Horizon Chocolate Milk Winners!

The winners are in! Thanks for playing along on the cow naming game everyone! I may just have to get my own milk cow now that I have so many awesome names for her!

And the winners are.....

Chels: She'll name her cow Chewy.

&

Sarah: Her cow will be named Gerturde

Congrats Ladies! You're family is going to love ya for this one!

Tips For Throwing An Inexpensive Party

Coming from large families, when we have a party it typically consists of at least 40 guests. Of course we love having everyone there, so I've learned some frugal ways for party planning. Hope they help!

Make your own cake. Don't let this intimidate you. Find pictures of cakes online and give it a shot. You'll surprise yourself with what you can do, even without loads of fancy decorating supplies.

Don't pay for your venue if you don't have to. Our home is much too small to entertain a large crowd, but we have been able to reserve a room in our church house for family gatherings. It is so nice to be able to have all of our family together! Of course, summer birthdays are great for outside parties.

Set a budget and stick with it.

Decide on a theme early so you can keep your eye out for finds at the best price.

Get creative with decor. Buying character decor at a party store can get pricey. See what you can come up with on your own.

Use color! Let me explain...instead of buying Elmo plates, Elmo napkins, Elmo cups, Elmo tablecloths, etc, etc, buy one or two of these character items and buy solid primary colors (or whatever your color theme is) for the rest. If you're hosting a large group, you will save a load buying this way, and best of all, it looks great to incorporate the fun colors of your theme.

Use your family and friends for entertainment. It's fun to come up with talents your family members might have, like juggling, doing magic, a dog that can do tricks, etc. Take advantage of these and entertain your little and big guests for free!

Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk Giveaway and Review!

I was lucky enough to be contacted by the Horizon company to try out their Organic DHA Omega-3 Chocolate Milk. It could not have been at a better time. I have recently become more aware of the importance of organic dairy and meat. Studies suggest that the growth hormones, often given to cows for the purpose of producing large amounts of milk, can be harmful to our health increasing our risk of cancer, diabetes, sterility, infertility, birth defects, and early puberty in children. All good reasons to avoid them as much as possible.

This is why I am so glad to have wholesome companies like Horizon offer untainted milk produced without antibiotics, pesticides, cloning, or growth hormones, along with a USDA certified organic seal.

Now, this delicious chocolate milk is also available with DHA Omega-3. The benefits of this are countless for all ages, but it is especially important for children. It assists their tissue, brain, and eye development. The stuff is found in breast milk (or liquid gold as my husband likes to call it)...need I say more?

We did our taste test a few nights ago and boy was it yummy. 2 yr old T didn't have a response other than chugging his entire cup and immediately asking for more. My husband said there was a certain flavor that seemed different from other chocolate milks and I correctly identified it to be a malty flavor. Honestly, it tasted as if we were drinking a chocolate malt....delish! So, we give it 6 thumbs up!

On to the giveaway. Two of you lucky winners will receive coupons for two FREE half gallons of this tasty and healthy chocolate milk & two $1 off coupons.

Simply:

• Be a follower (right hand side)
• Leave a comment telling me what you might name your milk cow if you had one...or whatever else is on your mind today.

I'll announce the winners next Thursday, so all entries must be in by Wednesday, March 10.

Just to start it off, I believe I'd name my milk cow Blue because I like the thought of referring to her as "Old Blue." That is all...let the contest begin!

How To Throw a Rockin' Elmo Party!

Ok, I may be patting myself on the back a little too hard with that title, but the way T's eyes lit up when he walked into his party really made me feel like I had done a super job. I swear I wouldn't have gotten a bigger reaction had I taken him to Disneyland.

We were able to use a room in our church house for the party. I used birthdaypartyideas.com to get my mind thinking. They have a ton of creative ideas for Elmo parties.

I used my favorite site, coolest-birthdaycakes.com, to get ideas

for making this cake. I used a toothpick to draw his

face by hand (hence the crooked smile),

and then filled him in with a star tip.

Extras for the big crowd.

My most favorite party creation, the famous Sesame Street sign.

This was simple to make. I used a wrapping paper roll and a shoe box,
painted them green to make the post.
Then cut a hole in the shoebox to push the pole through.
I made the actual sign out of card stock.
I attached the white balloon with a long piece of thread by pulling it all the way to the
shoe box and taping it down.

What would an Elmo Party be without Dorothy the goldfish?
This was a surprise gift for T. She is the cutest little
Pearl scale Goldfish!

This was the main table seen as one walked in.
T loves letters, so I got those from the dollar store.
The sign says "Elmo's World" and I let T color that himself.

Cake Table!

I got all of the SS pictures from the fronts

and backs of dollar store coloring books. They turned

out great and were way cheaper than buying actual

Elmo party decor....and bonus, we got lots of new

coloring books!

For games we played "Guess How Many Cookies are in Cookie Monster Jar,"

and Sesame Street Trivia. I got lots of fun trivia from this site, and then came

up with a bunch of easy qs on my own from just watching Sesame

Street with T.

Iggy's Coupon

One of my husband's fave places to eat is Iggy's, and I like it too, why? Well, because I get to use a coupon of course;) Just about every time I've looked, they have coupons for free Banana Cream Pie on the main page of their website. I wish every restaurant would do nice things like that. So, go visit Iggy's for a date night and enjoy some free banana cream pie!

Pure Vanilla Extract

I recently ran out of my imitation vanilla extract, and had a crazy idea to splurge for the real stuff.....NEVER going back. Holy cow, this stuff makes all of my food and sweets so much better. My favorite frosting recipe has never been better!

If you've never tried the switch, promise me you'll do it, at least once. I know that little glass jar of pure is twice as much as the huge plastic container of imitation, but pick one up and save it for special occasions.

Oh, and just a tid bit of gee whiz (because my husband asked and I didn't know), vanilla extract comes from the vanilla bean, which is the fruit of the Vanilla Orchid Flower. They're picky about where they grow, and are most commonly found in Mexico where they are now hand-pollinated, harvested, and cured. The entire process takes about 13-14 weeks. Aw, so that's why the bottle of the real stuff jacks up my grocery bill.

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

Ok, this recipe rocked my world, and has since found it's way into my "regulars" spot. I was snooping around pillsbury.com when I found it, along with a few other good-looking recipes I haven't tried quite yet. The best part about it is my 2 yr. old nearly ate one all himself! Yes, when my toddler is eating without me having to chase him around the house with a spoon, I have struck gold.

I didn't add the Pimientos, and I made it with 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Also, you can brush the tops with egg whites instead of butter for the same effect while saving a few calories. Point is, it was still very tasty with some calorie friendly changes.

Savory Chicken Squares

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon chopped pimientos, if desired
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
1 tablespoon LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted
3/4 cup seasoned croutons, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

1.Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, mix cream cheese and 1 tablespoon softened butter; beat until smooth. Add chicken, chives, salt, pepper, milk and pimientos; mix well.

2.Separate or cut dough into 4 rectangles. If using crescent dough, firmly press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners of dough to center of chicken mixture; twist firmly. Pinch edges to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops of sandwiches with 1 tablespoon melted butter; sprinkle with crushed croutons.

3.Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Super Bowl Buffalo Wing Dip

While there is a National Man Day (see here), I refer to Super Bowl Sunday as my husband's Man Day. He's allowed to fill up on lots of spicy foods, unbutton his pants, and yell like a hooligan (minus the 3 hours he is expected to be in church), all with zero complaints from me. In fact, I encourage it each year with his favorite football watchin' dish: The Buffalo Wing Dip. He begs for this stuff all year long, and for Super Bowl Sunday it is a must!

I got the recipe a few years back from allrecipes.com. The submitter calls it Monday Night Hot Wing Dip:

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup ranch salad dressing
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place the chicken breasts into a saucepan and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat until chicken is tender enough to be pulled apart with a fork.
3. Drain and cool until cool enough to touch. Shred or chop chicken and place in a 1 to 2 quart casserole.
4. Mix the cream cheese into the chicken until well blended, then stir in the ranch dressing and hot sauce. Top with Cheddar cheese.
5. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbly.



We like to eat it with Nacho Cheese Doritos! YUM!

How to Clean Your Pillows

Welcome to another edition of "Because Martha Said So."

Call me a grossey, but I've never washed my pillows. I actually didn't even think you could. I buy new pillows about once a year, but Martha (or Martha's staff) said I shouldn't have to if I am washing my pillows every 6 months. Here are the instructions given in the January issue of Martha Stewart Living:

• Use mild liquid detergent (not powder)
• Launder in pairs to keep your machine balanced.
• Run them through the rinse cycle twice to ensure they're fully rinsed.
• Dry them on low heat with unused tennis balls (wrapped in clean white socks).

So yes, I did this today because Martha said so, and boy oh boy are my pillows fluffy and clean. It even removed the drool stains! Success....I can't wait to hit the sack tonight!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Your possibilities are endless with a box of cake mix and a tub of frosting. Here is one of my favorite varieties of cake mix cookies.

1 Box of Devil's Food cake mix

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup water

For the cookie portion, simply mix up the above ingredients, then drop onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 11-15 minutes. The thing with these is to find just the right amount of baking time for your oven, and resist the urge to overcook. When "just right" they will be nice and soft even a day or two after baking.

1 tub of chocolate frosting

1/4 tsp. of mint extract

Yep, just dump that 1/4 tsp. of mint into the tub and mix er' up.

There you have it! Yummy cookies in a flash. I also came across this fantastic site called Recipe Goldmine, with a list of just about everything you can do with a cake mix. Love it! I try to always have some cake mixes on hand for quick treats to offer guests, or party take-alongers.

Valentine Treats

I just happened to catch the last couple days of Good Things Utah during my morning sweat (Yes, I was working out and drooling over these sinful creations at the same time, with no shame I might add), and had to share these cute ideas.

I love the simple idea of drizzling thinned icing over the frosted cookie.

You can find the entire recipe here: Kneaders Sugar Cookies

These are mini cinnamon rolls on lollipop sticks. Is that adorable or what?

I really adore the idea of putting treats on the sticks and adding some

colorful ribbon. It doesn't take much time, yet adds

that special dose of thoughtfulness and love!

I think I'll try it with my favorite, Oreo Chocolates.

You can find the full recipe here: Simply Sweet Minis

I just love pretty things!!

Birthday Party Planning

I can't believe it's that time again, but my little T is turning 2. So, the last few weeks I have been brainstorming ideas for a fun birthday party. Just thought I'd share my favorite free sites for birthday party ideas, and share some fun ideas from what I chose to do last year.

I like to start with these two sites for finding ideas for the party and cake. The best thing about these particular sites is that they are not selling party supplies, etc. My main goal in party planning is to get as creative as I can, so I don't have to spend a load of cash. These both give great ideas by other party throwing parents.

The first is birthdaypartyideas.com. You can find great themed party ideas.

The second is coolest-birthday-cakes.com. There are so many great cake ideas with instructions on how to create them at home. Every time I see one I like I think, "Oh, I can't do that," but once I read the instructions, it doesn't seem so hard.

Alright, so on to last year. I had a blast with T's 1st birthday! I chose a circus theme. For food, we had hot dogs, nachos, root beer, and peanuts. I also handed out bags of popcorn and had popcorn on each table. I decorated all in primary colors, and used streamers to make a circus tent appearance. I found tons of cute circus stuff at the dollar stores, like popcorn bags, circus figurines for center pieces, circus coloring books for grab bags. These were the center pieces, along with balloons and confetti at each table.

For entertainment, I had my dad dress up like a clown, had my husband juggle and dress up as a dancing gorilla, and had my sister dress up as a bearded lady. Also, as the kids came in, I had T's Aunt do face painting. The dancing gorilla was probably a favorite. He came running out to every kid's favorite song, "I like to move it, move it," from Madagascar, and they all danced around with him. So fun!

I dressed T in a little clown costume a friend helped me make.

The kids were also able to make their own clown hats with stickers and colored circles. I made the clown hats out of regular colored birthday cone hats by adding streamer paper around the edge, and then gluing a pon pon to the top. They each had a clown nose in their grab bag to put on during the party.

Finally, I made a clown cake for the party guests. I found a picture online to give me

this idea, and just used a toothpick to trace the clown face.

Oh yes, and that is one of the clown noses I gave to each child.

I made this lion as T's personal cake. Again, I just found a

pic online and copied. That is a regular round cake with triangles cut out

around the edge.

I heart birthday parties! Anyone have a favorite themed party they have put on?

I believe I'm going to go with Elmo/Sesame Street this year. I'll share

when I get it all together!

How to Hem Jeans While Keeping the Original Hem.

I still have nightmares from wearing hemmed jeans in Junior High. I get my very first super cute pair of Lucky's and they come back from the seamstress looking not so cute or cool. Sound familiar? Somehow I survived that horrible teen tragedy, but I still don't like the look of hemmed jeans.

Well, I just scored some adorable jeans from Old Navy at their winter clearance. While a few inches too long, I was not about to ruin them by cutting off the original hem, so I found this crazy easy tutorial on YouTube and tried it out. It only took about 20-30 minutes and I was so pleased with the results. It is also very forgiving, since you're not cutting anything off, you can always rip out the stitches and start over if you mess up or go to short.

It will really pay for you to watch the tutorial, but I'll give you the basic directions here:

• Decide how much you want to take off and then divide that number in half. For me, I wanted to take off 3 inches, so I rolled the pant leg up 1.5 inches (not counting the original hem portion).
• Check to be sure it is nice and even with a measuring device all the way around as you iron the edge and pin the bottom like so......

• Do a straight stitch all the way around as close as you can to the original hem line. I used white thread. If you do it correctly, you shouldn't be able to see the thread at all, so it really doesn't matter what color you use. I used a sewing machine, although I suppose you could do it carefully by hand also.
• Flip the pant leg under and iron flat. Here's what you'll get...pants that get to keep their style;)

I also shortened some khaki pants for my husband and they turned out great too!

Because Martha Said So.

How do I explain my obsession/crush/jealousy for Martha Stewart? I just can't put it into words, but when Martha says to do something, dang it, I'm doing it! And, now that I'll be getting Martha Stewart LIVING each and every month, I'm going to be one busy girl!

This month, on Martha's calendar, she said to freeze white vinegar in ice cube trays and then grind them in the garbage disposal to freshen. Genious! Check and check.

Easy Valentine's Day Crafts

My crafting expertise never strays far from Modge Podge, so here are two adorable, quick, and inexpensive ideas to craft yourself up some fun Valentine's Day decor. Remember to rummage through your scrap booking and crafting supplies to use paper and embellishments you may already have:

For the XOXO I bought the letters pre-cut from Joanne's crafts .
Traced the shapes onto the back of my chosen Valentiney scrap paper.
Covered the letter with modge podge, then pressed the paper on smoothly.
Covered the paper with modge podge.
Allow to dry, then decorate as you please. I used those cute little flowers, added buttons to the center, and used sticky dots to connect them to the letters.

For the LOVE Blocks, I bought a scrap 2x4 from Home Depot, and ordered the vinyl (some craft stores do sell pre-cut vinyl and blocks).

I like my blocks being different sizes, so I cut the wood by measuring the height of each letter, and mixing it up.

I chose to paint the blocks pink, but it also looks great to simply stain the wood.

Then Modge Podge the paper on.

Allow to dry, and apply the vinyl.

And, of course these make great bday gifts for those January birthdays!

The Ultimate Cloth Review

Love, Love, Loved having the opportunity to try out The Ultimate Cloth! The company claimed that I would be able to clean my windows, counter tops, bathroom, and essentially any hard surface with the cloth. They also claimed I would only use water and no longer need chemicals for cleaning. I was skeptical, but I received mine about a month ago and have since put it to good use.

I first had to try out the windows. It was hard to believe the material would clean without streaking, but surprisingly, it really did.

I then used it to wipe down the kitchen; counter tops, microwave, highchair, even the floor. It did wipe grime and such away pretty easily. My usual process is to spray down the sticky/grimy areas with cleaner, then wipe away. The cloth seemed to do the same job without the cleaner. I also clamped the cloth onto the mop attachment of my steam cleaner and that did an excellent job on my floors, even better than the cotton fabric that came with the cleaner.

Finally, I used it in the bathroom. Once again, it worked amazingly well for not having first sprayed the grime with a cleaner. The soap scum came right off with just water and a touch of elbow grease. This is where I began to worry about the disinfectant properties. It was hard for me to feel like it was clean when I didn't have a chemical buzz when finishing, but heck, it looked clean, and I checked the company's site to see that the cloth has been lab tested to remove 96% of bacteria.

It's easy to clean the cloth by simply throwing it in the washing machine, and the company gives a 5 year guarantee on each cloth. So, I give the Ultimate Cloth an envy worthy thumbs up! It is simple to use, an efficient Eco-friendly way to clean, a time saver, and safe to have in the home. All mom friendly!

You can try one out by just paying shipping and handling of $2.99 here.

Smile Makeover

A little over 2 months ago, T trys to lug his blanket up grandma's cement porch steps, and ends up smacking his mouth on a step.....tears, hurt pride, another blood stained shoulder for mom, but he makes it through, although now his front tooth is turning grey.

I'm kind of freaking out. I know it's not his permanent tooth, but I remember seeing pictures of this happening to my older brother, I'll be honest, he was no glamour child. Between the black tooth and the newborn cross eyes, it's amazing he ever came through okay and got a hot girl to marry him;)

Ok, so back to T and his greying tooth. I've been trying to decide if I should take him to the dentist, knowing full well there's probably not a lot to be done, but I do have lots of questions like: Will it for sure get worse and completely fall out? Is there a chance it will get better? Can it be replaced with a fake tooth so he doesn't have to One-Toothed-Willey until he's like 8?

So, I started searching around for some answers before tying him down to a dentist chair (which would be torture for everyone involved). I found this great dentistry blog by a dentist in Alabama, Dr. Dean Brandon. It has wonderful answersa and info. to this problem and many more. I hope I don't have to visit his blog again, but with a wild man child, I'm afraid I'll have to stick it on my favorites list. The pic below is from his blog. T's tooth isn't quite this dark yet.


Dr. Brandon states that most baby teeth actually do lighten back up after about 6 months, HURRAY! So that means there's a good chance T won't be One-Toothed-Willey, just dark toothed for half a year! He explains it to work like a bruise inside the tooth, although it takes longer to recover because there is not a good blood supply. This totally relieved my concerns.

He also warns to watch the tooth carefully because if it does get dark and stays dark, occasionally the tooth can abscess. If you are concerned about this it's best to get and X-Ray.

Have any of your kids had this problem? Did they lose their tooth or did it darken and then re-lighten?

POM Wonderful Smoothie

Pomegranates are packed with some of the most powerful antioxidants you can find in nature and now POM Wonderful brings these amazing benefits to us year round in a delicious juice! I was lucky enough to be contacted by the company to sample and try out their 100 % pomegranate juice in some recipes.

My favorite thing to do with it is simply replace the milk in smoothies. There are few of us who ever have trouble getting our servings of dairy in, so why not switch it out for a punch in the face to all those cancer-causing free radicals floating around in our bodies? Oh, and it tastes great, too!

For my morning smoothies, I typically start with a simple base of:

1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
5-6 ice cubes
1/2 cup POM juice

Then add any combo of the following:

Strawberries
Banana
Blueberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Frozen OJ

The berries should add up to 1 cup, plus or minus a little if you add a banana, and that should make 2 servings. I buy the Great Value brand of frozen berries in Strawberry and Mixed. It's the best deal I've found plus there are zero additives, just frozen berries.

Drinking one each morning has really helped me to get breakfast in, as they are super quick. I've even been able to lose a few pounds and keep it off through the holidays. It helps control my hunger so I don't binge on leftover mac and cheese at lunch time (Seriously, isn't that every mom's arch enemy?). What a great way to start the day! You're welcome body!

See here for more recipes using POM Wonderful Juice.