I love French vanilla creamer in my coffee. But have you ever looked at what is on those bottles. There are chemicals, and oils and words I do not even know what it is. And I have narrowed down, something in those creamers triggers headaches for me. But because I love it in my coffee so much… I still use it, and just deal with the minor ache that it caused.

Then one day, I decided I needed to find a better solution and knew I could make my own. After a quick internet search, I found many sites offered the same exact recipe and thought I would give it a try. I am not going to link to a specific site, because, honestly, I clicked on a dozen sites at least, and they were all the very exact recipe. Homemade French Vanilla Coffee Creamer

What you need: A bottle to hold your creamer, I have seen a lot of people use mason jars. I saved my creamer bottles.

1 – 14 ounce can of sweetened, condensed milk 14 ounces of milk – I use 2% because that is what kind we have in the house

2 Tablespoons of vanilla – The recipes I have seen online call for 1 tablespoon, but I thought it needed a bigger vanilla kick.

Add all of your ingredients into a pitcher or container. If you are using something with a lid, start to shake until it is mixed. I added all of my ingredients into a pitcher and mixed with a whisk. Pour into the container of your choice. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

The post Homemade French Vanilla Coffee Creamer Recipe appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love being in my garden.  I love planting and watering. I even love weeding. There is just something about getting into the dirt, making a mess and then seeing these beautiful plants grow from it all. 

Sometimes, though, if you are short on space or time, and want to be inspired to do something,but are not exactly sure what. The Gro Project from Miracle-Gro has fantastic ideas. 

I can be what inspires you to get creative and crafty. Maybe even come up with some ideas of your own. Some of the fun garden projects you can find featured from Miracle-Gro are an oragami plant holder using paper, rope and a strong ring. How fun would that be to make with the kids. A toyrarium that any kids would get excited about. Or how about giving gifts of seed bombs. Throw Down sis a fun one to make.

Using some seeds, maybe some of your favorite wild flowers, clay and Moisture Control Potting Mix, you mix it all together. Then form little balls about the size of a truffle or a cookie dough ball. Then let them set in in the sun to dry. Once they have gotten hard, wrap them in cheese cloth and a pretty bow. It makes a great gift for anyone. And kids will get a kick out both making and receiving these fun little packages.

What are some of your favorite gardening craft ideas? Do you like to create your own or find them from a website? If you are looking for more ideas, join Miracle-Gro on thier Pinterest page and see lots of fun ideas.

The post Gardening Projects with Miracle-Gro appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

I was sent samples of the Name Bubble Kids Personalized Name labels for review, so that I can share my honest opinion of them with you.

How many times have you sent your kids out somewhere, maybe school, or daycare, camp, anywhere that there are a bunch of other kids, and they manage to lose their coat, water bottle, lunch box, and yes even their shoes. Sadly, I wish I was just saying that, my son lost his show at camp one time. He came home with one shoe on.

My point is, when kids have their items labeled, they are more likely to come home. Or at least be returned at some point. While I have had name labels for Serenity, I had never gotten around to getting some for Willow. So when I heard about Name Bubble, I was pretty excited to work with them. With many label packages to choose from, it was easy to find one that fit what I needed. There is a great package if you have more than one child that needs labels. You can separate it between the kids. You choose the colors and designs that you want. Then you add each name, up to 8.

The waterproof name labels are waterproof, dishwasher safe, and laundry safe. So they can go on anything and everything.

With Willow, she never used sippy cups and did’t have a need for daycare or camp, but she does like to take water bottles when we go places, and she has started preschool now, so she does need her coat, back pack and, yes, even her shoes, labeled.

I also really like to keep her special toys and electronics labeled. My mom has my kids and then my nieces kids, who are all around the same ages, plus other people coming and going in the house. It is not uncommon for one of mine to leave something there, and my mom have no idea whose it is. Plus if I ask my mom if we left such-n-such at her house, she usually just stares at me blankly.

Since I am a tech junkie, my kids tend to be too. Willow has all kinds of toy laptops, 3 kid tablets and a few different educational video game type toys. She also uses an old iphone from time to time. But she doesn’t get to have them often, so when she leaves them somewhere, a lot of time I do not even realize they are missing. I just think she choose something else for her special play time. Then my mom or friend find it at their house and have no idea whose it belongs to.

Now with the new labels, I can label everything.  If someone finds something we have left behind, BOOM, they know it is Miss Willow Tree’s. Also, if the girls have the same exact item, with the Name Bubble labels, I can tell whose is whose, and the kids are happy to have their names on the item because it is personalized to them.

I am very happy with these labels so far. I have some on Willow’s jacket and shoes, and they have been washed, and worn and beaten and still looking perfect. Plus, with all the different designs and packages, there is something for all of the budgets and personalities.

The post Sick and Tired of Losing Your Kids Things? appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

If dogs could talk, what would they say?

Do you think they would ask to go for a walk? Or maybe they would ask you throw them a ball? A belly rub maybe?

Well,  Dogswell Jerky Bars has an idea of what they would say?

What do you think your puppy would say?

This is a Fashionista Events opportunity.

The post If Dogs Could Talk? appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

This is a giveaway and review sponsored by Totino’s and General Mills. While I received samples to help with my post, all opinions are my own.

Totino’s Fans Bring Back Totino’s Mexican Party Pizza

 Have you ever loved a food so much and then one day they stopped making it? How did you handle it? Grumble and moan? Look for a substitute? Well,  David Hlavac, a pizza lover who really loves Totino’s Mexican Style Party Pizza, started Bring Back Totino’s Mexican Style Party Pizza Facebook page. The fan page generated more than 700 followers. General Mills and Totino’s was so moved by his passion that it’s doing just that. For a limited time through May 2013 Mexican Style Party Pizza will be reintroduced at select retailers nationwide.

A complete marketing achievement, Totino’s was actually listening. Too many companies do no pay attention to what their customers actually want.

“We never really know how much consumers latch on to one brand or flavor until it’s gone,” said Carina Sarbaugh, associate marketing manager for Totino’s. “That’s what’s so wonderful about the power of social media, it gives our consumers a platform to tell us how they feel about our products, and we take that very seriously. We’re so happy we could move on this flavor reintroduction given the consumer response, especially for our most loyal fans.”

The flavor was discontinued in 2007 to make room for other Totino’s offerings and to focus on its core party pizza line. Totino’s Mexican Style Party Pizza includes a crisp crust with taco seasoned chicken and beef pizza toppings including green peppers, onions and cheese toppings. The suggested retail price for the 10 oz

“Totino’s was into crowd sourcing long before it was a trend” said DyShaun Muhammad, senior marketing manager for General Mills.” The Totino family built the brand in the 1950′s by listening to their fans and creating recipes based on their preferences. The return of Mexican Style Party Pizza carries on that tradition, but now through the power of social media.”

We love Totino’s. We often grab a few pizzas for a weekend dinner while we are watching a movie, or playing a game together. It makes a great snack for after school too. My kids always love finding Totino’s in the freezer.

To celebrate Totino’s pizza bringing back their Mexican Pizza party, one lucky US reader will win a Totino’s pizza prize pack.

The gift pack includes:

• • Four VIP coupons for 4 free Totino’s Party Pizzas
• Pizza cutter
• Totino’s branded playing cards
• Totino’s pens

Contest ends 5/25 11:59 pm est.

The post Totino’s Mexican Pizza party! (US Giveaway 5/25) appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

Inner-city moms: Do I really need a car?

Living in the city has a lot of advantages. Whether it’s schools, shopping amenities or transport links you’re after, it’s all within a stones throw away. If you’re a parent living in the city, however, you’ll have many other things to think about. When it comes to the school run, grocery shopping and traveling to work, for example, things can get complicated. Here, PassSmart take a look at whether being a mom and a motorist in the city pays.

Financial costs

One of the biggest things to think about when considering driving in the city is whether it’s going to be financially beneficial. Although, when living in the city, you won’t have far to travel, you will have to sit in more rush hour traffic jams. If your car doesn’t have stop-start technology, you could end up spending money on fuel whilst not even moving.

You’ll need to think about how much you really need a car. Would walking be a better option, or could you take public transport? When you add up all of the costs of buying, insuring, taxing and fueling a vehicle, it’s not always the most cost-effective option.

The school run

The school run may well be a deal-breaker for you. The thought of sending your little one off to school on public transport in the city will probably fill you with fear, and this is why a car can become a necessity for many parents. Find out whether there are any walk-to-school schemes in your area and look into carpooling as an option.

The working mom

If you’re a working mom, you’re likely to have a pretty tight schedule to stick to. Having your own car means you won’t have to rely on public transport to get from A to B, but you will have to tackle parking in the city. Although owning a car may seem like the most convenient option, you should consider whether you’ll end up paying your weight in parking tickets just to park it near work!

Exercise!

Relying on public transport may not be everyone’s idea of fun, but there is one blessing in disguise. Getting active isn’t always easy when you’re a busy working mom, but the convenience of your own vehicle can often mean exercise doesn’t even get a look in.

Think about whether or not driving is really necessary for every journey and, where possible, walk or catch the bus instead.

How big is your brood?

Of course, reliance on a vehicle all depends on how big your family is! It’s just not realistic to be ferrying the kids around on the bus – let alone with all the grocery bags too!

This content comes from the team at PassSmart.com.

The post Inner-city moms: Do I really need a car? appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

Global Cuisine – What is your favorite?

Trying food from all four corners of the world has long been an ambition of mine, but I thought that in order to achieve it, I would have to do an awful lot of travelling. To start, I decided to travel country by country from my local restaurants, as they were relatively close by and cheaper to get to.

Italy was my first stop, and what I tried at the local restaurants was amazing! The same went for Spain and France, while Germany was better than I expected it to be. After a lot of globetrotting, I realized that I preferred some cuisines over others. Here are my three favorites:

Indian/Pakistani

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When it comes to depth of flavor, use of vegetables and meat together and careful use of spices, Indian food cannot be beaten. Although I haven’t been to India personally, I have visited cities with large Indian communities in the UK where immigrants from the country make authentic dishes using recipes from back home. Whether I snack on Bombay potatoes and tarka dhal or devour a plateful of chicken pasanda, I know I won’t be disappointed.

Chinese

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Similarly great for using spices, but in its own unique way, Chinese cuisine usually has at least one dish that caters for someone’s palate. Sweet dishes, sour ones, spicy ones and mild ones are, at their best, equally delightful.

Personally, my favorite dish is duck pancakes. I like slices of tender duck breast married with julienne cucumber, spring onion and carrot that’s dressed in hoisin sauce and wrapped in a thin pancake. It’s a great appetizer.

Mexican

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I’m a huge fan of spicy food, and nowhere does it quite like Mexico! Give me a bowl of chilli or a taco topped with sliced jalapeños and I’m happy for the next half an hour, but I also like the more mild dishes like, quesadillas. Mexican food makes good use of staples like rice and beans, and it often uses cheese well, especially in quesadillas that are stuffed with grilled vegetables.

Source

One of my fantasies involves going to a restaurant which serves food from all over the world, but until recently, I thought that’s all it would be. After visiting this new place I’d never heard of, I realised that trying different cuisines in one sitting was fun and a treat for the taste buds!

The post Global Cuisine- What is your Favorite? appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

 Post and giveaway sponsored by Carter’s, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.”

I have 4 beautiful kids. And they mean the entire world to me. Everything I do is focused around my kids. And I pretty much have one with me at every moment of the day, with those rare exceptions I need to go somewhere, usually for the blog, that kids would just be distracting to the situation. It honestly only happens every few months. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

There is nothing like when my teens come home and actually give me a hug, in front of their friends!, or when Serenity can not wait to tell me about her day, or when Willow wants to snuggle all afternoon.

This year on Mother’s Day, I have to say, it was the very best Mother’s Day ever. It was fantastic. The kids all got along, hubby bought me flowers from the kids and we spent the day in the park, climbing rocks and seeing water falls. It was such a great day. But honestly, with Moms doing everything we do, we all deserve to be celebrated every day. Count on Carter’s to keep celebrating Moms well beyond Mother’s Day. Tell Carter’s why you love being a Mom and share a photo of you with your little (or big) ones for a chance to win!

Count on Carter’s to celebrate Mom Sweepstakes

·       Once you “Like” Carter’s on Facebook, you can enter for your chance to win $100,000, plus outfit your children for an entire year in the cutest Carter’s kids or baby clothes with a $5,000 gift card.
·        Once you enter, you’re eligible for a chance to win*!
o        One grand prize winner: $100,000 plus a $5,000 Carter’s gift card
o        Ten second prize winners: $1,000 Visa gift cards (total $10,000)
o        Ninety third prize winners:  $100 Carter’s gift cards (total $9,000)
o        You could also be one of 250 instant winners and win a Carter’s gift card valued at $10-$50.
*See the Official Rules for complete prize details and restrictions.
·        Visit Carters on Facebook daily to play the instant win game for a chance to win a Carter’s gift card valued at $10-$50. It’s easy, fast and fun. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Carter’s 100,000 Ways To Celebrate Moms Sweepstakes ends 6/3/13. Mothers, 18+, 50 US/DC/PR only. Visit Carter’s Facebook page for Official Rules/details and alternative method of entry instructions.

Do you shop at Carter’s for your kids? Is there a store close by you? Personally, Carter’s is one of my favorite places to get clothes for Willow. I have noticed that the price is comparable to some other store, but the clothes stay looking like new, much longer, and can handle all of the abuse that my family puts them through.

In addition to the Carter’s contest hosted on their site and Facebook, I am teaming up with Carter’s to offer you a chance to win a $50 Carter’s gift card. A great way to celebrate mom is by helping out with the kids clothes. Hey, maybe, if you have a Carter’s gift card to use to buy the kids clothes, you can have some extra money to for a dinner out, or some new clothes for MOM!

Contest is open to US Residents, and ends May 29th, 11:59 pm est.

    Must disclose partnership in all Facebook posts affiliated with programCarter’s partnered with bloggers such as me to help promote Carter’s “100,000 Ways to Celebrate Moms” Sweepstakes. As part of the program, I received product or gift cards.  Carter’s believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words, and therefore did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products I used. Carter’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. The winner of any giveaway in this program will be randomly chosen and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.

The post 100,000 Ways to Celebrate Moms Sweepstakes and $50 GC Giveaway (US 5/29) #Sponsored appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Magisto. I received a promotional code for premium features to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

I am a complete picture junkie. I love snapping all kinds of shots of, well, everything. I take random pictures of things all the time. And I think my kids cringe as soon as they see the camera, or my phone, in my hands. They know I will be grabbing happy shots, and silly shots, and against their will shots. most of the time, they join in and have fun.

But since I take so many pictures, it seems like most of my pictures chill out on my phone, on my computer and in Dropbox. I love to share them, but sometimes, it seems like I need a more fun way to share them. Making movies are always fun, and people usually like to see them in a more creative way.

Well, Magisto was looking for people who love pictures and movies to try out their app.  I was happy to give it a try. Like I need a reason to play with photos.

The app is really easy to use and navigate. After installing it for iPhone, Android, or on the web, decide if you are using pictures and videos from your gallery or if you are going to shoot a video. If choosing from your gallery, select the videos, add a theme, pick some music and you are good to go. Using the free version, you can add 5 photos, or combination of photos and videos. And if you use code momsrule, you can get 3 free downloads until the end of May.

I choose a few snapshots from Mother’s Day, because, well, it was honestly the best Mother’s day I have ever had. So it was fun to narrow down a few pictures. I added one very short video of Joey hitting the rocks at Ringing Rocks, and the rest of the pictures were from the hike around Ringing Rocks. While my movie is short, I love how cute it came out. I am anxious to play with some more.

Details About the Magisto Mother’s Day Contest and Charitable Partnership with Joan Osborne: 
Magisto has teamed up with multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy nominee Joan Osborne to celebrate Mother’s Day with a new form of music discovery that brings together powerful user-generated video production technology and musical artistry. Joan’s new song “Born To See You Through”, which celebrates her role as a mother, will be featured as a musical selection in the Mother’s Day challenge when participants create their movies that tell “Why I love being a Mom” or “Why I love my Mom.”

From now until May 13, 2013, all Magisto-created movies that include the hashtag #MagistoMoms in their title will be entered to win special prizes. Videos will be shared and available for viewing on a Mother’s Day-themed social scrapbook that will be hosted on the Magisto website. The users whose Movies get the most Likes on Magisto will win the following prizes:

• Grand Prize: Samsung Galaxy Note Tablet
• Second Place: Joan Osborne’s new CD + handwritten lyrics to ‘Born to See You Through’
• Runners up: 50 runners up will receive 1-year Magisto Pro upgrades

Magisto’s Mother’s Day challenge coincides with the first annual Mother’s Day benefit concert hosted by Osborne with special guests Ollabelle and Elizabeth Mitchell at NYC’s City Winery on May 12th. This concert will help benefit these two charities: Somaly Mam Foundation and Save the Children.

Do you a picture and video junkie? What magic moments, or just everyday moments, would you love to capture and share as a movie?

The post Movie Making Made Easy with Magisto #MagistoMoms appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.

I have partnered with Silver Dolphin and MerryMakers Inc to offer you this Little Critter Plush Giveaway. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Did you know that May is get caught reading month?

Do you remember reading  Little Critter to your Little Critter? Well, right now there are some exciting things going on with Mercer Mayers books and character.

Beloved author Mercer Mayer and Little Critter are participating in the Association of American Publisher’s (AAP) national “Get Caught Reading” celebrity poster campaign, for the first time this year. Created to inspire a love of reading in people of all ages, Mercer Mayer appears in a poster together with Little Critter as they are “caught reading” an original copy of the book, Little Critter’s The Trip,celebrating the print edition’s transition into Silver Dolphin Books award-winning app, The Trip – Little Critter Reading Adventure.  These posters are made available to teachers and parents for use in classrooms, libraries and other locations throughout the country.  The posters are free, but the AAP asks that you pay $5.00 per set for shipping & handling.  Posters can be ordered here!

More fun to help celebrate Mercer Mayer and his Little Critter series: For one week, during Children’s book Week, May 13–19, 2013, Silver Dolphin Books is reducing the price of The Trip – Little Critter Reading Adventure app from $3.99 to just $0.99, available worldwide through iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Google Play.

And the most fun part of all: Right now is the VERY FIRST time that Little Critter has been available as a doll! This 11 inch doll is  safe for all ages and perfect for ages 2 to 8, and retails for $18.00. The Little Critter Doll will be available for purchase at MerryMakers Inc. on May 20. But you can enter to win one right now. One US reader can win one of these cute little dolls for themselves.

Contest ends 5/28 at 1:59 pm est and is open to US residents.

The post Mercer Mayer and Little Critter Get Caught Reading – Little Critter Plush Giveaway (US 5/28) appeared first on The Spring Mount 6 Pack.