I saw this and wanted to try it, because I take lots of pictures and love collages!

About CollageItFree (from their website)

CollageIt Features

Generate Collage in an Automatic Way

Another week of trolling Pinterest for the best goodies.  These are things on my to do list.  Do you have a whole list of things you want to complete from Pinterest?  It is crazy how addicting that website is, isn’t it?

I have teamed up with Susie QT Pies and Crystal and Company to bring you this weekly linky.

Since this post is all about pinning, be sure to pin this post and a few of the posted linkies.  Choose your favorite and click to your heart’s content.

So, what can you put in the linky? You can put any or all of the following items:

• 1.  Your Pinterest Board Linky
• 2.  A few of your favorite links
• 3.  A blog post of your own Pinterest Favorites or round up post!

If you aren’t on Pinterest and would like to be, simply email me with your email address in the body and I will send an invite right on over!

So, here is what I am pinning this week… I need to get my life, blogs, house in order.  I just have so much going on that what I typically use for organization isn’t cutting it anymore.  SO, I have been trolling pinterest for some new ideas and will share some of my faves with you!

1. Four Pocket Organizer from ePatterns Central!

2. 2012 Declutter Calendar from My Simpler Life

3. 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge from Little Lucy Lu

4. 7 Steps to an Organized Pantry from Family Balance Sheet

Go visit my faves and then, link up below!

So, I love my new Verizon Razor phone.  I really love it.  I pull it out continuously to play with it.  I text, video chat, talk, play games, check my email, check my social networks, tweet pictures, etc.  BUT, yesterday I found something I SERIOUSLY do not like!

I called my husband before leaving Acro with my younger two to find out if I needed to swing by baseball practice and pick up my oldest one.  My phone battery was dying, so I had to plug it in before calling.  HA! I could not even sit straight up while calling him (good thing I was sitting in a parking space) because the charger plugin is on the TOP of the phone! Yeah, you can imagine how bent over I was!

#chargerfail!

I have seen some people complaining about the battery time of it.  Maybe I don’t use mine as much as other people do, because I am really not having a problem with it.  As long as I charge it each night, it pretty much lasts me through the day. It is when I forget to charge it at night that I have an issue.  Oops!

My boys are so funny!  When I get something new in that they can eat, they immediately start setting up the chairs and TV trays.  Then, they run put on clothes.  After all that is done they say, “We are ready! Can we review those now?”

So, click through to watch my boys on video reviewing the new Ocean Spray Fruit Snacks.

Mom Says:  The flavor is really good, but I am not a gooey snack kind of girl.

The boys say: They love them!  They have asked for these snack way more than they have asked for cookies and candies.  So, in my opinion that makes them the best thing since sliced bread. LOL!

Available in two delicious varieties, Ocean Spray^® Fruit Flavored Snacks provide kids with the great tasting snacks they crave and parents with the confidence that they come from a good place. Ocean Spray^® Fruit Flavored Snacks are:

• †Made with real fruit juice and natural colors* and flavors.
• 80 calories, gluten free and contain 100% of the Daily Value of Vitamin C.
• Available with year round Double Box Tops.

In addition, you can

click here

to download a printable coupon for $1.10 off of the purchase of (2) Ocean Spray

^®

Fruit Flavored snacks today!

*colors from natural sources
†These Fruit Flavored Snacks are made with apple, pear, and cranberry juice concentrate. See package for a list of complete ingredients. They are not intended to replace fruit in the diet.

Four, that’s right, FOUR lucky 3 Boys and a Dog readers will win 6 boxes of Ocean Spray Fruit Snacks!

REQUIRED: Leave a comment telling me: Which of your favorite fruit flavors would you like to see Ocean Spray^® Fruit Snacks come out with next?

BONUS #1: Follow @momof3boys3702 on Twitter and RT this contest. The easiest way to retweet is to simply click the green ReTweet on the top right of this post. YOU MAY TWEET ONCE DAILY

BONUS #2: Like Ocean Spray and 3 Boys and a Dog on FaceBook then share this post by clicking the FaceBook share button at the bottom of this post.

Other bonus entries:

• #1. Spread the word about this review by: email, forums, blogging, Digg, or putting the link in a meme. (one entry per thing done)
• #2. Sign up for my NEW Weekly Newsletter.
• #3. Subscribe to my RSS feed.
• #4. Put my button on your blog.
• #5. Leave a comment on any other post (excluding giveaways!) Be sure to leave a comment here saying which post.
• #6 – Vote for me at Picket Fence by clicking the button on my sidebar. Be sure to leave a comment saying you did! YOU MAY VOTE ONCE DAILY!

CONTEST ENDS: at Midnight CST on February 16th

OPEN TO: USA and Canada

*DISCLAIMER: I was sent items by Ocean Spray and MyBlogSpark to help facilitate my review. Any opinions stated are strictly my own.*

I was recently given the opportunity to review the new product line, just released here in Canada from Kashi. The funny thing was that I was browsing through my weekly flyers when the package arrived and wouldn’t you know it the new product line was featured!

Included in the package were two boxes of Kashi Pita Chips in Original 7 Grain with Sea Salt and Zesty Salsa, two boxes of the Kashi Snack Crackers in Fire Roasted Vegetable and Toasted Asiago and one box of Kashi Toasted Cinnamon Crisp Cereal (my personal favorite ).

The Pita Crisps are a very nice crunchy pita cracker. My favorite of the two we were sent was the Original 7 Grain with Sea Salt, but the rest of my family really enjoyed the Zesty Salsa, these were a big hit for snack time!

The Snack Crackers were also a favorite with my kids, though my husband and I didn’t really like the Toasted Asiago. The Fire Roasted Vegetable were very nice and a big hit with my 2 year old!

Both the Pita Crisps and the Snack Crackers are made with natural ingredients and Kashi’s Seven Whole Grains and Sesame blend.

Now my personal favorite and highly recommended new product is the Toasted Cinnamon Crisp cereal! It has just the right crunch and cinnamon balance. It’s sort of a mixture of granola and crunchy oat cereal, similar to Cheerios but broken up. I found myself reaching for it as an evening snack. The cereal is a good source of protein and a very high source of fibre.

The new product line just rolled out nationwide this January, look for it in your local grocery store.

*Disclaimer: I was sent the above mentioned products from Kashi to help facilitate my review, all opinions are strictly my own*

Good morning!  Here it is the 1st of February and we are about 1 quarter of the way through our goals.  How is everything going?  I am not putting the linky anymore because I just didn’t have enough interest.  So, if you are playing along, please leave your link in the comments section!

OK on to my 12 Weeks to Goal blogging goals and how they are going:

Update on my Blogging Goals:

• GOAL NUMBER ONE:  Increase Twitter Followers to 12,250 for @momof3boys3702 and 5,300 for @Deals_3BD – As of 02/01/2012 I am at 11,185 for main and 4,472 for deals!
• GOAL NUMBER TWO:  Increase Newsletter Subscribers to 800 – As of 02/01/2012 I am at 832!  I reached my goal!!  Whoo hoo!!
• GOAL NUMBER THREE:  Add pictures to 10 of the 37 recipe posts missing images As of 02/01/2012 I have no idea where I am.  Since I started www.southernmomcooks.com, I have been working on it differently. LOL!
• GOAL NUMBER FOUR:  Complete A-Z Alphabet Book through K!  As of 02/01/2012 I am at the same as last week 1/2 way through G.  This is not going well! I have gotten bored with it because it is taking me so long.  I really need some motivation to get some of this knocked out!

This week, let’s talk about Facebook.  How to get the interaction up and the likers up.  Here’s what I (and my assistant) have done in increase my facebook Fans.  It must be working because at the time of my writing this, I had about 200 less than 4,000 fans.

#1 – Ask Questions!  Come up with a list of fun things like “What are you wearing today?” and “What are you having for supper?” and put or of them one a few times a week. 

#2 – Ask advice!  If you are stuck about something or unsure about something, ask on your fan page!  I found that I go to my fan page more and more often these days instead of (or in addition to) asking my family.  People love to help others! It works!

#3 – Visit other sites’ Fan pages as your site.  Meaning?  Log into Facebook on the right hand drop down menu and select “use facebook as page” then scroll through and start commenting on half a dozen or so pages.  It sparks interest! Not only do they come check you out, but so do their readers.

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Spread the Love giveaway!  To play is very easy, simply scroll down to the Rafflecopter thing below and start completing the items.  The more you complete, the more chances you have to win!

You do not have to go to the different blogs as the rafflecopter thing is the same across the board.  But, it is nice to visit them and let them know that you appreciate their hard work and money to make it possible for you to win $200.00!

The winner will be able to choose their choice of either $200.00 cash via paypal, a $200.00 AMEX card, or a $200.00 Amazon credit!

The blogs playing:

1. 3 Boys and a Dog

2. Crystal and Company

3. 101 Life Lessons

4. The Southern Product Queen

5. How to Have it all

6. The Home Economist

7. Luv a Bargain

8. Couponing for 4

9. The Mom Maven

10. Susie QT Pies

11. Literary Legs

12. Healthy N Balanced

13. Healthy Life Deals

14. Grocery Shop for Free

Now, enter the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

By Bonnie Joy Dewkett

Children’s artwork is a bittersweet thing. It’s beautiful and can represent a glimpse into the world as seen through a child’s eyes. It can also be a great indicator of your child’s development. However, artwork can add up. Before you know it, artwork can over whelm your counters, refrigerator, and walls. By implementing the following steps you will make sure your memories are kept in tact, and decrease the clutter.

• Before you do anything with a piece of artwork, decide what it means to you. Is it the best piece your child has ever done or is it just another piece they drew while waiting for dinner at a restaurant? Be honest with yourself.
• Do you have family members that live far away? Have your child sign pieces of artwork, then write a quick note and send the artwork to friends and family who live far away. It may sound silly to you because you have dozens of pieces, but to them it may be the only piece they have!
• For three-dimensional pieces of art, the easiest thing to do is take a photo of your child with the piece; keep it for a little while, and then dispose of it. I usually suggest moving it to another area of the house, such as the garage, after a period of time. If its not missed, you can easily get rid of it.
• Use frames that are easily changeable to house artwork. Job tickets are small plastic sheaths that are designed to house contractor’s paperwork on dirty and wet job sites. They are inexpensive and easy to hang on your wall. Papers slip in and out quickly and easily. Changing artwork is a snap.
• Pizza boxes make great artwork storage. Ask at your local pizza place to give you some unused boxes. Most restaurants will give them away for free. You can group artwork by date, child or academic year.
• For artwork that is flat, consider scanning it in and storing it digitally.
• Take photos of your child with their artwork. Then you can print them and put them into an album or you can print a digital photo book. This gives you a printed record of your child’s progress. Print multiple books and give them to family members.
• Set limits with your child on just how many pieces of artwork you will keep. Stay within these boundaries and it will help them learn to determine which pieces have meaning and which pieces do not.
• Combine storage with display. Use a string and clothespins to display a large number of items in a small amount of space.
• Make sure you hold yourself accountable to sit down and sort through artwork. It will build up as the school year progresses. Putting a date into your calendar to make those difficult decisions will make sure it gets done and make sure the artwork doesn’t pile up too high. For the pieces you have determined should be kept and are important, take the time to have them laminated and to protect them in clearly labeled plastic containers.

Bonnie Joy Dewkett, CPO^® is an organizing expert, author, and motivational speaker. Her company, The Joyful Organizer®, creates and implements organizational systems for the home or office. These changes allow her Customers to create calm from chaos at work and at home. Bonnie has achieved the prestigious designation of Certified Professional Organizer, CPO^®, fromThe Board of Certification for Professional Organizers.She is a member of The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and has published The Joyful Organizer’s Guide to a Joyful Move which is available on her website http://www.thejoyfulorganizer.com.

Image courtesy of Flicker

I’ve been working on losing weight for the past few months and need to be mindful of what I eat. So I was really excited when I found out that La Tortilla Family makes high fiber, low calorie tortillas and wraps.

Typically, my taste test for any healthy food is whether or not my husband will eat it. He’s pretty picky. I decided to take things one step further for this review and invited several of my friends over for a taco party so they could try the tortillas, too.

I put out several varieties for our dinner – a couple low carb and a couple 100 calorie packages.

They were a total hit! In fact, my friends were super impressed that I had so many varieties for them to choose from, instead of just one type of tortilla. They were soft and flavorful without taking away from the taste of the taco meat.

Jason even gave these his stamp of approval.

I really like that they come in re-sealable packages, so I didn’t have to worry about the leftovers drying out or finding a separate storage container to put them in after the party.

La Tortilla Factory makes several varieties of tortillas and soft wraps to please any palate or diet. Their 100 calorie tortillas have HALF the calories of a typically tortilla (normally 200 calories+), but still taste great. They have added fiber, Omega 3-rich flax seeds, added calcium and absolutely no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

For me, using these tortillas in place of our regular brand is an easy way to cut calories and be more health-conscious without sacrificing taste.

You can purchase products from La Tortilla Factory online or at many retailers nationwide.

Disclaimer: I received complimentary items from La Tortilla Factory for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% my own.

So, I haven’t decided if I will continue to put my menu plan on this website each week since it has a different set of readers, or if I will just put a reminder here for you to check it out at the new site. Hmm… choices, choices!

For now, it is here.  But, you can find it at Southern Mom Cooks 2 hours earlier each Monday morning.

Be sure to print out your coupons this week!  Remember, you should be able to print them twice.

Ok, on to my menu plan for this week:

Monday: Busy Day BBQ Meatballs, Potato Salad, Green Beans, and Texas Toast

Tuesday: Red Beans and Rice with Crackers

Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Loaded Chicken Breasts, Spanish Rice, and Broccoli

Friday: Italian Meatloaf, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Corn, and Grands Honey Butter Biscuits

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: DYOT – Do your own THANG.

Don’t forget to visit Org Junkie for Hundreds more menu plans and before heading to the grocery store… Print coupons for your favorite brands and save at Coupons.com.

Looking for more ideas?  You can find plenty of recipes as well as a free menu planning sheet on my kid friendly recipes page!