My Family Loves It

Yoplait Splitz picnic giveaway!

Heather — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:50:32 +0000

Yoplait and My Blog Spark sent us some Strawberry Sundae yogurt to try out and some nice picnic items as well! My kids LOVE yogurt so of course they liked it A LOT! Yoplait Splitz is the new yogurt that tastes like a sundae. Providing all of the goodness of 100% real yogurt, Yoplait Splitz is a good source of calcium and vitamin D. It is a 90 calorie dessert with no artificial flavors or sweeteners and no high fructose corn syrup. It is available in three delicious flavor combinations including Strawberry Sundae, Strawberry Banana Split, and Rainbow Sherbet. My kids never think anything is “too sweet” but for some weird reason I like my own yogurt only slightly sweet (I tend to mix 1/2 plain with 1/2 vanilla) so this is one dessert that I can safely buy for the kids and NOT eat myself (a good thing since I don’t want to eat up all the kids snacks!). The Yoplait people told me that “For an even “cooler” experience, just pop a Yoplait Splitz in the freezer and in a few hours you can enjoy a cool, creamy cup of authentic frozen yogurt” BUT my kids just gobbled them up before I had a chance to do that! I was thinking they’d be a nice lunchbox snack once school starts and I will keep them in the freezer for that (I often keep Go-Gurts in the freezer to send to school so they are icy cold still at lunch). These new Splitz are something my kids will ask for again and I’ll definitely buy them for special snacks.

Don´t forget to visit Yoplait on Facebook or Yoplait on Twitter and “Like” or “Follow” the brand to keep up with the latest news on your favorite Yoplait products.

Yoplait is providing one of my readers with a prize pack that includes an insulated carry tote and a roll up fleece picnic blanket, TO ENTER:

leave me a comment on this post and let me know which of the 3 new flavors sound the best to you
for a second entry subscribe to my blog and let me know in a second comment
US mailing addresses only
contest ends Friday August 13, 2010

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Chickie-Poo is our last chicken :(

Heather — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:58:30 +0000

So much for having free-range chickens! Yesterday morning I heard Hen get killed by what I’m guessing was a hawk. Its so sad since these birds turned out to be so friendly, comical, cute and lovable. Our chickens let us pick them up and pet them and they have the softest feathers. They were really pets that lived outside and gave us the bonus of fresh eggs but apparently letting them live free and happy anywhere they pleased was not the best plan. So poor Chickie-Poo is the last chicken and she is my favorite. I am hoping that John will get some break from his horrible non-stop work schedule to put up a fence around the coop and rig up a roof so that we can keep this last bird alive and maybe get her some little birdy friends. Originally we told the kids we’d get more chicks this spring/summer but when we lost Fuzzworth we changed our minds since we knew they’d get eaten. I’m just not cut out for being a farmer! Here is our lonely birdie:

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Pop On Pals review

John — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:24:05 +0000

I love getting to test something out thats brand new! We were sent an amusement park playset Pop On Pals toy to review, its part of a fun new line of toys for toddlers/preschoolers. Spin Master is introducing Pop On Pals – a wonderful world of fun pals, pets, vehicles and playsets! With endless mix n’ match fun, little ones can be anything they want to be. A fireman can become a musician, a princess becomes a baker, a puppy becomes a ballerina – Pop On Pals encourages imaginative play and helps develop fine motor skills. Both the girls were very pleased with the amusement park playset we received. It came with one figure but the kids are pretty creative and all four of our kids are using other toy figures and animals with the set happily. It has a place on one of our living room end tables and has been getting its fair share of use. The girls like that you can “pop on” different arms with accessories. Its great for little ones learning to manipulate things and 21 month old Jillian was very busy with the figure and rings. The set has a lot going on in one piece and has gotten the thumbs up in our house despite the fact that I think the pop on arms are currently MIA under the couch (but the pop on pal figure is okay until I fish out the arm rings since she has painted on arms too)! I think Jillian may ask Santa for a Pop On Pet this year. If you haven’t seen Pop On Pals in the stores just yet, you should be soon! They recommend ages 2-4 but I think 1 1/2 is a good age to start playing with them and the older brothers are 6 & 7 1/2 and both will play with it with the girls (however I agree that a 4 yr old is the oldest child I would purchase these toys for). Thanks Team Mom and Pop On Pals for introducing us to a fun new toy!

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Homemade MINT ice pops!

Heather — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:50:35 +0000

So I have made a few batches of watermelon ice pops by throwing some watermelon in the blender with a little water and even less sugar. They are REALLY good! I was watching some annoying show though (Katie Brown workshop, she nauseates me but I was bored) and she made gross looking herb ice pops with stuff like basil and rosemary BUT that gave me the idea to make mint ice pops since I have lots of mint growing! She made a syrup or 2 parts water 1 part sugar but I used 3 parts water and 1 part sugar and that seemed a little too sweet still but just a little! I cooked the syrup with a bunch of whole mint sprigs and then took them out. When I filled the cups I added finely chopped mint leaves and next time I’ll add a lot more because I loved the frozen mint bits. I like my latest way to keep the sticks upright: tape some chopsticks together tightly and shove the sticks in between! I just have too many kids for those silly plastic pop molds and I have only seen them in my local stores that make 4 at a time. I have some lemon syrup on the go right now so my next pops will be lemon/mint. The kids haven’t tried any of the mint ones yet since I think they are maybe just for me (but they like the watermelon a lot).Oh and Reuben was very interested but I didn’t share!

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I don’t love being grumpy!

Heather — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:22:13 +0000

I am in a funk at the moment! I have lots of great product reviews and other stuff to blog about and I want to get those posts up here ASAP but I can’t seem to get my act together lately. There is no one big HORRIBLE thing going on but I am just feeling overwhelmed by things that I should be able to handle. I feel really guilty for being upset lately when there are so many things to be happy about! So basically I am just in a funk but I will get out of it soon because (even when they are challenging) these 4 kids are too cute and lovable to be grumpy around for long!

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HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY BEN!

Heather — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:40:15 +0000

Oh Ben I can’t believe its your birthday AGAIN! How are you growing up so fast? I love you tons. I hope you enjoy the day even though I am a rotten mom and am breaking our cinnamon rolls with a candle birthday breakfast tradition because I didn’t go to the grocery store this week. I will get them before Sunday so you can have them the morning of your party but I will feel incredibly awful tomorrow morning. Not awful enough that I am going to the store at 11:34 pm to go buy some but really close. Anyway I love you Ben and here are some pictures of you as you finished up being 5. It’s going to take me some time to get used to this 6 thing!

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DIY bug jar

Heather — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:56:19 +0000

I try to look at everything that is garbage or recycling to see if I can reuse it for something. Usually I save things for art projects but this time I made a bug jar from a mayonnaise jar. I used a sharp hole puncher (that looks like an ice pick) to add a bunch of holes to the lid and then added 2 holes at the top of the jar to add the rope. The orange rope was actually the handle from a Gymboree shopping bag (nicer stores usually use nice rope or ribbon for handles and I always take it off before recycling the bags). I had intended to write “bug jar” on the finished product but I hate my handwriting! We have lots of bugs, toads and critters my kids like to look at and then release and with a friend over one day they really filled the jar! I guess I should have called it a “toad jar” but that sounds weird! So this was a very simple thing to do but I think it came out nice, the green lid with the orange rope make a nice combo.

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Join Electrolux & Kelly Ripa To Support Ovarian Cancer Research & maybe win a gift card in return!

Heather — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:26:36 +0000

Kelly Ripa and Electrolux have teamed up to create interactive campaigns, all with a singular goal- to support The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). The mission of the OCRF is to fund research to find a method of early detection and ultimately a cure for Ovarian Cancer. Electrolux has committed to donate $750,000 to this worthy cause.

For the latest campaign, all you have to do to help the cause is to make a “virtual banana split” CLICK HERE TO HELP KELLY AND ELECTROLUX BUILD BANANA SPLITS FOR A CAUSE:

Indulge your virtual sweet tooth and build a banana split! Each day you do, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Plus, you’ll be entered for a chance to win the daily prize, $50 toward sweet summer treats, AND the grand prize – the ultimate kitchen “split” – the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.

Mom Select and Electrolux sent me a $25 American Express gift card as a thank you for spreading the word and they are letting me pick a winner of a second $25 gift card!

TO ENTER TO WIN A $25 gift card:

go make a banana split so $1 will be donated (just takes a minute -REALLY easy so you should go back and do it daily!) and leave me a comment with your favorite ice cream sundae
for a second entry subscribe to my blog and let me know in a second comment
open to US mailing addresses only
contest ends Wed July 21, 2010
GOOD LUCK!

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Jamie is FOUR!

Heather — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:28:10 +0000

Wow Jamie turns 4 today! She actually stayed up on the 4th of July until after midnight last night and we sang happy birthday on the car ride home (we had a lot of fun at a friend’s house and it was hard to drag the sleepy kids away). Today we kept with our cinnamon roll birthday breakfast tradition and later we will be heading to Chuck E Cheese for more fun. Her Tinkerbell party will be on Sunday (she has been looking forward to it for MONTHS). This will be Jamie’s first solo party since normally we combine it with Ben’s party. She is inviting her closest preschool friends and her one other close girlfriend that she has had for years. I’m excited for the first super girly party I get to throw! The birthday girl is growing up so fast. John measured everyone recently and Jamie grew 1 3/4 inches since December! I love birthdays but I’m not such a fan of the kids getting older part! Good thing I have all the party stuff to distract me (we’ll have Ben’s party exactly a week later).

Jamie’s current favorites:

show- Caillou

toy- “Super Bunny” & Dino

food- grilled cheese

flavor- chocolate

friend- Greta

animal- goats?

color- purple

desert- birthday cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIE! You are the best little 4 year old and I love you!

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Win a Lawry’s “Get Grilling Kit”

Heather — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:38:17 +0000

Lawry’s and My Blog Spark sent us a “Get Grilling Kit” that included both of the new Lawry´s marinades – Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato and Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ – a set of metal skewers and a big glass marinating dish with a lid. Yay, they will also provide another package for me to give away to one of you! We aren’t huge grillers but we’re going to work on it now that we have some new supplies. I used to be a vegetarian for many years and John doesn’t cook much but having appealing marinades like these gives you some grilling confidence (even if we end up overcooking things they will still have good flavor!). So we haven’t tried them just yet BUT they sound so good and I didn’t want to wait any longer to post the giveaway!

Lawry’s newest marinades allow you to infuse your meals with exotic flavors. The Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato Marinade features extra virgin olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet red bell peppers and the perfect blend of herbs. The Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ Marinade gives meat a delicious sweet and sour flavor with a touch of Szechuan heat. Take your family´s grilled dinner to the next level – Try Lawry´s Tuscan Grilled Lamb Chops with Warm White Beans Provençal recipe featuring the new Tuscan Sun-Dried Tomato Marinade tonight! Looking for a refreshing summer meal? Treat your family to Lawry´s Tequila-Lime Skirt Steak with Avocado Chopped Salad recipe.

For more ways to put a fresh spin on your go-to grilling menu, check out the new pairings from the recently released McCormick® Flavor ForecastTM 2010 Grilling Edition.

For more recipes and Lawry´s marinades that complement the flavor pairings visit the Grilling Flavor ForecastTM website at
http://www.mccormick.com/FlavorForecast/2010FlavorForecastGrilling.aspx .

Visit www.lawrys.com to check-out the full line of Lawry´s products, additional grilling tips and to find delicious recipes for grilling season and beyond!

I found a great Yucatan Shrimp recipe for the stove top so its really not only about the grill.

ENTER TO WIN THE LAWRY’S “GET GRILLING KIT”:

Leave me a comment on this post with your best grilling tip (or really ANY grilling tip since I’m new to this)
US mailing addresses only
Contest ends Sunday July 11, 2010

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