There are over a year’s worth of recipes, along with fun stories of how she came up with them or where she found them, how it turned out and how it was received. The best part is that no indeed they are NOT all masterpieces but she shares them with us with a lot of humility - and even gives ideas on what would’ve improved the flavor etc.

She now also has a book which you can pick up on Amazon but I highly recommend checking out this ingenious and fun blog for new dinner ideas.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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Elefun features four butterfly nets, a whole mess of “butterflies” and an elephant with a 4 foot trunk. You fill the trunk with the butterflies and turn on the elephant - whose trunk will extend outward - shooting butterflies into the air.

It’s pretty, the fluttering butterflies raining down on your living room in rainbow colors.

But then - in the blink of an eye they’re all out of the trunk - and the game is over. (Whomever caught the most wins). Now guess what? You have to reinsert all of the butterflies into the nose of the elephant. Which is a hassle because the end of the nose is narrow and you have to shove them in, then stand up and straighten the nose and shake them into the bottom.

Now, turn it back on again to play. POOF it’s over.

The reloading takes longer than the actual game, and my kids interest waned quickly.  It’s a great concept but if we never get it out again, I’m ok with that. It may make it into my fall garage sale. Thumbs down, we didn’t love it at all.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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Jumbo sunflower seeds are roasted in small batches and then flavored with spices. They come in several flavors - Honey BBQ, Salt and Pepper & Dill Pickle to name a few. 

Each batch is enriched with the same sort of energy boosting compounds you find in energy drinks but with the added health benefits found in sunflower seeds. Plus - no sugar!

It’s an unusual product but for a pick me up of the snacky-variety - this one is fun! I give Sumseeds a prop for innovation and fun.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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I popped into the nail care section the next time I was there and yes indeed, there was this huge array of really inexpensive nail polish in great colors.

I didn’t ask her the important questions though - such as - how does it wear? How often do you have to touch it up?

Because, had I asked I would’ve learned that even with a nice heavy top coat this polish seems to be designed to chip. After trying multiple kinds of top coat/bottom coat/sealer products I could never get this polish to STICK on my nails for more than 1/2 a day.

It’s not a bargain it’s a waste of time and money. Big thumbs down to Pure Ice nail polish.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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It helps me comb through the delicate curls without putting heavy,conditioner into their hair that would weigh their hair down or make it look greasy.

The scent, AWESOME APPLE is also sweet and refreshing. I hate to face bathtime without this staple.

by Gidge

I’m addicted to stopping that irritating little flip OUT at the bottom of  my hair that every single hair stylist on the planet thinks is so cute. I hate it.

Thus, I must use all of my powers to stop it.

And that’s where the CONAIR HOT AIR BRUSH comes in. With just a little gel or mousse, this lovely device takes my wet hair and dries it in the curl I want - which happens to be UNDER. I use it on my bangs and then give the bottom a go round to make sure that all the bits I want curled under ARE curled under and STAY curled under.

It’s a  great alternative to just straightening - which can create a harsher, sharper look than I want most days.

by Gidge

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The funny thing is the products do smell nice and aren’t priced insanely high, so whether you’re buying them as a novelty tongue in cheek, or as a gift for a Sunday School Teacher with a sense of humor - they are actually worth the purchase.  I found mine at a local boutique but you can find a wide selection of products at BlueQ.

You can also find moist towelettes, hand cream, lip balm and many other religious themed products. I’m giving them a Prop for FUN!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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And now I’m a goldfish parent.

I already owned a small 2 gallon aquarium from our adventure owning sea monkeys but didn’t have a filtration system for fish. Two days after depositing our fish in their new home, the water was murky and one was dead. I knew we had to fix that immediately.

I looked for the Whisper brand out of habit, I used to buy that brand back when I was a kid and buying my aquarium supplies with my $3 a week allowance. The 3i in tank filter is designed specifically for tanks 3 gallons or under and is compact and simple to install.  It included one biobag filter cartridge with the filter.

The water cleared up within 24 hours and our fish are now thriving.  The bio-bag replacement filters are inexpensive and this has been a really simple solution to providing clean healthy water to our new family pets.

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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However, when I saw the options of books that were available, my face couldn’t contain the smile. The available books are divided into special occasions and age groups, so there is something for everyone.

As soon I saw the book, “The Monster at the End of this Book” I knew that was the book I wanted to do.  It had been my daughter’s favorite book when she was a child and this book was going to be for her son, Keegan. I could already picture myself reading it to Keegan over and over as I had his mom.

My initial contact with the company representative came in the way of  an email offereing my choice of 3 books to review in Keegan’s age category. The one that I wanted was not among the three and my enthusiasm ebbed a little. I wrote to my contact, Lauren, and she immediately replied that I could do the book of my choice and she would have a voucher issued for that book. 

In fact, every time I had a question, Lauren responded immediately. She was an excellent representative of the company. Once I had my book ordered, it arrived within 2 weeks and is every bit as wonderful as I imagined. 

The entire process was very simple and took less than 15 minutes to complete. I chose a book, uploaded the picture of my choice and typed in the text I wanted on the front page. You can choose the color of the text as well as the size.

The book arrived and it is a hardcover keepsake, the pages were glossy, thick paper that are 8.5 X 11 in size.  It is truly going to be a book that will be enjoyed time and time again and I would highly recommend this company. This recommendation comes not only for their product and prompt customer service, but for the memories that will come from using their product.

Now, I’ve got a book to go read to a very special grandson!

Written by Perri, a homeschooling mom of 6 kids - 2 that are grown and out of the house and 4 younger ones who help wreck and clean the house. Perri also has two precious grandchildren. She spends a lot of time doing ministries with her church, volunteering in the community and baking a mean cheesecake. She blogs about her family’s life at My Life in Bits & Pieces.

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At first it seemed like something fancy and unnecessary but after a few uses, I became addicted. If you aren’t changing your sheets that day, just spritz your pillows and sheets before you make up your bed for the day. Later that night when you return, you’re swaddled in the relaxing scents of essential oils and your sheets smell fresh and clean.

It’s delightful.

Caldrea makes and entire line of home care products, from kitchen cleaning product to baby nursery care items.  If you are looking for cleaning products not made of harsh chemicals, the all natural products at Caldrea have something for every room in the house.

You can purchase them at their website or at various stores - which you can research on their store locator feature.

For natural cleaning power with fresh results, I’m giving Caldrea a prop. Sometime I hope to check out their other products!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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You might remember the old Jarts with the steel tip that was allegedly going to impale your teammates if you didn’t throw it properly?

Well they took them off the market and they disappeared from my psyche until suddenly I saw them again. And I HAD to have them. With a new safety tip that will not impale your friends and neighbors, the new JARTS are just as much fun as the old ones.

I took my oldest into the backyard one night while we cooked out and set the circle targets out on the ground and taught him the art of the underhanded Jarts Throw. After several throws he turned to me and said “Watch and learn, Mom. Watch and learn.”

Jarts are a great outdoor family activity to get everyone outdoor and away from the TV or computer games. A huge prop goes to the return of this fun game!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

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