Marianna | Connecticut Mom Blog

Green Giveaway Friday 5/25

2012-05-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! Please add both your green and non-green giveaways and contests into Mr. Linky below so we can do some giveaway hopping! Be sure to include the expiration date. Thanks!

You can also submit your green giveaways to me during the week for me to feature on Fridays.

Crunchy Beach Mama
Hyland's Homeopathy Kid's Allergy & Earache Drops 5/28
$200 Amazon Giveaway Event 5/31
Organix South's Neem Tooth & Gum Powder 6/6

Family Focus Blog
NatureBox Healthy Snacks 5/29
Organic Pillow 6/6

Leslie Loves Veggies
Tropical Traditions Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Insect Repellent and Moisturizer 5/26
BabyGanics Cover-Up Baby Face & Body Sunscreen Spray 5/27
Rudi’s Organic Bakery Let’s Doodle Art Kit 6/2
NatureBox ~ Healthy Snacks Delivered Monthly 6/9

My Mission to Get Rid of Acne with the Tria Skin Perfecting Blue Light

2012-05-24T23:29:00.000-04:00

Acne has been something I have battled with since my early teen years. Granted it was much worse way (way) back then during high school, but it never 100% cleared as I grew older. Having adult acne really stinks and it definitely makes me feel self conscious about my appearance. My friends and family tell me that my skin isn't that bad, and maybe it isn't, but to me it is. Over the years I have tried various products from chemical filled products, to prescription medication and natural products. Unfortunately I have not yet found an acne treatment that works for me, so I was absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to try out the tria blue light!

"The Tria Skin Perfecting Blue Light eliminates acne-causing bacteria deep within the skin, leaving your complexion clear, radiant and healthy looking. Unlike prescription medications or products made with bleaching agents like benzoyl peroxide, our Tria Blue Light is gentle enough for daily use without long-term side effects or skin irritation."

My current skin care regimen consists of only natural products: first I wash with Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash, apply some Witch Hazel as my toner/astringent and then finish with Alba Botanica Hawaiian Aloe and Green Tea Oil-Free Moisturizer. I never wear foundation or concealer on my face anymore, I think it has been a good five years since I have. Yet the acne is still there to greet me every morning. I am really hoping that this Tria blue light acne treatment will help me get rid of acne. I love the fact that it doesn't use any chemicals on your skin and it takes only five minutes per day.

Now my big problem area is my t-zone: forehead, nose and chin. And honestly my chin is just dreadful. These areas are mostly plagued by blackheads and small whiteheads. In the last few years I also started to break our around my hairline which I think may be related to using natural shampoos that don't get rid of all the oil. I will be ecstatic if this helps even just a little bit.

I decided to be brave and share a few before pictures with everyone so we could see my progress at the end of the four week test period. I will just say, it is not that easy to take pictures of your face up close.

My chin where you can see all of the small bumps. I am so embarrassed by this picture!

You can see some red, inflamed areas on my nose and cheeks.

As of today's post I have been using the Tria Skin Perfecting Blue Light for five days in a row. On average, it takes about two weeks to start seeing results so I haven't noticed any changes just yet. I will say it is super easy to add it to might nighttime face washing routine since it is a breeze to use and goes so quickly. I will be checking in again in mid-June for an update on how things are going. Having a clear complexion for once in my life would give me a big confidence boost and I am really hoping that this blue light therapy will do it for me!

For additional information of the Tria Blue Light please visit www.TriaBeauty.com.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Tria and received a Tria Skin Perfecting Blue Light product sample to facilitate my review.

YoKids & Tom's of Main Strawberry Prize Pack Giveaway

2012-05-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

May is National Strawberry Month and what better way to celebrate then with some natural goodies from YoKids and Tom's of Maine?! Both of these brands are well represented in our home and I love them both a lot. My kids have only ever eaten Stonyfield organic yogurts. They all started out on the YoBaby line and eventually graduated to YoToddler and now YoKids. I was so thrilled when Stonyfield introduced the YoKids Greek line earlier this year as it is a great way for me to get some more protein into them.

YoKids greek is the first organic Greek yogurt specially made for kids and comes in two kid-friendly flavors: Raspberry and Strawberry. It is packed with 6 grams of protein to help kids power through their busy day and most importantly it is produced without the use of toxic persistent pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones, genetically engineered ingredients, or artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners.

My kids also use the Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry children's toothpaste. It comes in both a fluoride and fluoride-free version and since we have well water and do not take fluoride supplements, we use the fluoride one. Our boys love the flavor and I love that they are brushing twice a day with a natural toothpaste.

Discount
Each tube of children's toothpaste purchased on TomsofMaine.com will come with an on-pack coupon for $1 off YoKids Greek organic yogurt! You can also save 20% on your entire order with the coupon code: YOKIDS20! Coupon expires on 6/4.

Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive a YoKids lunch sack filled with several Tom's of Maine products including a full 4.2oz tube of Silly Strawberry children's toothpaste, as well as samples of their Naturally Dry deodorant and Daily Moisture soap. The bag also includes FREE YoKids and YoKids Greek coupons, YoKids temporary tattoos, and YoKids Strawberry-flavored Eco Lips chapstick!

Giveaway is open to US residents only and ends on June 6 at 12:01am EST. Please use Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Creating Young Scientists with The Magic School Bus Attracted to Magnificent Magnets Kit

2012-05-20T23:19:00.001-04:00

Science was always one of my favorite subjects in school growing up. I think science is so important and something kids do not always get enough opportunity to explore. Unfortunately, I am not very good at coming up with projects or experiments on my own for my kids to do. The Young Scientists Club has an awesome line of The Magic School Bus science kits that are a great way for your kids to have fun with science.

"The mission of The Young Scientists Club is simple – to offer children quality, science-related products that will fascinate them with the wonders of scientific discovery and spark their interest in future scientific endeavors."

Attracted to Magnificent Magnets

The Young Scientist Clubs has fifteen science kits in The Magic School Bus series and all are for ages five and up. Perfect for introducing kindergarten age kids into the world of science! My boys had the chance to test out the Attracted to Magnificent Magnets Kit pictured above, which was a lot of fun.

"Young Scientists go on a magnetic scavenger hunt, build a compass, make magnetic slime, design magnetic faces, experiment with lodestone, play magnetic games, hold magnetic car races, and much, much more! This magnified kit includes a colorful poster with a racing track, game board, and experiment diagrams."

This kit comes with everything you need to preform a bunch of magnetic experiments including 4 magnets, iron filings and a couple pieces of lodestone.

Also included is an experiment booklet with twelve experiments. They are easy to follow and some have a section where you can write down your results and observations. I loved that the experiments cover all different difficulty levels. There are some really basic ones like seeing what magnets are attracted to. Then there are some moderate, for example creating your own compass with some bowls, a magnet and water. There is even an experiment for creating magnetic slime!

I decided to start off with a very easy experiment from the book to ease my boys into it. The first experiment is just using the magnets to see which types of items are attracted to them. We lined up all of the metal items and plastic items from the kit, plus I raided our drunk drawer in the kitchen for a few more things like pens and binder clips. This simple experiment was a hit and soon they wanted to roam around the kitchen to see what else would stick to their magnets.

Next we skipped ahead to a more silly project. Do you remember those "Wooly Willy" toys when we were kids where you dragged iron fillings around a cardboard face to give him hair? Gosh those were so much fun! Well there is an experiment in this book that lets you do pretty much the same thing. The poster that comes with the kit has a few faces in one corner. A small amount of iron filings are placed in a tiny storage bag which is then placed over the face and you can move them around the face. The faces each have a specific thing they want you to create, but you can also let your kids have fun by making it look any way they want.

Overall, my kids had a blast learning all about magnets and experimenting with them. After we cleaned up the first day and put it away, they couldn't wait to get it out again and do some more.

Shop
The Magic School Bus Attracted to Magnificent Magnets kit is available for $15.99 from TheYoungScientisClub.com.

Connect
Connect with The Young Scientists Club on Facebook.

Please note that the opinions and views expressed in this review are my own and based on my personal experience with the product and/or company. You may encounter a different experience with this than I did. I received free product to review.

Cooking with Chef Ariane Duarte & DinnerTool!!

2012-05-17T13:38:00.000-04:00

Last Monday I had the great pleasure to travel down to the restaurant CulinAriane in Montclair, NJ to spend the afternoon learning some cooking techniques and all about DinnerTool.com. CulinAriane is owned by chef Ariane Duarte who was a contestant on Top Chef 5. She was such a delight to speak with, down to earth and super funny. Chef Ariane led myself and the other four blogger into her kitchen for some personal chef instruction. If any of you ever saw me work in the kitchen, you would know that I could benefit from some lessons. I am supper messy and unorganized. Sure the end result is usually yummy, but I blow up my kitchen on the way there.

We started off with the basics of chopping: how to hold the vegetable, hot to hold the knife, etc. I think what I typically do is more like hacking than chopping, so this was good information for me. I don't think I could ever chop as quickly as chefs do without losing a finger, but I am glad I know the proper technique now. Chef Ariane demonstrated by chopping a variety of spring vegetables and then led us through how to chop some shallots. As we chopped, she collected all of our scraps as one of her employees take them for his compost pile at home. Very awesome! We also learned about different types of mushrooms and how to clean them with a brush. Did you know that you are not supposed to rinse them in water?

Next Chef Ariane talked to us about scallops and sirloin, which were on the menu for lunch. She told us how to select the best scallops and took out the largest ones I had ever seen. Chef Ariane only buys these large ones that come 10 scallops to a pound. Then she demonstrated how to clean a sirloin by cutting off the fat and slicing it into individual portions. The beef she uses is local and grass fed which I was excited about since I have longed to try some. Finally Chef Ariane brought us over to her stove to show us how to pan sear both the scallops and the sirloin. The key to searing is the pan has to be extremely HOT!

Once our cooking class was finished, we headed back into the dining room to enjoy our lunch prepared by Chef Ariane. I have never been a big fan of scallops; they are usually too fishy tasting for me. However, these were amazing! The sirloin steak was delicious as well, definitely the best steak I have ever eaten. Grass-fed does make a difference in both taste and nutrition.

We finished with a flourless chocolate cake which was sinfully rich. I was beyond full at this point but I ate it all anyway because there was now way I was letting it go to waste. And honestly, I can never say no to chocolate.

We also spent a part of the afternoon learning more about DinnerTool.com:

"DinnerTool.com is a website and online tool aimed at helping families solve the nightly “what’s for dinner” dilemma. The site is a one-stop shop for the family-focused foodie. Mouth-watering photo slideshows, timely and informative articles and fun how-to videos layer the site, while the recipe search, meal planner and shopping list tools make for a completely interactive (and easy!) user experience. Planning for easy, fast, healthy and budget-friendly meals has never been so enjoyable."

Meal planning has always been a challenge for me - I am just not a good planner. And having four picky young eaters doesn't help either. Between the kids, the house and my blog business, I am a busy woman. I need some help when it comes to recipe management and planning a weekly menu and DinnerTool is something that can assist all us busy people with that. They have a wide range of recipes that you can search by through categories, like healthy or fast, or you can search by cuisine or ingredients. You can then easily add your Meal Planner and from their even create a shopping list of ingredients that you need to buy.

Overall, it was an amazing and very educational day! I learned some new cooking techniques that will certainly help me in the kitchen and found a great site that can help me start getting the hang of meal planning.

All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to DinnerTool for bringing me to this event.

National Learn to Swim Day is May 19

2012-05-16T21:58:00.000-04:00

With the warmer weather upon us, it is time to remind everyone about the importance of water safety. I cannot emphasize enough how imperative it is that we all teach our children how to swim. And just as important, we all learn proper water safety. While we are big time beach and pool people, the thought of my children around water also terrifies me and I do not take safety for granted. So every summer, the three that are old enough are enrolled in swimming lessons. While at the lake I am always right there in the water with them and at family pools both my husband and I are always present with one of us in the pool and the other on the deck monitoring the water.

May happens to be National Water Safety Month and so SwimWays has announced that Saturday, May 19 will be the first annual National Learn to Swim Day. This is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of teaching children to swim, and provide resources to parents for teaching their kids the important skill.

According to the Red Cross, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years old and children ages 1 to 4 drown most often in home swimming pools. The Red Cross provide some excellent water safety resources that I encourage everyone to take a look at:

If you are looking to get involved on National Learn to Swim Day, you can introduce your children to the water with at home swim instruction or visit a community pool as a family. For even more information about National Learn to Swim Day and SwimWays, visit TeachMetoSwim.com.

This post has been brought to you by SwimWays as part of the Swim Steps Swim Team.

Should I Make My Own Perfume?

2012-05-16T11:08:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, during my "get rid of all things chemicals" purge when I started my green journey, I stopped using my Clinique perfume. Conventional perfumes are filled with chemicals, including phthalates, and they are not required to lo list ingredients, so who knows what else they put in there. I no longer wanted to put chemicals on my body, so my perfume, and pretty much every other personal are product I owned went bye-bye. And so I began my hunt for a natural perfume.

Finding a perfume has never been easy for me. I am extremely sensitive to smells and most perfumes give me headaches. So finding a natural option proved to be quite a challenge, especially since I had to shop online and couldn't smell them. So many that I had come across were floral and flowery scents do not sit well with me. I finally decided to try a Fruit scent roll-on perfume by Aura Cacia. It is made with just pure essential oil, no chemicals, and I fell in love with it. I instantly ordered myself a second bottle so I had a small supply. I wish I had ordered more since shortly after that, they discontinued this line of perfumes and I was unable to find it anywhere.

I have used it sparingly over so it would last longer, using it only when I go out. And being a work at home mom to four young kids, let's face it: I don't get out too often. Trip to Stop & Shop are hardly worth of my precious perfume! So my two small bottles have lasted me about four years. But now I am down to my last few drops and I have the daunting task of finding a new perfume to wear. I am not looking forward to it and have been putting it off. I am actually seriously contemplating ordering all of the individual essential oils that are in my perfume, I have the ingredient list, and mixing them together to make it myself. Of course I don't know the first thing about mixing essential oils or making perfumes, so some research is in order. This will definitely be interesting and educational. And hopefully fun too!

Have you ever mixed essential oils to make your own perfume? Any tips for me?

This post has been brought to you by LiveTru.com.

UPrinting Die Cut Business Cards #Giveaway

2012-05-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

It is so important to have a professional looking and eye catching business card no matter what profession you are in. But I find that the eye catching part is even more important when it comes to blogging. There are thousands of bloggers out there and when you leave your card with a PR professional you want yours to stand out from the rest. You want it to make them visit your site and learn more about you and hopefully reach out to you.

I have ordered my share of business cards online for my blog and UPrinting has been my favorite to work with thus far.They make it very easy for you to upload your own design, which is what I prefer to do. With my graphic design background, I enjoy designing business cards and UPrinting has templates for various graphics programs that are extremely helpful in putting together your layout. I have been thrilled with everything that I have received from them. And of course I also love that they uses recycled paper and soy based inks.

Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive 250 Die Cut Business Cards from UPrinting.com. Details:
Sizes to choose from :
2 x 3.5" Rounded Corners, 2x2" Rounded Corners, 1.75x3.5" Rounded Corners,
2x3.5" Leaf, 2x3.5 Rounded one corner, 2x3.5" Half Circle Side,
2x3.5" Oval or 2.5" Circle
Paper to choose from :
14pt Cardstock Gloss / Matte / High Gloss (UV), or 13pt Cardstock Uncoated,
6 Business Days Turnaround
Free shipping for US residents only

Giveaway ends May 31, 2012 at 12:01 AM EST. Please use the Rafflecopter form below.

This post has been brought to you by UPrinting.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

$25 PayPal Cash Giveaway

2012-05-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

It is time for another reader appreciation giveaway! We could all use some extra cash right? Now is your chance to enter for a chance to win $25 PayPal cash! What would you do with an extra $25? For me, extra money would go to help feed me Starbucks and eBook addictions.

Giveaway
One (1) winner will receive $25.00 deposited into their PayPal account. Please use the Rafflecopter form below. Open to US residents only. Giveaway ends 6/12/12 12:01 AM EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Green Giveaway Friday 5/11

2012-05-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

Crunchy Beach Mama
Carbonite ~ 1 year of safe & easy Online Backup 5/17
Lily's Sweets 4 Dark Chocolate Bars 5/21
$5 Starbucks Gift Card 5/23

Family Focus Blog
Organic Hair Care 5/22

Infographic: How to Choose A Perfect Gift for Mom

2012-05-10T18:10:00.004-04:00

Mother's Day is just a few days away now, have you picked out a gift for mom yet? If you wait till the last minute, like I do for everything, and need some help coming up with a good idea, this infographic has some tips to find the perfect gift and make a woman happy.

Mom's what would you love to receive from your spouse and kids this Mother's Day?

This post has been brought to you by DietDiva.com.

I Have Closet Envy

2012-05-10T15:51:00.001-04:00

The closet in our master bedroom is a sad, sad sight. While I am grateful that it is a walk-in closet, it is on the small side. Since my husband and I share it and we both have a decent amount of clothes and shoes, well it looks quite disorderly. OK fine, only my side is disorderly, my husband's side is immaculate, but that's because I need more room. When we first moved into this house nine years ago, the closet had a single shelf up high on both sides with a rod below it. One of our first projects in this house was to redo this closet. It started with a trip to Home Depot to pick up some inexpensive closet organizers. We ended up choosing a white wire system. Though it isn't very pretty, it was in our price range. After deciding on the layout we wanted like where to put shelves and drawer, my handy husband got to work installing it for us.

Image Credit: California Closets

It has held up well over the years and for the most part it has done its job. But every now and then I will be skimming through a magazine and I will come across beautiful custom closets and I immediately start to suffer from closet envy. Some of them are nicer and larger than my bedroom. I would love to have a big, luxurious closet like this some day with wood shelving and drawers like the one pictured above. I especially love the shelves for shoes and handbags! A closet like this is like a woman's dream come true. OK, well mine at least.

What would your dream closet look like?

This post has been brought to you by California Closets.

Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega-3 Xtra Review

2012-05-09T22:23:00.000-04:00

Omega-3 essential fatty acids (EPA and DHA) are nutrients that our bodies need, but cannot produce. They help maintain a healthy heart and immune systems and support proper brain and eye development in infants and children. Since the body can't produce Omega-3, it is important to find a good, pure supplement to met your body's needs. Nordic Naturals Omega supplements give you the Omega-3 health benefits that you need with none of the toxins or oxidation.

"Nordic Naturals' multi-patented manufacturing processes enable us to deliver industry-leading freshness and purity levels. We use several steps in processing our oils, from water and clay filters to molecular distillation, with no chemicals or excessive heat, all while preserving the natural constituents of the oil to the highest degree possible. A patented purification process removes any potential environmental toxins (heavy metals, dioxins, PCBs, etc.), saturated fats, and other undesirable organic compounds, leaving only the beneficial components of the fish oil (omegas 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, etc.). We also utilize a proprietary nitrogen (oxygen-free) environment to achieve our leading freshness levels, and to further reduce heat requirements, thereby maintaining the integrity of the oils."

The Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega Xtra soft gels contain concentrated EPA and DHA for double the strength. One serving gives you the American Heart Association's daily recommendation of both. They are free of gluten, milk derivatives, artificial colors and artificial flavors. These soft gels are lemon flavored which helps to mask the distinct fishy taste that comes with any Omega supplement. The fishiness is still there, but the lemon makes it go down easier.

One aspect that I had difficulty with was the size of these soft gel since they are rather large. Ever since I was young I have had issues swallowing large pills and for the six years that I took prenatal vitamins, I needed to break them in half. Since I could not break the soft gels in half, they presented a bit of a challenge for me. If you have similar issues with large pills, this is something to keep in mind.

Connect with Nordic Naturals
Like Nordic Naturals on Facebook
Follow Nordic Naturals on Twitter

I received Nordic Naturals product to review from www.NaturallySavvy.com, authors of 'Unjunk Your Junk Food'. All thoughts an opinions are my own.

Scwhinn Bikes: Find Your Ride, Sponsored Video

2012-05-09T12:41:00.000-04:00

This really cute video from Schwinn makes me want to get the family outside for a fun bicycle adventure. Growing up, I spent a good amount of time riding my bike around our town house complex. I would love it if my kids enjoyed bike riding as much as I did. This past Christmas we upgraded our oldest son to a larger bike and got our twins their first bicycles. Riding a bike is such a great way to get moving and get outside and have some fun with your family. Plus its a good way to sneak in some exercise. However, not only do we have to work on their riding skills, but someone needs to help mommy relearn. Contrary to what people say, it is possible to forget how to ride a bike. (I can't believe I just admitted that on the Internet). Once all this rain passes us, I am hoping we can all get outside and start practicing!

This post is sponsored by Schwinn.

Entertainment Tonight Hanging with the Stars Sweepstakes

2012-05-09T11:28:00.000-04:00

Have you dreamed of mingling and partying with the stars? How cool would it be to attend and exclusive celebrity party? Entertainment Tonight is giving you that chance with their Hanging with the Stars Sweepstakes. Enter for a chance to win an invitation to ET's exclusive Emmy Gala Party!

Grand Prize
One winner will receive a trip for themself and one guest to Los Angeles, California for the ET’s Exclusive Emmy® Gala Party on Sunday, September 23, 2012. The winner and winner’s guest will be able to walk the red carpet at the party and have two (2) seats in the VIP section during the party’s music performance. Visit the sweepstakes for complete rules and details.

Deadline to enter is Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 4:59pm PDT.

I know I sure could imagine myself walking the red carpet with some celebrities near by, what an amazing experience that would be. I'd personally love to bump into Colin Egglesfield, literally, since he is who I have been picturing to play Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. Which celebrity would you most wish to bump into if you were to win the trip to the Emmy Gala?

This post has been brought to you by CBS.

Wordless Wednesday: Woody Woodpecker

2012-05-09T08:49:00.000-04:00

We have had quite a few visits from this big woodpecker this Spring. He enjoys munching on the tree stumps in the front yard.

Mother's Day Infographic

2012-05-08T13:44:00.000-04:00

I enjoy browsing through infographics and in the age of social media moms, I thought this was a pretty fun one and I wanted to share it. I love my digital gadgets and all of my social media channels and yes, I would love to add to that madness with an iPad some day. What would you love to receive for Mother's Day this year?

Browse more infographics.

Nordstrom $200 Gift Card #Giveaway

2012-05-08T13:11:00.000-04:00

Are you in need of some new clothes for the warmer weather? My wardrobe could seriously benefit from a few new spring outfits! Thanks to Roofing-Directory.com, you can enter for a chance to win a $200 Nordstrom gift card. I haven't shopped there in a few years, but I always loved their shoe department. Though I really am in need of some nice business casual clothes. I'm tired of rotating the same three outfits at blogger events.

What would you buy with $200 to use at Nordstrom?

Roofing-Directory.com

This post has been brought to you by Roofing-Directory.com.

What Would You Ask A Top Chef?

2012-05-04T13:40:00.001-04:00

This coming Monday I will have the pleasure of traveling down to New Jersey (Go Devils!) for an event at CulinAriane, a restaurant owned by Top Chef season 5 participant Ariane Duarte. I try my best to prepare wholesome meals for my family, but I am an amateur at best. Having the chance to sit and talk with a chef is going to be a great experience and one I know I will learn a lot from. Though I wonder if she can tell me how to deal with my four picky eaters?

During this event, we will be learning about DinerTool, which is a useful meal planning and recipe site, and then Chef Ariane will lead us through a cooking demonstration and even answer any questions we might have. The focus is going to be on various cooking techniques, which I sure do need some help in. These are some of the topics we will be covering:

- What to look for when picking in season produce

- Different cooking techniques: searing, cutting, etc.

- How to pick the best cut of meat

- How to clean/prepare your cut of meat

- How to know when your seafood/meat is done

- When to swap ingredients to meet dietary restrictions (i.e. switching chicken for Portobello mushrooms in a pasta dish)

Honestly, I'd like to ask her all of these! However, my number one question from this list would probably be "how to know when your meat is done." I am so paranoid about under cooking meat and making people sick that I tend to overcook meat. Especially chicken. I probably should invest in a meat thermometer.

If you had the chance to sit down with Chef Ariane, which of these would you want to ask her about?

I am attending this event courtesy of DinnerTool.

Green Giveaway Friday 5/4

2012-05-04T10:51:00.000-04:00

Crunchy Beach Mama
$200 Cash Rainy Day Event 5/4
The 7 Habits of Healthy Kids Game 5/9

Family Focus Blog
Organic Spa Robe 5/7
Organic Groove Tea & Honey 5/9
Stainless Steel Baby Bottles 5/10

A Hen's Nest
Waterpik EcoFlow Shower Heads 5/4

Wordless Wednesday: Fifty Shades

2012-05-02T09:59:00.001-04:00

I have been MIA for the past few days and that is because I have had my head buried in my Kindle reading the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy. I literally did not stop reading for three days straight until they were all done. I thought they were great and have already started rereading them. Have you read these books yet? What did you think?

I want more. I want E L James to write the books from Christian's perspective now.

Stop Texting and Driving! #ItCanWait

2012-04-27T10:58:00.000-04:00

Nothing irritates me more than seeing people texting on their phone while they are driving. Nevermind that it is illegal in many areas, but it is dangerous! I just cannot understand what text or email is so important that you would risk your life, and those of the other people on the road. According to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, people who send text messages while driving are 23 times more likely to be in a crash. Is chatting with your BFF really worth your life?

My husband and I actually don't text at all as we don't want to pay for it (we're cheap). So texts are blocked on our AT&T iPhones. We do both get emails though and while it sometimes is tempting to pick up my phone and check it when I hear the little ding (or in my case, a Mockingjay call), I won't do it. Whatever it is, it can wait till I get where I am going. Or if in fact I was expecting and urgent message, then I would pull over.

In 2009, AT&T started the "It Can Wait" campaign to help educate students, well and everyone else really, on the dangers of texting while driving. This short 10 minute AT&T Documentary: The Last Text is well worth the watch. In this documentary you will see real life vehicle crashes and hear from people who lost loved ones because of a texting while driving accident. It is sad to see so many lives lost to this. A text is just not worth it.

"AT&T created this documentary as part of its "It Can Wait" campaign because we want consumers be safe while using our technology. We are grateful and humbled by the bravery of the people who agreed to be on camera for the documentary. We would have no story to tell without them."

AT&T wants you to take the pledge to not text while driving. AT&T will honor those taking the pledge by contributing to non-profit organizations focused on youth safety. You can take the pledge and share it with your friends on the AT&T Facebook page.

If you are an At&T customer, you can download their free AT&T Drive Mode app to help you not text while driving. When enabled, the app sends a customizable auto-reply message to incoming texts and emails, notifying the sender that the user is driving and will respond when it is safe. The app also provides the option to send calls directly to voicemail. The app is currently available on Blackberry and Android phones. Hopefully an iPhone app will be available soon.

Be honest, are you guilty of texting (or emailing) when driving? Is it really worth it? Can you make the pledge to stop texting and driving today?

This post has been brought to you by AT&T.

Green Giveaway Friday 4/26

2012-04-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

Crunchy Beach Mama
500th Post Celebration ~ $5 Starbucks, Amazon, Paypal or you choose 4/30
BistroMD ~ 5-Days of healthy, prepared Meals 5/2
Lunchbox Love Notes for Kids 5/3
$200 Cash Rainy Day Event 5/4

Family Focus Blog
Ahnu Shoes 4/30
Fit Moms For Life 5/1
$25 Amazon Gift Card 5/3
Organic Spa Robe 5/7
Organic Groove Tea & Honey 5/9

A Hen's Nest
Waterpik EcoFlow Shower Heads 5/4
Rubbermaid Hidden Recycle 5/1

To The Motherhood
$25 Amazon Gift Certificate 4/30

What a Difference A Deck Can Make

2012-04-26T13:55:00.000-04:00

One of the features that we loved about our house when we bought it almost nine years ago was the screened in deck off the back. How nice it was going to be to sit outside without the bugs bothering us! In the beginning we did enjoy it and when our first son was born, he had fun in his baby and water table out there. As our family grew, we realized a lot of inconvenience about our deck. It was on the smaller side and we instantly went from a family of three to a family of five, so all of being out there together did not work out very well. But more importantly is the placement of this deck. Instead of being off the main living areas of the kitchen or family room, it is off of a side room down the hall from the kitchen.

So we decided to build a larger deck directly off of the kitchen. We went to Home Depot to start researching the different options that were available. We looked at pressure treated wood, composite railing and decking and PVC decking. After pricing it all out and weighing the pros and cons, we decided to go with composite. The extra cost was worth it to us since composite does not need to be painted or stained. With the help of friends and family, my husband built a large deck on the back of the house for us. The he took out the bay window in the kitchen and replaced it with a sliding glass door.

Building the new deck was such a smart investment for us. Yes it increases the value of your home, but more importantly it gave us additional space for our family. Now the kids can run and play on the deck with plenty of room while I make their lunch inside. Since the deck is directly off the kitchen, I can see every move they make. And the deck was a life saver for me when my fourth son was born. Having a six month old baby to care for all day meant there was barely any time for me to go outside in the yard with the older three. They were too young to be outside in the yard without an adult, but they could go on the deck while I stayed on the deck with the little one.

Of course our old deck is all but abandoned now. The room it is off of is the playroom and no one goes out there anymore. I don't think you could get the door opened with all of the toys in there, even if you did want to go out on that deck. But it is a shame for it to go unused. I may clean it up for the summer and make it a little outdoor office so I can watch the boys play from there and not be attacked by insects. Or I could just put a single lounge chair in there and it could be a quiet, shaded, bug-free place for me to read all of my Kindle books. That actually sounds fantastic.

Do you have a deck on your house? Does your family spend a lot of time out there.

Popular Themes for a Boys Birthday Party

2012-04-25T15:55:00.000-04:00

It appears as though the busy party season is upon us. We already have two First Communions to attend in May, not to mention our twins 5th birthday. Plus with three kids in elementary school, the chances of one of them bringing home a birthday part invitation is pretty good. I'm exhausted just thinking about it all. I am fearful of when my boys hit their tween and teen years and they start getting invited to big parties like a 16th birthday or Bar or Bat Mitzvah as well. As they get older, the parties and the gifts get more expensive. Luckily, I have a few years still til wee get to that stage.

As I looked over our upcoming busy May calendar to pick a day for our twins' party, I got to wondering about what type of party to have. Typically we do a very low key family party at home. Since they are in preschool, I'm not doing a school friends party just yet. In fact I am avoiding those for as long as I can! But since it is their 5th birthday, I thought that it would be nice to do a theme form them this year. So I started browsing through popular boy party ideas.

The Avengers. With The Avengers movie hitting theaters on May 4th, this will probably be one of the most popular themes for a boy's party this Spring. I've even spotted some pretty cool Avengers party supplies. All of our boys love Marvel super heroes and since the older three already have a Captain America, Thor and Iron Man costume, there is a good chance we may go this route. I just need to pick up a Hulk costume for the two year old. Trust me, it is a very fitting character for him.

LEGO. Anything LEGO themed always seems to be popular with boys. And Star Wars LEGOs are an obsession in this house. I have a huge box of LEGOs that I bought on Black Friday, so the kids could have fun building with the blocks during the party. We could even do Minifigure party favors for the kids to take home with them. Pinterest also has a slew of crafty ideas for a LEGO themed party, but I stink at crafts and making things myself.

Angry Birds. It seems everywhere I turn these days I see Angry birds. Ironically my boys love this game too, even though I never let them touch my iPhone. It is off limits. But twice a week when Grammy visits, they corner her and she gives them her iPhone for them to take turns on. You can imagine the carrying on we here then as they argue over who's goes first and who has the next turn. (Thanks Grammy). An Angry Birds party could be a lot of fun and there are a ton of party game ideas out there for the guests to have fun with.

As of now I think I am leaning towards The Avengers theme since I know they will love it and their birthday is less than two weeks after the movie comes out. One thing I do know for sure is that regardless of what theme we go with, we will once again be renting a bounce house. We have rented one for the past few years and it is great for keeping the kids outside and out of the house and ensuring a good night's sleep. This is the Justice League bounce house that we rented last year and it was a huge hit. I suppose we could always turn it into a The Avengers vs. The Justice League party.

What is your favorite theme for a young boy's birthday party?

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