Transition

I remember the "transition" time during labor...who could forget it!  It was not easy - there was definitely a LOT of pressure...some/most would say pain, but I knew that it would not last forever.  I was focused, concentrating on breathing correctly - and I knew what was about to happen very soon.  My body was making its final preparations for the exit of my little baby out of my womb and into my arms - the beginning of his life in our family and world.  It was worth every moment of that transition.

Recently, our family has been going through some new transitions - good ones (new job for Dawson!!!, T-ball starting up, new schedules, etc.), but I have to admit that I am tired. I am realizing the importance of keeping myself focused and preparing myself properly so that I am not as tired during the day and can get things accomplished that I need/want to during the day...not just trying to "make it" through the day.  Earlier to bed is a must...so that earlier to rise is not as hard!

So, here is to another great day - and to trying to get to bed earlier tonight!

Giveaway: Crest and Oral-B Oral Care for Kids

**UPDATE:  Using Random.org, the winning comment was generated...Commenter #2 was chosen - congrats to TCC!  Stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway for adult oral care!**


With Easter almost here, I am sure that kids are already thinking about the Easter egg hunts that they will partake in and the candy that they will indulge in!  I remember waking up on Easter morning to an Easter basket filled with delicious chocolates, jelly beans, marshmallow eggs, peeps...so delicious, yet it can be a nightmare for your teeth!


As a mom, I limit how much candy my children consume.  I teach them that sticky candy is worse for your teeth than chocolate or a brownie or cookie...and we throw out or give away that "sticky candy."  However, sugar is still landing on those precious teeth when they eat a chocolate candy, and I do not want my kids to go through what I have gone through with the many fillings that I have had to receive!  So, my husband and I do our best to educate our children on proper brushing techniques...and we are also starting with flossing too!


Here are some tips for Healthier Oral Care Habits from Dr. Jennifer Salzer:

Better Candy Options: Try sticking to sugar-free lollipops and hard candies – these treats stimulate saliva helping to prevent dry mouth. A dry mouth allows plaque to build up on teeth faster, leading to an increased risk of decay and cavities

Offer Choices: Have plenty of oral care supplies on hand for your kids in the flavors and designs they’ll be excited to use to encourage proper oral hygiene.  My top picks include Oral-B Stages for younger kids and Crest and Oral-B Pro-Health FOR ME for kids eight and up.

Mirror Mirror: Encourage your kids to brush in front of a mirror; it will help them see spots they may otherwise miss. And to help keep track of their oral care routine enlist the help of a brushing chart to record each time your child brushes.

My Review:

These are the age appropriate products that my children received to try out - they LOVED them!

My children were sent some new oral care items to try out - they LOVED having new toothbrushes.  My 6 year old LOVES his new spin brush - and they have a new excitement about brushing their teeth again.  They also LOVE that Toy story is on the outside of their toothpaste tube and on their new flossers!  

Can you tell that someone is excited about Toy Story flossers!  :)  That's my Smiles!

The Giveaway:

Would you like to invigorate your children's teeth brushing routine with NEW oral care for them?  If so, you can enter below for a chance to win either Oral-B stages Oral care or Crest and Oral-B Pro-Health FOR ME. 

1. Entry #1: Leave a comment and tell me the age of your child (choose one!) that you would like to enter into the giveaway and tell me what is their favorite sweet.

2. Entry #2: Like the Oral-B Facebook Page

3. Entry #3: Share the link to this post on facebook 

4. Entry #4: Follow my blog - see the side of my blog where you can join as a "reader"

This Giveaway is open to US residents and will end on Monday, March 19th at 9pm EST.  I will use random.org to generate a number for the winner of this giveaway.  Please be sure that I have a way to contact you, if you indeed are the winner!

*Disclaimer: My children were sent the items in the photo above, however all reviews and comments are 100% mine.*

Freschetta: "Rally for Real Pizza"

If you have ever purchased frozen pizza, you know that some taste like "cardboard" and other taste so-so, and then others taste pretty good - they are worth purchasing again!  I think you know what I mean, well, if you have purchased a frozen pizza before!

Well, Freschetta pizza is hosting a "Rally for Real Pizza" on their facebook page.  They believe that your frozen pizza deserves to taste great, almost like homemade.  

How can you take part in this and what can you win?  Head on over to Freschettas facebook page and "like" it.  Then, you can submit a photo to a Rally Mosaic on the FB page and be entered to win a Freschetta pizza!  Each week, 100 winners will be selected to receive 5 Freschetta pizzas!  Pretty cool!  Then, on March 30, 10 winners will be selected to receive a year supply of Freschetta pizza. Sounds like a plan to me!  

Wouldn't you love to win a few of these?

I am occasionally given items to review, in this case I was not.  All opinions are completely mine.

Campbell's AdDress Your Heart - WINNER!

Thank you to everyone that signed up for the giveaway that was hosted by Campbell's!  I am still excited to try the recipe by Master Chef Thomas Griffiths' Spiced Chicken with Balsamic-Blueberry Green Bean Salad!  I have been sick for the past couple of days, so I will be making this recipe at some point this week. I will let you know what I think about it!

I used random.org to choose the winner...and the winner is #31 Julie!  I will be contacting you today.  (Another winner will be chosen if I do not hear back from you in 48 hours!)  Thanks!

I hope to have some more great giveaways in the future...stay tuned!

Old Fashioned Homemade Pancakes...and Freezer Cooking!

It is the way that God created me!!!

I LOVE to try new recipes. All.the.time!  The good news - we get to taste a variety of flavors.  The bad news - is there really any bad news associated with this?  :)

This past Tuesday was Pancake Day!  YUM!!!  So, I decided to make pancakes for dinner!  The kids were so excited - so was I!

Photo courtesy of Pocket Change Gourmet

I tried a new recipe that is called Old Fashioned Homemade Pancakes that I found on Pocket Change Gourmet.  I have been looking for a recipe that would produce light and fluffy pancakes, and I believe that I found it!  The pancakes came out great - EVERYONE LOVED them and the boys asked me to make them again and again! The original recipe only made 6 large pancakes, so I doubled it.  The recipe that I used is below.

Do you know what else I did?  I decided to take their suggestion, and prepare a few of the pancake mixes ahead of time.  To do this, simply take a ziploc bag, pour the dry ingredients into the bag, seal it up and use a sharpie to write the wet ingredients that need to be added the the dry mix on the outside of the bag (be sure to date and label the bag with the name of the recipe!).  I labeled the bag BEFORE I poured in the dry ingredients - it is a little easier to write on a flat surface - and used a sandwich sized bag!  I made up five of these bags, then put the sealed bags into a large gallon ziploc bag.  To keep the ingredients fresh, I will place this bag into my freezer, mark it on my freezer inventory sheet...and I just completed some "freezer cooking/preparation."  Then, when I feel like making pancakes, I will save myself a few minutes of time by simply grabbing one of these already prepared bags of dry ingredients!

Check out this recipe:

Old Fashioned Homemade Pancakes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients
• 2 cups flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk {a little less or a little more is fine depending on the consistency you like}
• 1/4 cup (4 T) oil - I used canola

Instructions

1. In a large measuring cup, whisk together dry ingredients
2. Add wet ingredients and mix well
3. Heat griddle and spray with non-stick cooking spray
4. Pour batter onto hot griddle
5. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes, flip and cook other side
6. Note: batter makes 3 cups - use 1/4 cup for each pancake, it will make 12 large pancakes - these will spread out a little bit while they cook, so be sure they have a little bit of "room to grow"!

Campbell's AdDress Your Heart - GIVEAWAY!

February is American Heart Month and Campbell's has taken part in this with their AdDress Your Heart campaign.  To inspire heart-healthy cooking, celebrity Chef Richard Blais and Campbell Soup Master Chef Thomas Griffiths went ladle-to-ladle in the AdDress Your Heart Cooking Challenge to create deliciously simple, gourmet heart-healthy recipes!

Chef Richard Blais’ Spicy BouilliaBlais and Master Chef Thomas Griffiths' Spiced Chicken with Balsamic-Blueberry Green Bean Salad are the recipes that are going ladle-to-ladle on the Campbell's Kitchen facebook page.  You can go to their page, view the recipes and vote for the recipe that you like best - for each vote, Campbell's will donate $1 to the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Movement!  HURRY over there!  This part of the campaign ENDS MARCH 1st!

Later this week, I will be making the Spiced Chicken with Balsamic Blueberry Green Bean Salad, and guess what?  I was sent a great gift bag full of goodies to make either recipe created by chef Richard Blais and chef Thomas Griffiths - which includes an immersion blender (can you believe it - I have always wanted one of these!), a microplane, assorted spices, and products from Campbell’s and V8...and the GREAT NEWS is that ONE of my READERS will WIN this same gift bag!  How cool is that???  Later this week, I will let you know what I think about the recipe - but I have no doubt that it will be delicious!

This is the bag of goodies that I was sent, and one of my readers will be receiving the same bag!**

So, I know you can't wait to enter the giveaway and want to know what you need to do to enter...well, read on!

How to enter The Giveaway.

Leave a separate comment for each entry:

1. Entry #1 - tell me one Heart Healthy Recipe you enjoy making for you and/or your family

2. Entry #2 - "like" Campbell's Kitchen on Facebook

3.Entry #3 - Vote for the recipe that you like on Campbell's Kitchen on Facebook and tell me which recipe you voted for (HURRY - you can only do this until March 1st!)

4.Entry #4 - Mention this giveaway on facebook and link to this post

5. Entry #5 - Follow this blog - leave a comment telling me that you are

This Giveaway will end on Monday, March 5th at 10pm EST - so don't delay, enter today!  I will choose a winner using random.org.  Please be sure that I have a way to contact you!  This Giveaway is open to US residents only.
**I received this full bag of goodies from Campbell's (pictured).  The comments above are 100% mine!

Giveaway: McCormick's Big Cookie Share and "The Treats Truck Baking Book"

Update:
Using random.org to choose my winner, comment #5 was chosen as the winner!  Congrats to TCC!!!

I enjoy trying new recipes and I enjoy eating a tasty cookie from time to time!  So, I was really excited when my friends from McCormick contacted me to see if I wanted to participate in trying out some new cookies recipes created by them and Kim Ima.  McCormick sent me Kim Ima's new book, "The Treats Truck Baking Book" as well as three new recipes that I could choose from.  Although these recipes are not in her book, the recipes that are found in her book are recipes that Kim sells on her "Treats Truck" in New York City.

I decided to try the Little Peppermint Crispy Rice Squares, and I was not disappointed with the recipe.  This new recipe is a minty twist on a classic crispy treat recipe...and I liked it better!  If you have leftover candy canes from the holidays, you will want to try this recipe!

Little Peppermint Crispy Rice Squares

Prep Time: 25 minutes

4 tablespoons butter
10 ounces mini marshmallows

6 cups crispy rice cereal
1/4 teaspoon McCormick^® Pure Peppermint Extract
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
3 coarsely crushed candy canes

1.      Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease an 8x8-inch or 9x9-inch pan. 

2.      Melt the 3 tablespoons butter in a big pot over low heat. When the butter has melted enough to coat the bottom of the pot, add the marshmallows. Stir often until melted, then remove from the heat. Add peppermint extract and stir well. 

3.      Pour the rice cereal, white chocolate chips and 2 crushed candy canes into the pot and stir until the marshmallows and other ingredients are mixed together. 

4.      Use a bowl scraper or spatula to get the mixture into the greased pan. Pat into place. Use buttered hands or buttered spatula to press into the pan. 

5.      Garnish with 1 crushed candy cane to create a festive look. 

6.      Let mixture set for at least 15 minutes. Cut into five rows of five, and once removing from the pan, also slice the pieces to half the thickness to make little peppermint squares the ideal size for including in holiday cookie gift baskets or boxes. (I liked them "thin" - such a great idea!)

 Makes 50 servings.

McCormick's Big Cookie Share (EDIT - the "Big Cookie Share" is no longer taking place as of 1/3/12)

You can also participate in McCormick's "Big Cookie Share" on Facebook.  You can create a delicious cookie and then spread the love to family and friends!  It is simple to do - simply follow these steps:

1. LIKE the McCormick Spice Facebook page.

2. CLICK  on “The Big Cookie Share” tab, then choose a McCormick virtual cookie and frost it with a personalized message.  

3. ADD flavor to the McCormick Kitchens recipe with additions like cranberries, nuts or almond extract.  

4. SHARE your e-cookie and its recipe with a special someone or all your Facebook friends

GIVEAWAY:

If you like to make cookies (and pies, cakes, etc.), then you would LOVE this book!  I am so excited to try all of the recipes that are in this book!  Would you like to win "The Treats Truck Baking Book" by Kim Ima?  McCormick will be giving away a book to one of my lucky readers!  All you have to do is enter the giveaway!

To Enter:
1. Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite cookie is = 1st entry
2. Go to Kim Ima's website, look at the treats that are offered on her menu and leave a comment telling me which one(s) you would order and eat! = 2nd entry
3. Participate in McCormick's "Big Cookie Share" on Facebook.  After you send your cookie(s), leave a comment here = 3rd entry. (EDIT - the "Big Cookie Share" is no longer taking place as of 1/3/12)
4. This giveaway is open to all those living in the US.
5. This giveaway will end on January 5th at 9pm.  I will choose a winner randomly and will notify the winner.  Please be sure that I have a way to contact you if you do win!

I am looking forward to an amazing 2012!  Happy New Year to you!