good hygiene fun! GUM crayola toothbrushes come in all different styles, so there is sure to be one that your child will enjoy.  There’s the Marker with suction cup base, that is designed to look like crayola markers. The suction cup base helps keep the toothbrush clean when not in use as well!  Then there’s the Pip Squeaks, which are modeled after the marker of the same name. These are great for toddlers just learning to brush, so they don’t have a long handle they have to maneuver around.  There’s also, and this is my favorite, the timer light toothbrush.  It also features a suction cup, but in the middle of the suction cup is a button that turns a flashing light on.  The light flashes for 60 seconds, encouraging longer brushing times. These are really fun to let the kids brush in the dark.  Finally for older children there is the power toothbrush.  This one also has a suction cup base, but it is not attached to the actual toothbrush. 

    The Princesses have really gotten into brushing their teeth with these kid friendly GUM crayola toothbrushes. Princess V and Princess C claimed theirs based on color. Princess R attempted claiming all of them, but finally settled on the timer light toothbrush.  Princess R absolutely loves brushing her teeth though, so I’ll let her walk around the house brushing all day long. Unfortunately this led to a lost timer light toothbrush on day 2, so she laid claim to the green Pip Squeak.
    As soon as we opened our package Mark laid claim to the power toothbrush.  His reasoning was because it’s a power toothbrush.  So these obviously are not just for kids! Adults enjoy the fun designs (or power) as well. 
    I don’t know about you, but we like to put a toothbrush in the kids Christmas stockings every year. These would make the perfect fun, and practical stocking stuffer!
    *I received samples of all 4 GUM Crayola toothbrushes for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are solely my own.
  • Wordless Wednesday – Flight of the fairy

    Wordless Wednesday – Flight of the fairy

    We had a little Halloween party at a friends this morning. I could not resist taking picture after picture of Princess R swinging. Isn’t that adorable!

  • Book Review: I Believe In You

    I Believe in You, Marianne Richmond, Hardcover
     

    Book: I Believe In You by Marianne Richmond

    About the Book: This is a Children’s picture book. It takes all the small things we parents believe our kids can do while growing up, and plays it out for our kids. “Whether it’s sunny or stormy, Whether you’re happy or blue, I’m here to say, without a doubt that I believe in you”

    About the Author: Marianne Richmond is an inspiration! When she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, she started hand painting greeting cards.  Soon she was getting many orders for her cards, and created a small business Watercolor Works.  In 1997 Marianne decided to try writing a children’s book.  She is now the author and illustrator or many children’s books.

    I Believe In You Review:  I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it with Princess V (age 5) the moment we got it in the mail.  As I read each page, all I could think was, YES I do Believe in YOU! As Marianne says, Growing up is hard but we believe in our kids ability to make it past the bumps.  One of Princess V’s favorite lines is “I believe in your stand up truth”. On this page there is a little girls hiding behind a couch that has been covered in crayon.  Princess V thoroughly took this to heart, and later that day I found her coloring all our walls purple. It has been YEARS since Princess V colored on the walls, and when I asked her why she did it, her response melted my heart
    -“Mom, I believe in my mistakes, and my…..my…..”
    -“Your stand up truth?”
    -“Yeah my stand up truth because I make mistakes”
     Awe, how could I be mad at her, when she had learned such an important lesson? Ever since bringing this book into our home, when I have to ask my kids who did something, like coloring on walls, hitting, pushing, taking toys, etc. Princess V always waits a bit, but then tells me “Mommy I’ll tell the truth. It was….” And most of the time it has been her. Whether it really was her or not, I appreciate her wanting to make things right and taking the consequence (simple time outs, apologizing) for doing wrong.

    I’d like to thank you Marianne for this book, and the many others you have written, and may (hopefully) still write. Your story is inspiration to follow our dreams, and your books have become an extension of that.

  • Little Remedies Little Fevers Winner

    CONGRATULATIONS
    Heather S!
    She won a bottle each of Little Remedies Little fevers for Children and Infants.
    While you’re here, enter to win a $15 gift certificate to Arcoiris from To Sew With Love.
  • Little Remedies, Little Fevers Review and Giveaway

    Little Remedies, Little Fevers Review and Giveaway

    Get ready for a new fever fighting product for kids! Little Remedies has come out with a new product Little Fevers for Infants and Little Fevers for Children. Although this product features some new aspects to the Little Remedies medicine, such as dye and gluten free, my favorite feature is the new dosing bottle.
    You know how you used to stick the syringe into the bottle trying to guesstimate the right dosage only to pull it out, covered in medicine, and either too full or not full enough? No longer! A new top on the bottle allows you to insert just the tip of the syringe, tip the bottle upside down and get an accurate dosage on the first try!

    With school starting we had to get Princess V ‘s shots updated. Sadly she did develop a slight fever and pain at the injection site. I was really excited to try out Little Remedies for children. grape flavor. Little Fevers Children’s comes with a dosing cup, and the syringe top. Even with the top designed for a syringe, it poured easily into the cup. Princess V wasn’t so sure about this though. It wasn’t red which to her meant it wasn’t cherry flavored. I did get her to take it after some coaxing, but she complained it tasted a little sour. However, it did bring her fever down and her arms got better faster.
    A few days later Princess R started teething some back teeth, and was pretty miserable, she was starting to develop a small fever as well. So I pulled out the Little Fevers infants! Like I said before, I loved the syringe top! It was so easy to use, and completely mess free! Princess R took the Little Fevers just fine, and soon was back to her normal self

    With the new syringe top, Little Remedies Little Fevers is my new choice in fever/pain reducer for my childrens. We just may need to try the cherry flavor instead of grape for the older kids.

    Be ready to fight fevers this School Season with your own Little Remedies Little Fevers for Children and Infants. Enter the Rafflecopter Form below to WIN!

    *I was provided with the product for review. All opinions are my own and my childrens.

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  • Basement Remodel – framing and kids puppet theatre

    Basement Remodel – framing and kids puppet theatre

    Mark and a good friend spent the morning of labor day framing the rest of our basement, and getting the electrical all set up. We now have a lightswitch, and two working outlets.

    Mark then created this amazing space under the stairs. Hello Puppet Theatre!

    The Princesses are in love with the space and don’t like waiting for the rest of the basement to be finished. My plan once we have flooring and walls is to add a red curtain to the window, and paint the front with chalkboard paint. That way they can “Present” their shows.
  • 5 minutes alone, what will your children do?

    5 minutes alone, what will your children do?

    This morning started out pretty nice. Princess V woke me up and then went to read stories to Princess R in her crib. It was really cute. We had a relaxing breakfast and let Mark and Chloe sleep some more. Once Chloe was up and fed, I headed back downstairs to wake up Mark and get dressed. I checked on the Princess’ first to make sure they were playing nice, and not into anything they shouldn’t be. Then down I went. It really doesn’t take that long for me to get dressed, and I talked briefly with Mark before heading back upstairs. I was shocked, awed, and horrified to what I came up to.

    Yes, friends, that is flour. About 3lbs worth of it too, I’m guessing. That was not fun to clean up. I pulled out the vacuum, but of course, the Princess’ also love to play with the attachments, so I had no attachment to get this stuff out. I got as much up as I could, and then remembered my sewing machine attachment. It’s the same attachments for a regular vacuum, but on mini scale. They worked thank goodness, it just took double the time!  I finished up the cleaning, wiping the whole couch down with a damp towel. I really hope it got it all!
    The next question is, what is the consequence? I know Princess V instigated this adventure, since she has tried it before (just caught a lot sooner). And I know she knows she’s not supposed to touch the flour! So what’s a parent to do?
    We emptied her room. Every last toy is out of there! We threw it in garbage bags and hauled them downstairs. She now has to prove to us that she can obey rules, and slowly will she get her toys back. Now don’t think we’re unfair parents. Princess V had had warnings before. Princess C on the other hand, was more a joiner, so her consequence this time, was to sit in her room until the mess was cleaned, and Princess V’s room was emptied.  Princess R is too small to understand fully, so her consequence was being blocked from the “fun room” while mommy was “having fun” cleaning it. She hates being blocked from a room.
  • Family Room

    Family Room

    I’ve been focusing on the Family Room this past week.  It’s the room we spend most of our time as a family in, so I focused and pushed myself to get it completed.

    Walking into the family room from the kitchen

    From the back of the room, if you were to walk in from the back yard. As you may notice, I still haven’t fixed my epic FAIL of the curtains.

    This was a fun project! Eventually we are going to build shelves in this closet, but I needed a quick fix for all the movies (we may have too many).  The hanging shelves are from IKEA.  I couldn’t just put the movies on the shelves though, otherwise it folded in on itself, and the movies wouldn’t stand up. So I grabbed some boxes (we had plenty from the move) and did some measuring and cutting. They fit in nice and tight, and it gives the movies a sturdier shelf.

    This I just created today, after taking the top pictures. I removed the black table from the room, and pulled in the Princess’ table and chairs from outside. Then I grabbed my roll of Jute string, and made a place to hang their pictures. I just tied a knot on around a nail and hammered in flush to the wall (as flush as you can get. Then hung the pictures with paperclips. Eventually we’ll get some cute colored clothespins for hanging.  I wish I could cover up the airvent there, but I’m guessing it’s important, c’est la vie!
    I’m linking up to these great blog hops today!
       Crazy About My Baybah