Month: April 2014
Finish This Link Up & Other Random Brain Dumpings…
On Saturday morning, I usually: Wake up later, like around 8:30-9 am. Sometimes Connor will even sleep past 10 am. Yeah…that’s why I don’t want another baby right now. I like my sleep WAY too much! Get coffee. Do laundry. Clean house. You know all that fun stuff! Spend the day with my family doing whatever else we need to get done 🙂
I feel beautiful when: My husband says I do. When he notices that I’ve put extra effort in and his opinion is the only one that matters.
I wake up every morning: In a fog. It’s rush rush rush! Shower, get ready, get Connor ready, eat breakfast, and get on the road…..I feel like it’s all a big BLUR! Some days I wish I could stay at home. Drink my coffee slowly. Catch up on so many things I need to do (in my head). Start doing a devotional and read God’s word more….but it’s so hard when your life is consumed by 6:30AM-6:30PM work/school then come home and cook dinner and have an hour or so before bedtime. It’s a big whirlwind & sometimes I wish the days had more hours in them.
A Happy Home Is: Is when Mom is happy 🙂 Ha ha! Just kidding! I’m a neat freak and I’m happier when my house is clean and organized. Right now it’s a mess because of the prospect of moving….so I’m kind of freaking out a bit!
When I have down time, I: Watch TV on my DVR. Play Candy Crush (I know I know…UH!) I’m usually cleaning or organizing something that I don’t have time to do on the weekends. I also LOVE to take photos. I love pictures….it’s my favorite.
Link up below and find out more about your fellow blogger friends:
I wanted to share with y’all a new product my friend Megan told me about. It’s called Younique and it enhances your eyelashes. It’s AMAZING! If you want to find out more info go HERE Also don’t forget to enter a fab new giveaway for April to win $500 dolla bills ya’ll!
Welcome to the $500 April Showers Cash Giveaway!
We have joined forces with an amazing group of bloggers to bring you this great giveaway. One lucky person will win $500 cash.
Enter to win $500 cash via PayPal.
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Ends at 11:59pm EDT on April 22nd, 2014.
This giveaway was coordinated by Giveaway Promote.
That’s about it for today! Have a great HAPPY HUMP DAY!
Potty Training: Staying on Track #MC
I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Pull-Ups. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
Good Morning All!
Let me give you a little update on our potty training journey…I say this after I just put sheets in the wash because of an accident. Oops!
You may have lots of “OOPS” along the way….but it won’t last forever.
I’ve shared with you in recent weeks our journey through potty training. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but some people say boys are harder than girls. We use a potty training seat that fits on the toilet, and that works well for us. I think we are just trying to get the aim right in the toilet! Some other Moms have shared if you put a Cheerio in the toilet and have him aim for that it helps with paying attention while using the potty.
When I first started talking about potty training Connor was having an accident at school during nap time at LEAST twice a week. After work I just prayed there wasn’t a garbage bag full of wet clothes to take home. Well, I’m happy to say Connor has gotten a lot better at using the potty before and after naptime and playtime. Staying consistent and reminding him that he needs to potty before and after those activities helps keep him from having accidents.
I’ve never want him to feel bad about wetting himself. That’s really hard for a small child. The best advice I can give is that you, as a parent, are the biggest cheerleader for your child. It may not happen overnight…but sooner or later it will click. Persistence and goal setting- not bribery- do wonders!
Sometimes you can tell when your child has to go to the bathroom, but doesn’t want to. Especially when it comes to #2 business….that’s when we set a timer and just ask that he sits and tries to go. And usually he does 🙂
The Potty Training Chart available at Big Kids Academy on the Pull-Ups® website is a great tool. It reminds your child to tell parents when they need to go, wipe, flush, and wash their hands.
There are so many useful tools on the Pull-Ups website. If you are in the midst of potty training yourself or about to be you should definitely check it out!
Find great tips and advice on Pull-Ups Facebook page, and Twitter page as well.
Pull-Ups recently announced an exiting new partnership with The First Years, a maker of potty training systems and seats. The First Years offers a range of different potty training systems and seats, even some decorated with Disney characters to help make potty training as fun as possible!
Right now with the purchase of a specialty potty system from The First Years you also receive a free sample pack of Pull-Ups Training Pants to tackle your potty training journey!
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Weekend Wrap Up & Updates
As you can see my site got a little makeover! I love it and I think it’s cleaner and easier to navigate. We’ve had a lot going on lately. I’m still doing photo shoots on the weekends and loving it! Working a full time job, trying to feed our family a decent meal, and keep my sanity together….ha ha!
We are hoping to get our house on the market soon. We have so much CRAP! It’s amazing how much you accumulate over the years. We are trying to move closer to T’s work and find a middle ground between my job and his so we don’t have crazy commutes. What can I say? That’s DFW for you. The market has totally changed and it’s definitely a seller’s advantage again. We’ve found some houses and they’ve sold within a day or two above asking price. It’s crazy! Hard not to get your hopes up about something…so I’m trying to not get emotionally attached to anything we find. In the end I think this move will be great for our family and we’ll have more time together 🙂
My sister’s wedding is in a couple months and thanks to the German Deli I’m not doing so hot! These Kinder Easter bunnies are the BEST. My Dad used to bring us Kinder eggs when he’d go overseas in the Army and we have such fond memories of Kinder eggs. This is the closest I can get in the states…so it’s hard not to eat every bunny in the store.
I shared this blush from Clinique awhile back and someone asked how it looked on so I tried to take a picture. It looks really bright in the container, but goes on really soft.
This is the best I could do taking a picture of myself. But you can see it’s a very subtle hint of pink. The other cheek is bare. Although because of my awkward camera angle you can’t really see that.
My friend Ellen and I were out shopping and I saw this Easter egg wall. It was so cute I had to take a picture. The lady was saying that most plastic eggs already come with little holes at each end, so all you have to do is string them and they make a really cute garland. How cool is that?
I love my coffee and especially when they accidentally make a sweet tea and give it to me for free 🙂 What would we do without our coffee?
When I dropped Connor off at school today he realized he left his favorite stuffed animal at home. Queue the fit throwing! So he really wasn’t into our #selfieaday post today. Oh well…you win some you lose some.
I’ll also have to tell the story about why I was at Whole Foods for over 2 hours last night & Terence thought I may have been kidnapped or dead. My ringer was off! I met and Indian woman and we had a looooooong conversation I’m sure you’ll just love to hear about 🙂 Oh people…..you never know who you’ll meet!
Happy MONDAY folks!
“Crocky”
Southwest Chicken Spaghetti: With Kraft FreshTake
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. #CollectiveBias
As a busy mom the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is cook dinner. One of my go to dishes has always been chicken spaghetti. At our wedding shower 13 years ago everyone brought their favorite recipe to share with the bride. Someone slipped that chicken spaghetti recipe in there, and I’ve used it ever since! Over the years I’ve played around with the recipe and made different versions of it. Chicken spaghetti is great because it’s a casserole dish & you can put whatever you want in there. When we have friends & family over it’s a great dish to cook for a group because it’s easy and they all love it.
I made southwest chicken spaghetti last night for supper using Kraft Fresh Take Southwest 3-Cheese. Kraft #FreshTake comes in several different varieties including: Italian Parmesan, Cheddar Jack w/ Bacon, & Southwest 3-Cheese. If you’re planning an Easter meal this year consider using Kraft Fresh Takes to jazz up your traditional recipes.
- Italian Parmesan -Great seasoning for some Easter egg-shaped meatballs
- Cheddar Jack w/Bacon – Use to season twice baked potatoes
- Southwest 3-Cheese- Whip up the Southwest Chicken Spaghetti casserole I’m about to share with you!
Ingredients:
3/4 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (I used rotisserie chicken)
16 oz. Monterrey jack cheese
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Kraft Fresh Take Southwest 3-Cheese blend
8-10 Ritz crackers
Instructions
HEAT oven to 350ºF.
COOK spaghetti
MEANWHILE, cook chicken or debone a rotisserie chicken (like I did)
DRAIN spaghetti.
ADD chicken, 1 cup of cheese, cans of soup, tomatoes & green chilis, & spaghetti in a large bowl and combine ingredients well.
BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until heated through.
Kraft FreshTake can be found at Walmart in the cheese isle. The Southwest Three Cheese was only $1.98 and if you use the $1.00 off coupon below that brings it to .98 CENTS when you purchase chicken too! You can’t beat that.
Shredded rotisserie chicken
The inside of the Fresh Takes package (seasoning+cheese)
Combine canned goods, cheese, & chicken in a large bowl
To make the crumb topping I used the entire contents of the Fresh 
Take Southwest 3-cheese seasoning package & about 10 Ritz crackers
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
Yummy delicious!
The Fresh Take Southwest 3-cheese seasoning added great flavor to my traditional chicken spaghetti recipe. I’ll definitely be cooking it this way again!
Download the new Fresh Take coupon for $1 off the purchase of fresh chicken and Fresh Take at Walmart!
Seventh Generation Toxin Freedom Fighters #MC #FightToxins
“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Seventh Generation. I received a promotional item and product samples as a thank you for participating #MC ”
I’m a neat freak. In case you didn’t know I’m a little OCD about cleanliness and growing up my sister would jokingly call me “Miss Cleany”. Keeping my home clean and germ free is on the top of my list of priorities these days. With Connor in school around all sorts of germs and kids he picks up a lot of nasty stuff. He is also constantly putting his hands in his mouth, which drives me NUTS! I do the best I can to make our home a clean and germ free environment, but I also want it to be non-toxic. I don’t want my baby breathing in things I know nothing about. It seems like everyone around me has cancer these days. It’s sad, but true. We don’t know what truly causes it….but we can do things to help stay healthy. Driving home from work in the summer I always see the “Ozone level orange limit outdoor activity” alert on the freeway. I know living in a metro area we don’t have the cleanest air either.
So what can I do? I can do the best I can to make the environment we live in clean and non-toxic. That’s why I’m so excited about the Toxin-Freedom Fighters! With the help of Seventh Generation products I’m keeping my home clean and don’t have to worry about what crazy chemicals we are breathing in because the plant-based products are all natural, without all the icky stuff.
Did you know than 80,000 chemicals available in the United States have never been fully tested for their toxic effects on our health and environment. Scientists have linked exposure to toxic chemicals to many health risks, such as Cancer, Alzheimer’s, learning disabilities, asthma, birth defects, and various reproductive problems. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was passed in 1976, and unlike other major environmental laws, has never been updated. As it currently stands, tens of thousands of potentially harmful chemicals continue to be used in the marketplace since the 1970’s without proper testing and without disclosure by the companies that produce them.
You can become a Toxin Freedom Fighter by signing Seventh Generation’s petition to urge Congress to reevaluate the Toxic Substances Control Act for the first time since 1976.
Help Seventh Generation reach its goal of collecting 100,000 Signatures by April 24th by signing the petition for chemical reform and urging your friends and family to do the same!