Mott's for Tots

Of my two boys, one is a juice-aholic.  Each time he looks at me and says, "Jooose?" I cringe.  I grab a sippy and fill it 2/3 will tap water and he starts screaming, "JOOOOSE!!" We walk over to the fridge, I open the door and he climbs right in to grab the plastic jug of whatever juice was on sale that week.  I hate to admit it, but I don't always buy the best juice. 

With 40% less sugar, Mott's for Tots is a great alternative to the usual juice you might serve your family because it is already pre-dilluted with purified water.  For me, that means no more yelling from my son when I go to the sink...I'll take it! It has a delicious taste, no artificial sweeteners, 100% vitamin C, and is available in 64 oz. multi-serve bottles or 6.75 oz. 8-pack juice boxes.

Mott's for Tots is available in five yummy flavors: Apple, Apple White Grape, NEW Immune Support Fruit Punch, NEW Bone Health Grape, and NEW Mixed Berry! 

For savings on Mott's for Tots, visit www.vocalpoint.com/mottsfortots

Mini Wheats Touch of Fruit

We are "test driving" the fully loaded Mini Wheats Touch of Fruit in the Middle via Vocalpoint.com. Both boys loved it with a splash of milk for breakfast. To complete my Vocal Point duties all I have to do is go on their website and leave my review. The reward? A free sample PLUS a BOGO coupon and $1 off coupons to share with friends! Who wants to try it too?!

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Look What I Found In My Mailbox Today!

I love VocalPoint.com! I get the inside scoop on new products and the opportunity to sign up for samples of those products! Sometimes they have creative ways of sending the coupons...like the cardstock "bowl" with a coupon for Barilla noodles, for example. Today they topped themselves with this creative mailing for Breve Creme - in a coffee cup! How fun! It truly made me excited to try this new product!

I have four coupons for $.55 off, who else wants to give it a try?!

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Photos from the Mommy Party!

 

 



We Love Nutella! My First Mommy Party

When I was given the opportunity to host a Mommy Party to try Nutella with 10 mommy friends, I jumped at the chance! I wasn’t sure what it would involve, but I love having friends over and what better reason than to get some freebies and try something new?!

I received a box with a jar of Nutella, step by step instructions for hosting the party, as well as goodies for ten moms that included a sample, spreader, travel mug, an information sheet and a few cards with serving suggestions. Everything was very easy to put together for the party because Mommy Parties had everything laid out step-by-step for the prep and the party!

I’ll admit, before I hosted the Nutella Mommy Party, I had never tasted Nutella. I wasn’t the only one. Only one of the nine moms at the party had tasted Nutella! You can imagine how much fun we had tasting the spread on the whole wheat bread, English muffins, strawberries and bananas. It was a HIT! Each of the moms (but one!) loved it and the kids had it smeared from ear to ear! Some ideas for uses were to use Nutella in place of peanut butter in peanut butter cookies and another said it could be used in place of chocolate bars on s’mores! Also, after the party one of the mom’s tried the sample from her goodie bag as suggested on a tortilla with banana and she said it was very good!

Let me tell you, now that my family has tasted Nutella, it’s become a staple! Click here to learn more about Nutella and get your own $1.00 off coupon or here for a chance to win a case of Nutella!  

We had so much fun with this, my mom friends and I are hoping to be chosen to host another Mommy Party in the future!

* I had problems with my photos uploading to blogger. I hope to have them in another post soon!

Wordless Wednesday - GO PACK GO!

In the bottom, right picture Tyler is showing off his BabyLegs football socks! Tyler and Trevor both have these and look adorable on game day.  Not only are they cute, they're also very soft and have the grippers on the bottom.  These were our first BabyLegs Socks and we love them, almost as much as our BabyLegs legwarmers!  :-)

Tall Oaks Retreat

I'm writing from Tall Oaks Retreat!  I have had a wonderful extended weekend of crafting, laughing and friends, new and old!  It's been FABULOUS!  Cassie, the owner, is a great hostess and cook.  Tall Oaks was built in February, 2008 and is absolutely gorgeous with it's modern north woods decor.  It is 3,000 square feet and accommodates up to 15 people with it's five bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms!  They also have over TEN different stamping and crafting supplies for use, including a Cricut Expression, Big Shot die cutter and Scor-Pal!

This weekend I brought along my sewing machine for a few different projects!  (I know you all just fell off your chairs, but I really did!)  I finally finished the quilt purse I started at Janice's house.  It's been so long since I started it I don't even remember when it was!  It was very easy to make once I got going.  I even put a pocket on the inside and a little hanger with a snap on the bottom to hook my keys on!  (See last picture.)

  

  

 

I made Trevor some leg warmers out of knee high socks, too!  All I did was cut the feet off and put a zig-zag hem at the bottom. 

 

My most important project of the weekend was Tyler and Trevor's Halloween costumes, but that's a secret.  :-)  Sadly, it is our last day here.  The good news is, we have until 3:00 p.m. until we have to leave! 

Cutesy Tushies Diaper Cover - Review

Some of you might remember the plastic pants from the "old days" of cloth diapering.  You had a flat diaper, folded it up, pinned the sides, then pulled on the plain old white plastic pants.  We've come a long way baby!  The flat (prefold) diapers are still a tried and true, go to item for many cloth diapering families, ours being one.  Do I use them every day?  No.  Do I trust them?  YES!  Have they changed over the years?  Of course!

We have premium prefold diapers for Trevor, which run a little bigger and are pretty bulky, so I was worried the Cutesy Tushies Diaper Cover wouldn't fit over them.  I have used the prefold (not included) in two different ways with this cover and both ways worked great!  The first way is pictured below next to the diaper cover.  The diaper is tri-folded and I add a fleece liner for stay dry protection for baby.

The other way I use the prefold is to bring it around Trevor's bottom (again, putting the fleece liner in first) and secure it using a Snappi.  This is a great product that makes fastening diapers SO much easier and faster than pins!  It works similar to the hooks that come with an ace bandage.

Now that you're aware of different ways to use a prefold diaper, here is more information on the Cutesy Tushies Diaper Covers!

Our Trials:  We were given a Cutesy Tushies Medium Diaper Cover.  The cover has fleece on the outside (which is so adorable!) and a waterproof lining on the inside.  (Also available with cotton instead of fleece.)  I'll admit, I was leery about the fleece at first, but we have used it during naps as well as when Trevor is active and there has been no leaking or wicking at all!  It fits well and is roomy enough to use with a premium prefold, which runs a little bigger.  Since receiving my diaper cover to test, Michelle has also added the elastic casing around the legs and back of the diaper, which I think will make great additions to an already great product!

Type of Diaper:  Medium Diaper Cover with fleece out and waterproof in.
Sizes: Newborn - Up to 11 lbs.
Small - 9 to 20 lbs.
Medium - 18 to 30 lbs.
Large - 22 to 40 lbs.
Features: Generous fit to accommodate premium prefolds,  elastic casing around legs, laundry tabs to attach velcro for washing.  Diaper covers with prefolds are great because you do not need a lot of covers - if the cover isn't soiled, just take it off, wipe it down and add a new prefold!
Where to find it: http://www.cutesytushies.com/  or email cutesytushies@yahoo.com for custom orders or questions.
How much does it cost: These diaper covers are a steal!  A size medium is only $12.95!



Cutesy Tushies provided me a diaper cover free of charge.  Other than product, no compensation was given to me for this review.  All statements are my own and are my honest to goodness opinion!

Bayou Classic ChickCAN Rack - Review

Josh and I purchased a Bayou Classic ChickCAN Rack at the end of the summer season about four years ago and finally decided to try it out while camping a few weeks ago. (I know, let's not rush into anything!)  I've never made a whole chicken before, so the whole process was new to us - including buying the chicken. The one I bought was a bit small for 4 adults and two small kids, but now I know for next time.  The good thing about the chicken I bought was it was all cleaned out and ready to go, all I had to do was rinse it.

The directions on the Bayou Classic ChickCAN Rack were very easy to follow. Taking the suggestion from Rick Browne's Beer Butt Chicken Recipe on the package, we seasoned the inside and outside of the chicken. Next step was drinking 1/2 the beer (best part of the whole process if you ask me!).  Ok, so the recipe said "pour out half," not "drink half," but I digress.  

I put the 1/2 can of beer in the rack and pulled the chicken over the can and stand, which kept the beer upright. I can't imagine the process of getting the can in the chicken and then making it stand upright on the grill without using a ChickCAN Rack to keep it in place.  Lastly, we used a red potato to block the neck so the moisture from the boiling chicken would remain inside the chicken. (You could also use a small onion instead.)

Since we were camping we didn't have a whole lot of spices available to us, so we kept it simple with Lawry's Seasoned Salt and some pepper.  I'm all about simple cooking, so after the success we had I'm thinking we'll use it again before another 4 years go by! There are directions included for the oven as well as a charcoal grill.  I think it would be fun to experiment with different beers or sodas, adding garlic and other spices to the beer, and using different rubs.

Pros:  Simple to use, easy to follow directions.

Cons:  NONE!  Both my husband and I loved this product!

Where to find it:  The Bayou Classic ChickCAN Rack is available in stainless steel (which is the type we used) from Amazon.com or nickel plated directly from the Bayou Classic website.

Cutesy Tushies Pocket Diaper - Reivew

As I mentioned in my review for Monkey Balls Dryer Balls, I have been selected to be a tester for Cutesy Tushies cloth diapers.  Michelle gave me one of her handmade pocket diapers to test and review as well as an extra microfiber insert! 

(How cute is the Green Bay Packers fabric?! Not to mention the cute colors of the inserts instead of plain old white!)

Our Trials:  We were given a Medium Pocket Diaper with one microfiber insert, which is included in with every diaper.  Because I mentioned to Michelle that Trevor is a heavy wetter, she also gave me an extra insert.  Cutesy Tushies inserts are extremely absorbent, I just chose to put Trevor in two for peace of mind.  :-)  I think an average wetter would be able to use just one.  That's what's so great about pocket diapers, they are customizable for each child.  We didn't have ANY leaking or wicking with our Cutesy Tushies!  The unique design of this diaper also helps with that.  (see features section)

The inner layer of the diaper is made of fleece, which keeps baby's bum dry by wicking away the moisture from baby's skin.  I was surprised when I opened this diaper and found COLOR!  Michelle lined the diaper with matching yellow fleece!  (Available for some diapers upon request.)

The closure is velcro, which I found to be very sticky and easily adjusts to the size of your baby.  There are also laundry tabs on the inside of the diaper that the velcro can be folded onto during washing so everything in your load of wash doesn't stick to the velcro.  I personally prefer the velcro closures because we have a squirmy baby and they are much faster to fasten than snaps!

Type of Diaper: Pocket Diaper with microfiber insert

Sizes:  Newborn - Up to 11 lbs.
Small - 9 to 20 lbs.
Medium - 18 to 30 lbs.
Large - 22 to 40 lbs.

Features: Elastic casing around legs keeps fleece liner from rolling out.  The waterproof PUL and fabric combination design is unique, one I've never seen before and am now in love with! 

Where to find it:  http://www.cutesytushies.com/ or email cutesytushies@yahoo.com for custom orders or questions.

Packers print is custom order only and has limited availability.  Other teams also available upon request.  If she doesn't have it, she will get it!

How much does it cost:  These diapers are SO AFFORDABLE!!  A size medium with one microfiber insert is only $12.95!

Cutesy Tushies provided me a pocket diaper free of charge.  Other than product, no compensation was given to me for this review.  All statements are my own and are my honest to goodness opinion!

Monkey Balls Wool Dryer Balls

I was one of the lucky moms to be chosen to be a product tester for Cutesy Tushies, an online cloth diaper store that is being built by an old friend of mine, Michelle. I can safely say that I had a hand in converting her to cloth diapers after I shared that I was making the switch to cloth on FaceBook. She bought a couple flowered Happy Heinys diapers from me that I had purchased in a lot on eBay and we stayed in touch after that. Being the talented mommy she is, she decided to make her own diapers, which has brought her to her new adventure of selling her adorable cloth diapers!

Along with her cloth diapers, she is also going to be making and selling wool dryer balls. Have you heard of these before? They are a great product and easy to use - you just throw them in your dryer! As they tumble, they separate your wet clothes to allow the hot air to distribute through the dryer, resulting in faster drying times. This saves energy AND money! Michelle surprised me with two to test out! Not only are they bright and fun, they smell great! The ones I tested were Smashed Pear scented...mmmm!




You may have seen the plastic dryer balls in stores or on TV, which is what I started with. As you can see in the picture below (when you're done staring at my adorable little helper!) the plastic dryer balls I had purchased left marks all over our dryer. Can you guess what color they are?! They didn't do any damage, but just make me wonder if that dye is all over our clothes too.


As for the Monkey Balls Wool Dryer Balls - I LOVE 'EM!! They have been in every load of laundry since Michelle dropped them off and I've had no problems at all with unravelling. I like them a lot better than the plastic ones because they are so much quieter. (I have enough noise in this house with 2 boys!) I also like that they are scented and our clothes smelly yummy when they come out of the dryer! As for drying time, I usually set the dryer for 70 minutes for our cloth diapers and everything is completely dry except for the hemp inserts for the Thirsties Duo Diaper and the snap in for the GroVia diapers since they take longer to dry. I usually put those on the drying rack in the laundry room to finish drying. With the wool dryer balls, I set the timer for 60 minutes and EVERYTHING was DRY!

The Cutesy Tushies site should be up and running TODAY! Michelle will be selling the Monkey Balls Dryer Balls for $5.95 each. There will also be several different types of handmade cloth diapers including diaper covers and pocket diapers, which I'm also currently testing! If you are interested in Michelle's products or would like to contact her, you can visit her website at http://www.cutesytushies.com/.


Cutesy Tushies provided me with Monkey Balls Wool Dryer Balls free of charge. Other than product, no compensation was given to me for this review. All statements are my own and are my honest to goodness opinion!