What a fun interview that was and I want to thank Trish Suhr for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with me. I hope that you learned a lot in that half hour and I enjoyed getting to share all of our giveaways this week too.

Click above to listen to this episode at anytime or visit our sidebar on the left-hand side to listen to the episodes anytime throughout the week. These episodes are also available in iTunes format for you to take on the go!

Here are some of the resources that were highlighted in today's episode:

Pledge Cleaning Quiz We uploaded this fun little quiz from Pledge to figure out what type of cleaning habits you have. A huge thank you to Pledge Multi-Surface for sponsoring the giveaways for our show this week.

Clean House- Trish hosts this great show on the Style Network. You can catch the show Wednesdays at 10/9 Central.

Gearing Up for Summer- This article will offer some helpful little tips for getting your house ready as summer quickly approaches. Get that grill gleaming again and tidy up that patio furniture so you can really enjoy your time outside this year.

Spring Cleaning For Today's Mom- This article offers some insight on how to make that spring cleaning a little more manageable this year.

Happy Homemaking the Homemade Way- If you can't afford the expensive cleaners, this article will guide you into making cleaners at home that are better for the earth and easier on the wallet!

On next week's show...

Next week we will be joined by Charlene, from My Frugal Adventures, who will be sharing with us her tips on choosing a budget-friendly wine. Charlene has over nine years of experience in the wine industry and brings with that a lot of knowledge on how to spot the best deals on great wines, what pitfalls to watch out for when choosing a wine, and how to care for/store wine so it will last longer.

Labels: Podcast

On MomAdvice Simplified, we are joined by Trish Suhr, the amazing co-host of “Clean House” on the Style Network, to help offer us tips on keeping our homes in tip top shape. Trish has some great tips for making our homes the sanctuaries that they should be and offers valuable advice on ditching the clutter in our homes so we can truly enjoy it. Trish is lovely and dynamic and I had the best time interviewing her. Talking to her was like chatting with an old friend and I hope you will enjoy this interview half as much as I enjoyed conducting it!

This podcast airs weekly at 2PM EST each Thursday. Due to Trish's busy schedule, we did have to pre-record the interview portion, but we will be offering a great giveaway for five of our listeners sponsored by Pledge Multi Surface.

Labels: Podcast

Experiment: Can I make yummy homemade bread?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 04.15.09

Materials Needed: Please see Dine & Dish for the full instructions. I followed the instructions exactly. I did have to add about 1/4 cup extra flour because the dough was a little too sticky.

Results: I was excited to try this recipe for "Honey, I'm Home Bread" because it looked so delicious and I could use my bread machine to make it. I layered in all of the ingredients and turned on my bread machine to do the work. When I peeked at the dough, it looked like it needed a little more flour so I worked that into the loaf.


As you can see, the bread rose beautifully. It rose so high, in fact, that when it baked it hit the top of my oven and got a little dip in the center (thus, the off-center pictures here). The bread looked golden and smelled delicious.

Unfortunately, it got very brown on the outside after 35 minutes of baking, but when I cut into it, it was still dough in the center. I am not sure if it was because I use stoneware versus a glass loaf pan, but the inside of the loaf did not come out the way I hoped.

Regardless, I am going to try this recipe again and maybe just cook it in the bread machine instead or try a different loaf pan. We did eat around the dough parts because we can't let good bread like that go to waste. It was absolutely deliciously sweet from the honey and a perfect balance of flavors.

I refuse to give up though which is why this is not a failed experiment in my book!

Conclusion: Thanks to Dine & Dish for giving me a recipe that I can't wait to attempt again!

Related Links:

Getting to Know Your Bread Machine

Adventures in Bread Making: Artisan Bread in 5

Storing Homemade Bread & Bread Ingredients

********************

I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Notebook Experiments, Recipes

I had no idea that you could make mozzarella at home (@ Scribbit)

This all-natural cleaning supplies basket would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift (@ Simple, Green, Frugal Co-Op)

Making these shadow puppets would be a fun-filled family night (@ Gardening Without Skills)

I love this free pillowcase pattern for a beginning sewer (@ Karlee Fruchs)

These waffle dishcloths are adorable and would make a wonderful gift (@ Freda's Hive)

I love these fabric-covered headbands (@ mmm crafts)

I want to make this rainbow cake for the kids (@ shelterrific)

These fudgewiches look absolutely heavenly (@ plumpudding)

This is a wonderful tutorial for making your own cloth napkins (@ Skip to My Lou)

I am loving this circus party theme for a birthday (@ armelle blog)

I can't decide if I want to make the banana peanut butter granola or the bacon, mushroom, & broccoli quiche this week (@ Annie's Eats)

These brownie bottom ice cream cupcakes would be a fun summer treat (@ Joy the Baker)

I am going to have to try this DIY version for cream of mushroom soup (@ Serious Eats)

I want to try this lasagna recipe (@ Tidy Mom)

These graham cracker chewy bars would be a hit as a Father's Day gift (@ LA Times)

These are some wonderful tips for how to be Craigslist savvy (@ Small Notebook)

I love this teacup pincushion (@ Gingham Cherry)

This paper flower wreath would be beautiful for a wedding shower (@ Once Wed)

I love this recipe for naturally-dyed playdough (@ One Golden Apple)

This is an excellent article on the cost-effectiveness of making your own foods out of pantry ingredients which lead me to this bagel recipe that I will have to try! (@ Slate)

This hot pink raspberry cake looks divine! (@ The Kitchn)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

Labels: Giveaways

It is the last thirty seconds of the basketball game and the teams are tied. The star player moves down the court gracefully, dodging player after player, his eye on the prize. He dances around them as he dribbles, and, as the seconds slip by him, he makes a beeline towards the basket. The crowd begins to count down loudly, "Ten, nine, eight..." And just before the last second, he slams the ball into the basket. And the crowd sits silent.

Wait? What? Why would the crowd not cheer? This is the moment, the moment that he has worked towards and yet, you could hear a pin drop. How do you think that player feels?

Well, I have been that blogger a lot and it really stinks. To be honest, you have to really love the process and therapy that comes with your writing to endure the dead silence that you receive when you first start blogging.

Let's take that player that we talked about, for instance, and how he would have felt if the crowd went wild instead of went silent. As someone who has done theater for years, I can tell you that there is absolutely nothing like the adrenaline rush that you feel from the crowd cheering. Your heart starts to pump, your face flushes, you get that natural high from the praise, and then something really great happens...you want to do it again. That praise, that rush, that love that you feel from the people around you motivates you and you feed off of it. Suddenly, you picture yourself doing it over and over again, but each time you vow that it is going to be better next time.

For me, the process of writing these entries can be very labor-intensive. Sixty shots of whatever I am eating before I get to eat it, reading books and magazines to stay on top of new subjects that might strike our fancy, researching and sharing about other blogs, and just plain working my butt off. Some of my entries take very little thought and others are put out there after hours of careful thought and research. What stinks is when you put it out there and receive no comments on all of that effort.

What can bring a blogger comfort when they receive no comments and what can you do to get more comments to come your way? Let's chat about it!

Take Comfort In Your Stats- Remember how we talked about tracking your site/blog's traffic? Well, sometimes you can take comfort in those numbers even if your comments are in the single digits. What brought me a lot of comfort in the beginning was knowing that fifty people visited my blog even if only four people commented on an entry. Just knowing that someone is out there reading your stuff can provide a lot of comfort.

Ask Advice- If you are blogging about a particular subject all of the time, it can become less interactive with your readers. Sometimes throwing a post out there and asking your reader's take on a particular subject can bring in a lot of comments. It can be something as simple as, where do you find the best grocery prices, but if the readers can help it can become a great role-reversal and will give you more discussion than a post on here is where *I* think you should grocery shop.

Make Yourself Vulnerable- Oh, I know this is a tough one, but this can be a great way to show readers the real side of yourself. This one has been a tough one for me because I am striving to be a positive person and sometimes things in my life don't feel so positive. Expressing some vulnerability and showing the real sides of our family makes that connection with your readers a little deeper. Be careful when being vulnerable though and protect your family and your privacy as best you can when sharing in this format.

Be the Commenter- If you are not getting comments, then be the commenter. When I say this, I mean it in two different ways. If you receive a comment in your own entry, comment back to that person. "Thanks so much, Jane, for your comment! Using powdered milk IS a great way to save on groceries- I will try that!" This not only boosts your comments by one (and yes, in the beginning stages you can count that!) and it also builds a conversation with your readers. They see that you are reading their comments and that makes them want to continue the discussion with you. Better yet, another person might want to throw their two cents in now that they see that you are learning something and sharing in this way. Not everyone comes back to read the comment thread, but sometimes I read comment threads just because it seems busy. If you answer your comments, that boosts people's interest in wanting to see what all the fuss is about. See, you just roped your readers in!

The other way is to, of course, spend time commenting on other people's blogs. This can be a very time-consuming process in the beginning, but it is so fun to read what other people are writing and it will help you with your own content. Be sincere in your comments and the other blogger will want to see who this amazingly thoughtful person is! They will visit your blog and then who knows where that one comment will lead?

Highlight Your Old Stuff- Maybe you put out a killer entry the first time around and not a single soul commented on it, but you knew it was sheer brilliance. What to do? Bring that old entry back! I have seen bloggers do great round-ups of their old entries daily, weekly, or monthly... it just depends on how much content you have to work with. We do a "Play It Again, Momma" where I bring back a single entry that I wished someone read. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! In fact, this week's entry is an old one, but all new eyes are seeing it!

Here is what I will say, no matter how big of a blogger you are, those comments really mean something. I read every single comment that comes through my blog and I am so proud if someone tells me they appreciated something I did or said. I gloat so much that sometimes I save them and read them to my husband when he gets home. "Look, this person said that my line drying article saved them $20 this month on their bill. Isn't that awesome?"

I try not to take the silence personally, but sometimes it is hard. Remember that a thoughtful comment can make a blogger stronger and give them that crazy rush they need to press on.

Labels: Work

Today's free Redbox code is 4CW33N. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

You can't beat a free movie rental so schedule some fun family nights and check out what Family Films are available.

Side Notes:

- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Labels: Freebies

Here is what our next two week's of dinners look like. I hope you can try some of these yummy recipes! You can also print out a free printable menu planner in our Downloads section to jot down ideas as you are planning this week.

1. Chicken Cooked in Milk, Mashed Potatoes, & Baby Peas

2. Herb Baked Tilapia, Lemony Rice Pilaf, & Roasted Green Beans

3. Chicken Enchiladas With Homemade Enchilada Sauce & Mexican Rice

4. Homemade Waffles, Homemade Syrup, Hash Brown Potatoes, & Orange Juice

5. Homemade Pizza With The World's Greatest Slushies

6. Ground Beef Tacos With Tortilla Chips

7. Old-Fashioned Spaghetti & Meatballs with Homemade Breadsticks

8. Chicken & Broccoli Lo Mein With Brown Rice

9. Grilled Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Green Beans, & WHO Bread

10. Homemade Pizza With Milkshakes

11. Piggy Pancakes, Homemade Syrup, Hash Brown Potatoes, & Orange Juice

12. Chicken Italiano Over Spaghetti with Roasted Green Beans

13. Rotini With Turkey Meatballs

14. Panini Night (Turkey, Swiss, Prepared Pesto on Sourdough Bread)


Please visit I'm An Organizing Junkie to get even more great menu planning ideas for the week!

Labels: Menu Plans

Need a fast and elegant dish to entertain with? What about one you could throw in your slow cooker? How about one that could be prepared and thrown in the freezer? How about something that could be made from pantry ingredients? Well, this dish is for you!

When I was growing up my mom used to buy a product called "Chicken Tonight" that had a sauce that you could cook your chicken in to make a fast dinner. My mom served it over rice as a quick weeknight meal and it was always a favorite of mine.

This recipe reminds me a lot of that dish and is as equally easy to prepare. You can throw it in your slow cooker or you can put it in the oven for last minute guests.

I hope you can throw this recipe in your rotation. It has never failed me and everyone I know that has made it, loves the simplicity of this fast and delicious dish.

Chicken Italiano (or Amy's Copycat Version of "Chicken Tonight")

4 chicken breasts
2 cups marinara sauce
1/3 cup chopped tomatoes (you can use fresh or a can of diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup Italian Dressing

Slow Cooker Version: Place all ingredients in your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for six hours. Serve over spaghetti or rice with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. This is delicious with a side of roasted green beans.

Oven Version: Throw frozen chicken breasts in. Pour sauce, tomatoes, & Italian dressing on top. Bake at 375 for 1 hour (or longer if they are large chicken breasts).

Make-Ahead Version: Throw all of the ingredients in a freezer bag and label with cooking directions. To prepare, just thaw and follow one of the versions above.

To see more great recipes, please visit Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam!

Labels: Recipes

Welcome to this week's Freebie Friday list where we share all of the hot freebies in one spot each week. Please visit Heather, over at Freebies 4 Mom, each day for a new round of freebies. We would like to thank her for her contribution to make this list happen each week.

Be sure to read all about the Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards program for rewards on your diaper shopping. Heather also has a great link-up to all of the great printable coupons this week so visit that list before doing your grocery shopping.

Health & Beauty

Entertainment

APRIL
25 - Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Hanglider 10 to 11am
25&26 - All You Magazine's Reality Checked 11am to 5pm
25 - Lakeshore Crafts for Kids - Mosaic keepsake box 11am to 3pm
26 - National Pretzel Day - free pretzels at Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time
27 - KFC Kentucky Grilled Chicken - try a piece for free
30 - Carvel Free Iceberg drink 3 to 7pm

MAY
2 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop - Wheel Barrow 9 to noon
2 - Lakeshore Crafts for Kids - Cinco de Mayo sombrero 11am to 3pm
8-9 - The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal - Free Book Download
9 - Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Planter 10 to 11am
9 - Lakeshore Crafts for Kids - Mother's Day purse 11am to 3pm
12 - Haggen-Dazs Free Flavor Day - free scoop of any bee-built flavor 4 to 8pm

*****************************

Don't forget to enter this week's Apron Full of Giveaways for oodles of great contests to enter to win!

Labels: Freebies

A huge thanks to Kathy Friend for joining us this week on our podcast. I would also love to thank you for all of your questions for Kathy. We tried to answer all of the questions that were submitted so please listen in if you have made a request!

Click above to listen to this episode at anytime or visit our sidebar on the left-hand side to listen to the episodes anytime throughout the week. These episodes are also available in iTunes format for you to take on the go!

Here are some of the resources that were highlighted in today's episode...

Not Your Daughter's Jeans- This is a great jean pick for women with curves. Although an investment, Kathy suggests looking at how many pairs of jeans you have that you are not wearing that have cost less and consider making one good investment into a pair of jeans that you can wear often and that will accentuate your curves.

T-Shirt Recommendations- Budget-friendly Mossimo Target T-Shirts are an inexpensive way to add some splash to your wardrobe. Other great t-shirt brands are linQ & Three Dots T-shirts.

IsABelt- Are your jeans gapping in the back? Are you in your early stages fo pregnancy and looking for a way to make your jeans fit properly? isABelt is the Original invisible belt, the MUST HAVE Fashion “fix-it” accessory. A thin, strong and flexible clear plastic belt, that virtually disappears when worn, providing you with the assurance that all is secure without even knowing it's there. isABelt prevents back gap, slippage and of course, belt bulk and belt bulge. The isABelt solves all of these fashion issues and many more. If you would like to order one directly, please contact Kathy Friend for an order. She is selling these to help with funds for their adoption!

Swagbucks- This is my new way to earn cash towards my jeans & t-shirts this year. Sign-up for Swagbucks and simply use their search engine to search on the web, earning some great money for your shopping fixes. I signed up last week and have already earned $30 just doing my regular old searching.

Ebates- The shopping site that I would recommend everyone check before doing their shopping for your new summer clothes. Sign up today and you will earn an automatic $5 in your account for signing up. This site gives back a percentage on qualifying purchases. I always try to check here before doing any online shopping.

Bring Anya Home- In 2004, Marty and Kathy Friend dedicated their lives and hearts to adopt a 2 year old girl, Anya, from Irkutsk, Russia. During the summer of 2005, the Friends were preparing their home and family for the addition of a toddler, when they got a call with the news that a woman from Virginia had killed her Russian-adopted daughter. This caused shock waves throughout the international adoption community - and stopped adoptions to American families in Irkutsk.

After nearly 5 years, 5 trips to Russia, unceasing prayer and tens of thousands of dollars, the Friends see an end in sight. The Judge in Irkutsk, Russia has accepted the Friend’s case, and it is currently pending before the court in Russia. Marty and Kathy are hopeful they will receive a court date in June of this year. It is a very real possibility that Anya will be a part of her forever family by her 7th birthday - the end of June, 2009.

Because of new requirements to obtain a passport (for Anya), and “waiting periods” imposed by the Russian court system, the Friends need to plan for an 8 week stay in Russia. The financial reality is overwhelming.

Your generous donation through the purchase of a piece of jewelry or other items on their website is truly appreciated. This would make a wonderful Mother's Gift and is a great way to support a wonderful family!

On next week's show...

Next week we are joined by Trish Suhr, the amazing co-host of “Clean House” on the Style Network, to help offer us tips on keeping our homes in tip top shape. Trish has some great tips for making our homes the sanctuaries that they should be and offers valuable advice on ditching the clutter in our homes so we can truly enjoy it. Her cleaning tips will help you get back on track and we will be offering a great giveaway for our listeners sponsored by Pledge Multi Surface.

Labels: Podcast

On MomAdvice Simplified, my weekly podcast for moms, I am very excited to share that I will be gabbing it up with my real-life friend & wardrobe coach, Kathy Friend. This podcast airs weekly at 2PM EST each Thursday.

I asked Kathy to join our show again, but to help guide moms into choosing the right jeans and t-shirts. Since becoming an at-home mom, my wardrobe mainly consists of these two key pieces and I thought it would be great to have her share which brands are the best and how to find the best cuts for our figures.

Kathy is going to share with moms how to pick the best jeans and t-shirts for your figure, but also find a look that is both flattering and comfortable. We will be discussing the best brands, how to get the best look for any budget, and what items to add to our jeans and t-shirt wardrobe to take them from day to night.

Do you have any questions about choosing the right jeans or t-shirt for Kathy? Please leave your questions here and I will be sure to get them worked into our discussion!

Labels: Podcast

Experiment: Can I make a cupcake from scratch (part two)?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 01.08.09

Materials Needed: Please see The Farm Chicks for the full instructions. I followed the instructions exactly. I also had a package of Twilight mini-buttons (found at Walmart) that I used to make cupcake toppers for my cupcakes.

Results: Remember this cupcake experiment that I did? Well, these cupcakes got a little makeover for a Twilight viewing party at my girlfriend's house. And yes, a bunch of twenty and thirty-somethings got together to watch the Twilight movie with great excitement. I was not kidding when I said that we were super fans! Several of us from our book club got together to watch the movie and snack on fun foods.

I wanted to bring a fun and movie-inspired dish to the party. Lucky for me, Walmart sold these little mini Twilight pins that you could wear on your clothes or backpacks for $5. I took toothpicks and taped these miniature pins to toothpicks to make cute little cupcake toppers for our movie. It was a little tedious getting them to tape on and stay on, but I managed to get them all taped and inserted before our fun movie night.

I still think this is the perfect cupcake recipe and adore this frosting. These taste really good after they have been in the fridge for awhile because it is such a yummy and moist chocolate cake.

They could have whatever cupcakes they wanted, but this one is mine, all mine! Ah, reliving your teenage fantasies and crushes all over again! It truly is priceless!

Conclusion: Thanks to The Farm Chicks for a wonderful recipe that I use over and over again!

Related Links:

Thank You Writers Strike, Part II

********************

I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Notebook Experiments

I love these days of the week tags for getting your kids dressed in the morning (@ Living Locurto)

These painted letter plaques would be a lovely addition over a doorway (@ A Soft Place to Land)

This Craigslist ugly art makeover was jaw-dropping in its awesomeness (@ Like Merchant Ships)

I love these cans made into flower pots and this perpetual calendar can (@ design sponge)

I had no idea that you could can butter (@ Chocolate on My Cranium)

I am going to have to try some of these homemade macaroni & cheese recipes that were left in the comments (@ Money Saving Mom)

I am going to have to make some of these cake mix sugar cookies (@ Skip to My Lou)

I want to knit this cap-sleeved top for my daughter (@ Soulful Hues, Hobbies, & Random Thoughts)

This little art birthday party looks so sweet (@ Soule Mama)

I love this list of nine ways you can save while sitting at your desk (@ The Simple Dollar)

This quilted baby doll smock looks like a fast and fun sewing project (@ The Farm Chicks)

I adore this spring porch makeover (@ Design Mom)

This dollar store skirted sink is brilliant and budget-friendly (@ Eddie Ross)

My kids would love this staycation hotel idea for a fun weekend treat (JessieKate Designs)

I love this old door made into a desk (@ The Inspired Room)

This is a great tutorial on how to throw a wine party (@ Hope Studios)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

Happy Earth Day, everyone! I hope that you can do something fun and green with your children today. Not sure what to do? Perhaps, a little Earth Day reflecting might be a fun activity for celebrating all that this earth means to us.

I wanted to share with you some of our pictures from our family night activity celebrating Earth Hour on March 28th. The Earth Hour was officially after the kids went to bed so we celebrated our Earth Hour an hour earlier so that they could participate in all of the fun before their normal bed time.

I got out their sleeping bags and made a little camp out area in our living room. We played with my favorite little vintage domino set, they sang songs, they got lots of fun roughhousing in with daddy and tickles from mommy, and we finished the hour with a special little snack by candlelight.

My favorite moment was when Emily began making her own lyrics up to songs and began singing, "I can't see where I'm going, I can't see where I'm going." as she & her brother marched and sang in the dark.

These are those little moments that I will always treasure in my heart!


Ideas for Celebrating Earth Day With Kids:

Celebrating Earth Day

Family Night: Earth Hour

Craft Green: Eco-Friendly Tutorials (@ the long thread)

Earth Day Crafts & Activities (@ Kaboose)

Earth Day Coloring Pages & Printables (@ DLTK's)


How will you be spending Earth Day with your family?

Labels: Family, Kid Crafts, Parenting

Recently multi-platinum, Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter, Ashanti teamed up with Johnson's Body Care to launch a new charitable program that enables real women across the country to support local charities through simply hosting get-togethers with friends.

I was given the opportunity to host one of these "cause parties" where I could kick back with my girlfriends, pamper ourselves with Johnson's new line of lotions and body washes and help raise money for a local charity.

Lucky for me, it happened to be my turn to host our monthly Bunco so I decided to partner these opportunities together and host a Chari-Tea Bunco night at my house.

My guests were asked to bring monetary and/or food donations to support the St Joseph County Food Bank. Everyone also agreed that the winnings would be given to the food bank instead of divided among ourselves for the event and Johnson's gave us $100 to start the charitable pot for our charity.

By hosting this event with Johnson's they gave us the money to put towards the food and drinks for our event so I truly got to pamper my girlfriends in style because no one had to bring a single dish to share.
I still kept to a thrifty budget, but tried to add some special touches for our group. Our centerpiece was a bouquet of flowers displayed in a teapot with a variety of special teas in my china teacups for our table. These beautiful bouquets of flowers were purchased at Sam's Club for less than $5.

Here are some pictures of the great food that we got to eat. I wanted to stick with the tea party food and dishes that would be easy to handle while playing our game.

I got a huge croissant sandwich tray that served 18 for $32 at Sam's Club. I cut these sandwiches in half and then added colored toothpicks to hold them together so people could sample different varieties of sandwiches and to make them a little more bite-sized.

For side dishes, I purchased two huge vegetable trays for $9.87 each that were prepared by Sam's Club. I made a delicous pesto pasta salad from my new favorite cookbook, "The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen," which you must check out! I then bought a variety of fruit and made fruit kabobs by skewering them for our guests out of pineapple, grapes, and strawberries. These fruit kabobs were thrown into a pretty wine bucket for everyone to grab.

For dessert, I purchased two boxes of mini creme puffs that I served on cake platters with a decaf coffee to finish out the meal.

The star of the party though was the Bunco punch that I made that was a delicious summery drink to go with our food. We also had a box of the Black Box Cabernet which was another surprising hit with many of my friends who had not had the pleasure of trying boxed wines before. Sam's Club had the best price on this with a box that was equivalent to four bottles for only $18.32. I have to say, these boxed wines are an affordable way to entertain on a budget.

On my lower level, we had a little welcome desk where my guests could sign in and my coffee table got taken over by all of the great food donations.

Each guest got to take home a really cute reusable bag filled with Johnson's products to sample and share with their friends as a thank you for their charitable efforts. Each bag contained their 24 Hour Moisturizer, 24 Hour Moisturizing Body Wash, & their Be Radiant Cocoa & Shea Butter Lotions. These products were just for us, not for our kiddos, and they smell and feel great. My favorite is definitely the Be Radiant Cocoa & Shea Butter Lotion- it smells divine!


We had the biggest turn out for Bunco ever with seventeen great women in attendance and we were so excited about all we could do for our community. With the donation made by Johnson's plus our own donations, we were able to donate $205 to the St Joseph County Food Bank and an entire car full of food donations for the cause.

With the job loss in our area, our food banks and shelters are in critical need right now and if you are able to give anything at all, I encourage you to take the time to do it.

Here are some of the items the Food Bank of Northern Indiana critically needs:

Cereal -- hot and cold
Meat, chicken or tuna
Mac/cheese, dry pasta
Vegetables
Potato flakes
Spaghetti O's, stews
Rice
Pork & Beans
Applesauce
Chicken Helper
Family-sized soups
Dry soup mixes
Fruit
Crackers
Spaghetti
Sauce
Juice boxes
Beans -- baked, refried
Pancake, waffle mix
Plastic containers

Individuals, clubs, churches, civic groups and local businesses can all conduct food drives. Donated food is a much needed commodity in their fight against hunger. They accept donated food between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, at their location on 702 S. Chapin Street, South Bend, IN. If this location is not convenient to you, there are many other drop off points including all of the Martin's Supermarket grocery stores. For more information please visit The Food Bank of Northern Indiana to find out how you can help.

Throwing a cause party was such a fun girl's night out and I encourage you to do the same with your girlfriends! It is a fun and easy way to give back to charities in your community and I am so thankful that Johnson's helped us support such a great cause in our own community!

Here are the star recipes from our fabulous Chari-Tea Bunco night that you could replicate for a charity night at your house!

Pesto Pasta Salad (courtesy of "The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen") and you can visit The Farm Chicks Blog too!

3 cups bowtie pasta (about 8 oz)
1/4 cup pesto (Sam's Club has pesto for really cheap, if your garden isn't ready for pesto-making yet)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (about two medium)
1/2 cup halved pitted black olives
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

Cook pasta as directed. Drain and rinse under cold running water and let cool. Place in a salad bowl. In another bowl, mix the pesto and sour cream together and add to the pasta, tossing to coat. Add the tomatoes, olives, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts and toss to mix. Serve.

Bunco Punch

ICE RING:
Orange slices
Lemon slices
Lime slices
Maraschino cherries
Cherry juice or red food coloring
Water
Metal ring mold

SIMPLE SYRUP (Prepare ahead) :
3 c. water
3 c. sugar
Combine, boil and cool.

PUNCH:
Simple syrup, chilled
4 c. chilled cranberry juice
3 c. chilled bottled lemon juice
2 c. chilled orange juice
2 c. chilled unsweetened pineapple juice
2 qt. chilled ginger ale
16 oz. rum or vodka or wine or champagne

Create your ice ring by throwing in the citrus fruit slices and then pouring in the jar of cherries (juice and all) Top the bundt pan off with water and then freeze overnight.

To serve: Unmold ice ring into punch bowl; add juices and liquor; add ginger ale.

This makes approximately 30 (6 ounce) servings.


What are some fun charitable activities you do with your friends and/or family? I would love for you to share how you make charity a priority in your house?

Related Links:

Good Cheap Fun: Bunco

Retro Housewife Bunco

Kentucky Derby Bunco

'70's Bunco Style

Labels: Entertainment, Friendship, Frugal, Recipes, Reviews, Shopping

Welcome to the Apron Full of Giveaways for the week where we share the best of the best giveaways for the week.

We have one great giveaway that is closing at 8PM tonight that you really should enter. We are offering up a prize pack of earth-friendly products to get the word out about Disneynature's new movie, "Earth," which you do not want to miss.

Our new contest for this week is an new Nintendo DS Emergency Vets game for your children. Kids who love animals and dream of becoming veterinarians now have a new, interactive way to play pretend. Animal Planet, known as the authority on “all things animal” has partnered with Activision to create “Emergency Vets” for Nintendo DS and you can enter for a chance to win it! You also have one more week to enter the HUGE prize pack full of great green products that will help you green up those household routines from Walmart.

As a hint, we will be making a couple of momma's dreams come true with some really great Mother's Day giveaways that you will NOT want to miss so please check back each week for more great loot!

Follow the links below to find out how to enter to win these fabulous giveaways!

Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Sorry, we aren't giving away the aprons just showcasing them! Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, "MomAdvice (Children's Movies)."

Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!

(Photo Credit: puffalump knits)

Labels: Giveaways

Today's free Redbox code is M6FR97. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

You can't beat a free movie rental so schedule some fun family nights and check out what Family Films are available.

Side Notes:

- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Labels: Freebies

When I was growing up, my mom made many varieties of bar treats for us. We ate a lot of lemon bars, brownies, and chocolate chip cookie bars as snacks. When I would go to my friend's houses though, their moms made homemade cookies and I would come home and beg my mom to make cookies instead of bars. I never understood why she always made bars for us...until now!

Bars are so much easier than cookies and you dirty up a heck of a lot less pans. There is no cooling on racks that has to be done or switching of cookie sheets. All you have to do to make these cookies is mix and dump. Within minutes you can be snacking on a plate full of cookie bars without the mess or work that regular cookies can be.

Last week I called up my mom and told her what a genius I think she was by making these bars for us! I know my kids will probably be complaining about the lack of cookies in our house, but maybe they will figure out what a genius I am too. It might take them thirty years to figure it out though!

Want perfectly perfect bars? Try my trick and keep a plastic knife handy in your utensil drawer. You can cut them into perfect squares without the crumby mess, even when they aren't fully cool.

The entire family devoured these and the kids loved this new addition to our snack hour. I hope you can enjoy all the cookie goodness without the work too!


Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13" pan. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, both sugars and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Spread into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Labels: Recipes

Another huge round of applause to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for her assistance with our freebie list this week. Be sure to visit Heather's site all week long for all of the latest freebies.

In case you missed it, here is a link to my podcast with Heather that we did on simplifying the freebie process. It is definitely an interview worth listening to and I am so happy to have had the opportunity to have her as a guest.

Happy Freebie Friday, everyone!

Health & Beauty

Tyson Project A+ (save your labels for your school)

APRIL
18 - Michaels The Knack - Spring Critters for kids 5-12 from 10 to 1pm
19 - The Home Depot 1 Million CFL Light Giveaway
21 - Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day noon to 8pm
22 - Disney Store Mickey Mouse Tote when you bring in 3 plastic bottles
23 - Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day
25 - Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Hanglider 10 to 11am
25&26 - All You Magazine's Reality Checked 11am to 5pm
26 - National Pretzel Day - free pretzels at Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time
30 - Carvel Free Iceberg drink 3 to 7pm

MAY
2 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop - Wheel Barrow 9 to noon
9 - Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Planter 10 to 11am
12 - Haggen-Dazs Free Flavor Day - free scoop of any bee-built flavor 4 to 8pm

Labels: Freebies

A huge thanks to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for joining us this week on our podcast. We have had a lot of technical difficulties today so I apologize for the delays on everything.

Click above to listen to this episode at anytime or visit our sidebar on the left-hand side to listen to the episodes anytime throughout the week. These episodes are also available in iTunes format for you to take on the go!

Here are some of the resources that were highlighted in today's episode...

Freebies 4 Mom - Heather blogs daily about free samples, coupons, sweepstakes and giveaways with the goal to help everyone save money every day with freebies.

Freebie Friday - Every Friday MomAdvice highlights the best new freebies each week on The Motherload blog with Heather as a contributor.

Walmart Free Samples - The best single-source of free samples by mail, new ones are highlighted every Freebie Friday

Be A Smarter Freebie Finder - Learn how to spot the potential scams yourself and how to be careful about the personal information you submit in order to receive a freebie.

Customer Service for Free Samples - If you receive a damaged or missing free sample in the mail, then you should definitely contact Customer Service about it and here are tips on how to do that successfully. Companies want your feedback and to hear about your free sampling experience with them.

Roboform - A way to fill out forms quickly by saving commonly entered information.

Entertainment Freebies 4 Families - Great sources of free movies, music, and books for everyone in your family.

Free Magazine Samples - The best sources of free magazines subscriptions plus creative ways to give those magazines a second life after you are done with them.

Ebates- If you do have a magazines subscription that you need to pay for, why not pay less by getting cash back through Ebates! They offer up to 40% back for magazines subscriptions (watch for a double cash back event).

Swagbucks- Anyone can use Swagbucks as their search engine and start earning free gift cards. It's an easy way to be rewarded for doing something you already do, search the internet.

YouData - Readers earn money by glancing at ads on Freebies 4 Mom! An easy and quick way to add a dollor or two each week to your PayPal account.

On next week's show...

Kathy Friend, my wonderful fashionista friend, is joining our show again to share some of her savvy fashion advice with our listeners. Kathy is going to share with moms how to pick the best jeans and t-shirts for your figure, but also find a look that is both flattering and comfortable. We will be discussing the best brands, how to get the best look for any budget, and what items to add to our jeans and t-shirt wardrobe to take them from day to night!

Labels: Podcast

This week on MomAdvice Simplified, my weekly podcast for moms, I will be chatting it up with Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom. This podcast airs weekly at 2PM EST each Thursday.

Heather will be offering assistance on finding the best freebies out there, how to get those freebie forms filled out more quickly, and shares why freebies are so advantageous to a frugal lifestyle. She even offers some tips and tricks for finding free money to get that latte fix you have been craving without blowing your budget.

Heather has been a longtime friend of mine and has been such a great supporter for my website by offering her assistance each Friday on our Freebie Friday list. It was such an honor to finally get to talk to her in person and I think you are going to be in for such a special treat when you hear this episode.

As an added bonus and incentive to get people to listen, Heather is offering one lucky listener a $50 Sephora e-gift card to get you motivated to tune in.

I hope you can make time to tune in to this invaluable episode!

Labels: Podcast

Experiment: Can I make homemade bunny (monkey) bread?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.05.09

Materials Needed: Please see Baking Bites for the original recipe. I took great liberties with the recipe though and made a bread machine version that came out beautifully. If you don't have a bread machine though, please visit Baking Bites for a version that can be prepared with a spoon or a stand mixer.

Results: When I see cake pans at the thrift store, I can't resist picking them up, even if I have nothing in mind to do with them. This bunny-shaped pan was $2 at Goodwill and has been gathering dust in my basement. I decided to break it out to make the kids a special Easter treat.

Our Easter tradition usually consists of my homemade cinnamon rolls, but I thought it would be fun to do something a little different this year. I remembered this great little recipe for homemade monkey bread and also know that it happens to be one of my husband's favorite childhood treats so I thought I would give this recipe a spin.

I opt for the lazy version though and prefer making things in my handy little bread machine, so I modified the recipe to put my little appliance to work and thought I would share my version here.


Bread Machine Monkey Bread/Bunny Bread (adapted from Baking Bites)

1/4 cup water, warm (100-110F)
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk, warm (100-110F)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg (beaten)
3 - 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (.25-oz)

Sugar Mixture:
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup butter, melted

Lightly grease a standard 10-in bundt pan with vegetable oil or any cake-shaped pan. Set aside.
In a microwavable bowl, combine the water, milk, and butter and microwave it for one minute (or just until warm). Pour this into the bottom of your bread machine. Add the egg and vanilla next. Add the flour, salt, sugar, and then finally the yeast. Run the Dough cycle on your bread machine and let it run through the entire cycle until it beeps.

Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and gently deflate so that dough is relatively flat (maybe 1/2-3/4 inch thick) Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut off small pieces of dough to form 1/2 to 1-inch balls. As you cut each piece of dough, roll it into a ball in the palms of your hands. Dunk each ball in butter, use the fork to remove it and transfer it to the sugar mixture to be thoroughly coated. Place all coated dough balls into prepared bundt pan.

Once all balls have been coated and places in the pan, cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap and let bread rise for 60 minutes, until almost doubled in size. I covered this with plastic wrap and then popped it in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350F when you are ready to bake it. If it is in the refrigerator, pull it out a half hour before and let it rise on the kitchen counter before baking. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Bread will spring back when lightly pressed. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving platter. Eat immediately (or reheat leftovers), as the bread is best served warm and gooey.

Conclusion: The kids absolutely devoured this bunny bread and my husband thought it was the perfect balance of sweetness. I, unfortunately, was struck with the stomach flu this year and got to watch them eat all of this deliciousness while laying on the couch dying, but I will definitely be participating in the devouring next year. Best of all, I found a great new use for that bunny pan and I can't wait to make this a yearly Easter tradition.
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original craftster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Kid Recipes, Notebook Experiments, Recipes

The notebook is short and sweet this week as bloggers are getting back into full swing after Easter and many are on their spring breaks right now.

I just wanted to share a few of the pictures of my sweet children from our Easter weekend. I was able to find all of their Easter outfits, from head to toe, at Marshall's this year. I thought they looked extra special this year and I could not have been more proud to show them off.

I hope your families had a wonderful Easter too and happy reading!


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I want to try this Honey I'm Home bread (@ Dine & Dish)

My kids would love this bunny bowling set (@ The long thread)

This homemade crinkle toy is so cute and inventive (@ Craft Stylish)

I am going to have to remember these tissue paper Easter eggs for next year (@ The Artful Parent)

I love this Easter basket sewing project for next year (@ disdressed)

I am intrigued by this deep dish pizza recipe (@ the paupered chef)

We will have to make some of these homemade poster paints sometime (@ Pepper Paints)

This angel hair pasta salad with tomato and basil would be a great summertime dish (@ Annie's Eats)

I love this reminder for the importance of family rituals (@ Simple Mom)

These are some great tips for selecting & cutting a pineapple (@ $5 Dinners)

Labels: Notebook

Welcome to the Apron Full of Giveaways for the week and, I can honestly say, we truly have an apron full to offer you this week.

We have two great new giveaways for our readers starting today and two giveaways that are ending this evening. For our new giveaways, we are offering up a prize pack of earth-friendly products to get the word out about Disneynature's new movie, "Earth," which you do not want to miss. In addition to that, we have partnered up with Walmart for a HUGE prize pack full of great green products that will help you green up those household routines.

Our contest for the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and the DINOSAUR book prize pack are both ending today and you can still get your entry in to win those great giveaways.

As a hint, we will be making a couple of momma's dreams come true with some really great Mother's Day giveaways that you will NOT want to miss so please check back each week for more great loot!

Follow the links below to find out how to enter to win these fabulous giveaways!

Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Sorry, we aren't giving away the aprons just showcasing them! Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, "MomAdvice (Children's Movies)."

Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!

(Photo Credit: Don Mason)

Labels: Giveaways

One of our favorite sandwich shops in town is Jimmy John's. If you haven't sampled one of their yummy gourmet subs, you must run out and get one. My husband loves these so much that this is where he wanted to meet us for his birthday lunch. The two of us spent many a late night over their subs at Purdue University. Now as parents, our children love them just as much as we do!

When chatting with my friend Jessica, whose husband happens to own and operate our local Jimmy John's, she shared with me that they offer their "day old" bread for a deeply discounted price. Day old simply means that the bread is more than five hours old and so they can no longer use it to make the sandwiches. I never realized that they offered this and was anxious to find out the price and if they would have any the next time I went.

After church on Sunday, we headed over to the restaurant to grab some lunch and I asked if they had any day old bread to spare. Stacked high on the counter were many loaves of bread offered at a discounted rate. For $.48 a loaf, I grabbed four loaves to see what I could invent in the kitchen with this inexpensive bread. That is right, only $.48 a loaf, far cheaper than even the discounted bakery cart at Walmart!


That evening, I worked on a beautiful roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and baby peas for a delicious Sunday dinner. The chicken had a yummy lemon sauce and we used the bread to mop up the sauce. We quickly polished off the first loaf that night. No need to change anything when the bread is fresh and a perfect side to any dinner hour.


I called my mother-in-law to see if she would like to come over for dinner the following night. For $.48 a loaf, I can afford to entertain! The second loaf of bread is reinvented into my favorite overnight breakfast casserole. We served this with orange juice, coffee, and a fresh loaf of my banana oat bread. Everyone left the table will full bellies and smiles on their face.

That evening, I cut the last two loaves into squares, drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled them with garlic salt and threw them in the oven to make homemade croutons. The bread was still soft, but a little stale so this was a great way to use up what was left.

The next morning we had a playgroup to attend and we had to pack our lunches. My yummy lunch was a grilled chicken salad topped with those homemade croutons and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

When I got home that night, I still had to make our dinner. Lucky for me, I have plenty of croutons so I gave them a spin in my food processor.

Poured them into my favorite thrifted tin platter.

I gave my chicken a little dip in some egg and then the breadcrumbs.

They were baked into my new new favorite Chicken Parmesan recipe, served with pasta, and a little wine. As everyone happily munched away, I brought up the bread that we had bought several days before. "This is the best you have ever made!" my husband proclaimed. I batted my eyes and said, "It must be that day old bread from Jimmy John's that makes it so good." His look of surprise was priceless.

I still have enough leftover to make a batch of meatballs and bread our pork chops this week.

As a frugal homemaker, I don't think I reinvent the wheel of frugality... but I sure know how to beat a dead horse!

What are some of your proudest money-saving moments? Do you have a "beat the dead horse" approach towards using what you have?

Labels: Frugal, Recipes, Shopping

Today's free Redbox code is J89LA2. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Pair your free movie with some homemade microwave popcorn and the world's greatest slushies and win the coolest mom in the world award today!

You can't beat a free movie rental so schedule some fun family nights and check out what Family Films are available.

Side Notes:

- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Labels: Freebies

One of my kid's favorite treats in the world are mom's homemade slushies. I have been making these for years now and they never fail to be a hit with everyone in the family. My husband loves slushies even more than ice cream and he lights up just as much as the kids do when I break out the blender.

Slushies at our local ice cream joint really add up and we could easily spend about ten dollars getting everyone one of these. This recipe costs me about fifty cents for four and is just as good. Aldi offers Mixade variety packs that are even cheaper than the Kool-Aid brand and still make vibrant and delicious slushies.

I tried this with the no sugar varieties and they flopped and tasted more like a shaved ice than a slushie.

Go ahead, live a little! Bring on the sugar for a special family night treat!

World's Greatest Homemade Slushies (Courtesy of Hillbilly Housewife)

2 cups ice water
1 packet fruit-flavored drink mix (use your favorite flavor)
2/3 cup sugar
4 cups or 1 full tray of ice cubes

You need a blender to prepare this recipe. Put all of the ingredients into your blender. It will be about 2/3 to 3/4's full. Put the lid on. Process the mixture on high for a full minute. Stop the blender, use a spoon to stir it a bit. Look for unchopped ice chunks. If all the chunks are grated up, then go ahead and serve it. You may need to process it for another full minute though. Serve immediately. I usually have to spoon this out of the blender with a measuring cup because the mixture is so thick. Makes 4 - 8oz servings.

Labels: Kid Recipes, Recipes

Many apologies if you have emailed me in the past two days. I have been struck with a horrible case of the stomach flu and will do my best to return emails this weekend. Thank you for your patience!

I would like to say a huge thanks to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for helping with our freebie list again this week. Heather has a huge list of giveaways (including a $200 Home Depot gift card) that she is currently running, so be sure to swing by and get your entry in for some really great loot this week.

Happy Easter, everyone, and enjoy some time with your families this weekend!


Health & Beauty

Hunt's Ketchup
Mighty Leaf Tea
Quaker Rice Cakes
APRIL
11 - Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Birdhouse 10 to 11am
15 - Taco Del Mar Free Taco
15 - MaggieMoo's Free Single Scoop of Ice Cream
18 - Michaels The Knack - Spring Critters for kids 5-12 from 10 to 1pm
21 - Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day noon to 8pm
23 - Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day
15 - Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Hanglider 10 to 11am
26 - National Pretzel Day - free pretzels at Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time

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Be sure to visit the Apron Full of Giveaways for a list of all the great giveaways that are happening right now, including two great giveaways from MomAdvice!

Labels: Freebies

Click above to listen to this episode at anytime or visit our sidebar on the left-hand side to listen to the episodes anytime throughout the week. These episodes are also available in iTunes format for you to take on the go!

Here are some of the resources that were highlighted in today's episode...

Deal Seeking Mom- Tara scopes the internet for all of the latest freebies and makes shopping and finding freebies easier for moms. Please visit her site for all of the latest and greatest deals on the web.

Money4Moms Podcast- Tune in to Money4Moms for practical advice and ideas to help you save money. We will be covering money saving topics and answering your questions, as well as providing you with deals, weekly store previews and encouragement and support. This podcast is brought to you by Tara, from Deal Seeking Mom, and Mercedes, from Common Sense With Money, each Wednesday at 10 PM/9 PM CST.

Coupon Lingo Quick Reference- Tara has gathered all of those abbreviations and explained them in one great place so you know what you are reading when scouring those shopping boards.

All You Magazine- Tara suggests getting a subscription to this great magazine because it offers a load of coupons in each issue. Follow the link for a 2 year subscription for only $17.99.

35 Ways to Save On Your Grocery Budget- Don't want to clip coupons? This article sums up some other great ways you can save on those groceries.

Grocery Shopping Tips- Here is another article to help make that grocery day easier by sharing some shopping strategies that I have used for my own family.

On next week's show...

In this episode we will be chatting it up with Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, and learning the best ways to score free products and samples from companies. Heather is an expert in the freebie market and will be sharing her valuable advice with us!

Labels: Podcast

This week Tara, from Deal Seeking Mom, will be joining us to give us a glimpse into how to effectively save the most money using coupons. We will learn simple strategies for organizing our coupons, how we can apply our coupons for the maximum savings, and what online resources will give us the best bang for our buck.

Tara is a mom of five and I can't wait to hear her strategies for time-saving and what strategies in shopping should be a top priority. Tara is a savvy shopper and a great friend so I look forward to sharing our interview with you.

This podcast will be airing today at 2PM EST so I hope you can join me and learn how to maximize your savings when shopping.

If you have any questions on coupon clipping, please leave them in the comments below and I will make sure to ask them!

Labels: Podcast

Experiment: Will my family love a chicken cooked in milk?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 04.02.09

Materials Needed: Please see The Kitchn for specific directions on how to make Jamie Oliver's chicken cooked in milk & lemon. I followed the instructions outlined by The Kitchn and left the lid on for the first hour of the cooking time, versus the chicken uncovered as Jamie outlines in his recipe. I also omitted the cinnamon stick to go with a more traditional flavor, but might give that a try next time.

Results: I love roasted chicken and it is the ultimate Sunday dinner for our family. When I saw this recipe, I knew I would have to try it. I happened to be out at Target so I picked up all the ingredients there including an organic bird since they had them on sale.

The main difficulty I had with the recipe was frying the bird in the butter. I think the butter could have been easily reduced to half the amount and still brought out a lot of flavor. I had a hard time flipping the bird without splattering myself, but got a good start on the skin before it went into the oven.

I added all the ingredients to the pot and then put the lid on it. It cooked for the first hour with the lid on and then I basted it and removed the lid for the last half hour.

Here is what you need to know about this recipe that makes it worth the little bit of effort. First, it made the whole house smell amazing and I literally wanted to eat it within the first fifteen minutes of cooking because the house smelled that good. Second, the meat literally falls off of the bone. There is no carving, it literally falls off. Third, the sauce is delicious and the "curdled" appearance was barely noticeable at all in the sauce.

All of that being said, the breast meat was drier than I would have liked so I am not sure if that could be remedied with a shorter cooking time or cooking it with the lid on the entire time. I am going to try a few different scenarios until I perfect this one because it is truly that good.

Make sure to have lots of bread for mopping up all that great sauce. If you pair this with a good white wine, a pile of mashed potatoes, and a great Etta James CD (like our family did), you will love every minute and bite that happens during that dinner!

Update: We tried this chicken again. This time I did not brown it, omitted the butter entirely, and cut the lemons in half and added two halves around the chicken and two halves stuffed in the chicken. I sprinkled the outside of the chicken with cinnamon instead of the cinnamon stick (which costs quite a bit more at our supermarket). I cooked it covered and then gave it twenty minutes with the lid off. The second time...absolutely perfect and lower calorie to boot!

Conclusion: This recipe will be repeated again and again! I thank The Kitchn for highlighting it and I can't wait to try some different variations to make this chicken the ultimate chicken in our house!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original craftster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Notebook Experiments, Recipes

I want to make these tie dyed Easter eggs this year (@ Scribbit)

Here is another fun egg-dying technique to try (@ The Barefoot Kitchen Witch)

These Rice Krispie Easter Eggs look like a fun treat (@ ohdeedoh)

This ottoman made from a coffee table would definitely cover up the gashes on my table (@ Little Green Notebook)

These free bunny embroidery pattern is so sweet (@ orange you lucky!)

I love this little take-along placemat (@ Patchwork)

I really love this post on crafting and deciding if it is for you (@ Nesting Place)

These Easter Bunny Cake Pops are darling (@ Bakerella)

This is another great refashioned sweater tutorial (@ Lulu Bliss)

I am going to be using this idea for quickly softening butter (@ Simply Recipes)

I adore this cake plate tutorial (@ Storybook Woods)

This orange spice banana bread sounds like another fun recipe to try (@ Good Life Eats)

I love this idea for an egg memory game (@ scrumdilly do)

These tulle blossoms would brighten up any sticks in our backyard (@ Beetlegirl Designs)

I adore this post on living a complex life (@ MommyCoddle)

These tips for frugal Easter eggs are great (@ Small Homestead)

I want to make some bread bags for my homemade bread (@ SouleMama)

This baked french toast recipe looks delicious (@ whatever)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

Welcome to the Apron Full of Giveaways for the week! Isn't this little dress with the apron the cutest thing ever? My little Emily would look darling in this! Visit the photo credit below to view more of this momma's great work!

We have two great new giveaways for our readers starting today. We will be giving away a copy of the new, "Yo Gabba Gabba New Friends," DVD and we are also giving away a few really great Dinosaur Prize Packs for the little readers in your life. Both contests start today so you have until 04/14 at 8PM to get your entries in.

Follow the links below to find out how to enter to win these fabulous giveaways!

Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Sorry, we aren't giving away the aprons just showcasing them! Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, "MomAdvice (Children's Movies)."

Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!

(Photo Credit: Erin Campbell)

Labels: Giveaways

Ethan is doing really well with his reading in school and I am so pleased to see the delight in his face as he sounds out the words and puts sentences together. Is there anything more exciting than the newness of discovering how cool reading is?

He was sent home a worksheet of words that we needed to work on as a family with him. They are words that he needs to know and be able to read by the end of the school year. I was sitting down with him and pointing to words and he would say them. We did this for a couple of days and he looked up at me and told me, "Mom, this is so boring!" You know what? He was right! I was bored too and the task seemed like a chore.

The next day that he came home, I told him that I wrote him a note just for him. In it, were words from the list that he needed to recognize. He came back downstairs and told me "Mom, I don't know those words." I gave him a pat on the back and told him, "Just read my note and you can sound it out while you eat lunch."

I went down to fold a load of laundry and he came running down the stairs, grinning from ear to ear. "Mom, I know what it says!" He then recited my note word for word.

We have made a pact to do this each day and I will write him a new note just for him.

As teachers, we sometimes have to be more creative than pointing and reciting. It has now become our fun little game that I hope he will remember for years to come!

Do you have any fun ways you have taught your children about reading or writing?

Related Links:

Making Our Grocery Lists

We Need to Work On Our Letters

Cheap Dry Erase Board

Labels: Family, Kid Crafts, Parenting

Today's free Redbox code is TS473G. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

You can't beat a free movie rental so schedule some fun family nights and check out what Family Films are available.

Side Notes:

- If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

- When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it FIRST before picking the movie. On the very first screen, click the, "Rent with Promo." Enter in the above code and then make your selection- the amount should then total zero.. This code can be used all day until midnight at any Redbox location.

Labels: Freebies

I have roasted a lot of vegetables during my lifetime, but I can honestly say that I had never roasted green beans before. I saw a recipe for roasting green beans and knew I would have to try it. I decided to use what I had in my produce drawer and pantry to make this great little side dish that I know you will absolutely love.

The original recipe did call for fresh green beans, but I had a bag of the fancy frozen ones from Aldi in my freezer that I wanted to use. I added an extra ten-fifteen minutes cooking time for these and they were perfect for our taste. You can roast them longer, if you like, but this amount of time seemed to fit well for me.

Below is the recipe including instructions for fresh and for frozen. This would be a wonderful side dish for your cookouts this summer and looks deliciously gourmet with very little effort.

It would also make a great side dish for your Easter dinner celebration this year. Enjoy!

Roasted Green Beans

2 pounds fresh green beans (or a bag of frozen fancy green beans)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic (I use the bottled garlic to save a little time)
Salt & Pepper
Zest from one lemon (save the juice for later)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grab a jelly roll pan and dump green beans on the pan. Sprinkle seasonings, lemon zest, and garlic over the green beans. Drizzle the olive oil over the green beans and then toss with your hands until they are all coated with the seasonings and zest. Spread out in a single layer and slide your cookie sheet into the oven. Roast fresh green beans for 20-25 minutes and roast frozen green beans for an additional 10-15 minutes. When they are done, pull from the oven and put them on a serving platter. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top (from the lemon you zested) and serve.

Labels: Recipes

Happy Freebie Friday, everyone! I would like to thank Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom for helping us with our freebie round-up this week. Head over there to read how you can get a free Domino's Cinnastix and her baby feeding resource list is great for any new mom!

While you are getting in on all the great freebies, be sure to visit our Apron Full of Giveaways to be entered to win in all the wonderful contests. We took a week off from our giveaways this week, but I promise to make up for it with two great ones on Tuesday and another wonderful round-up!


Health & Beauty


Emergen-C Blue
Werther's Original Caramel Chocolate Comfort Club House Party
Domino's Savory Surprises House Party
APRIL
4 - The Home Depot Kids Workshop - Make a window birdhouse 9 to Noon
4 - Michaels The Knack - 3D Monsters vs Aliens crafts for kids 5-12 from 10 to 2pm
4&5 - Museums on Us - Free admission for Bank of America accountholders
6 - Seattle's Best Coffee (and Borders) - free small coffee
7 - Seattle's Best Coffee (and Borders) - free medium coffee for all 39-year-olds
8 - Denny's - free breakfast?
11 - Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic - Birdhouse 10 to 11am
15 - Taco Del Mar Free Taco
15 - MaggieMoo's Free Single Scoop of Ice Cream
18 - Michaels The Knack - Spring Critters for kids 5-12 from 10 to 1pm
21 - Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day noon to 8pm
23 - Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day
26 - National Pretzel Day - free pretzels at Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time

Labels: Freebies

Another big round of thanks to Mishelle Lane for sharing her invaluable advice on photography and choosing the right photography equipment with our listeners. It was an exciting and information-filled half hour so I hope you can listen to this at your leisure, if you didn't get a chance to catch it live!

Here is our list of resources that were highlighted in today's episode:

Mishelle Lane- Mishelle is very connected in the photo world and you can find her at Secret Agent Mama, Mishelle Lane Photography, Flickr, or connect with her through Twitter (@secretagentmama)

Photography Sites to Visit: Mishelle recommends visiting Photo Bliss, Shutter Sisters, & Pioneer Woman to help breathe some life into your photography. All sites offer great advice on photography and can give you some new ideas for picture-taking.

Picknik- This is the photo editing site that Mishelle mentioned as a great and inexpensive photo editing tool for moms. They offer free & a premium membership for $24.95. This is a great beginner programmer to use, but still offers some great features that watermarks for your pictures.

Canon Cameras-Mishelle recommends this site for checking out great cameras when upgrading your equipment.

Opteka- Find great budget-friendly accessories for your camera on this great website!


On next week's show...

Tara, from Deal Seeking Mom, will be joining us to give us a glimpse into how to effectively save the most money using coupons. We will learn simple strategies for organizing our coupons, how we can apply our coupons for the maximum savings, and what online resources will give us the best bang for our buck.


Related Links:

5 Tips for Great Photography Straight From A Pro

Take Your Own Pictures to Save Money

Labels: Podcast

This week on MomAdvice Simplified, my podcast for moms, I am so excited to be joined by photographer extraordinaire, Mishelle Lane. Mishelle blogs at Secret Agent Mama and I had the great pleasure of meeting Mishelle at Blissdom '09. I couldn't wait to have her on our show as a guest to share her photography tips with us.

Mishelle will be sharing her tips for purchasing the right photography equipment, some ideas for capturing our busy children, and how to get out of the automatic modes on our cameras. Best of all, she shares her resources for budget-friendly camera equipment & photo editing tools. You don't want to miss this one!

This podcast will be airing today at 2PM EST so I hope you can join me for this exciting half hour!

Labels: Podcast

Experiment: Can I make a wheat pizza crust that the whole family will love?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.12.09

Materials Needed: Please see Day by Day for specific directions on how to make this pizza crust. I actually used my bread machine for this instead of using the stand mixer and just dumped the ingredients in like I would normally (wet ingredients, dry ingredients, yeast on top) and it came together great.

Results:


I ran my bread machine on the dough cycle and did have to add just a little bit of water to make the dough a little bit looser. I let it run through the entire cycle and then floured my counters and rolled it out for my lightly greased cookie sheet.

I baked as instructed and the results were great. The crust has a chewy texture and puffs up beautifully. I usually have to bake my crust first to get it to be nice and chewy, but I was able to top this crust and bake it right with the toppings and still have a nice firm crust.

The kids ate it and my husband really liked it too. It was a little bit healthier than our previous versions which made me feel less guilty about the slushie factor that I added in for our fun family night. It all balances out in the end, right?



Conclusion: I will definitely be making this crust again, but play around a little bit with the spices. I think it would be great with regular salt and garlic powder and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese instead, but it is a very versatile recipe that is a little healthier than our normal pizza crust. Thanks to Day by Day for sharing their family recipe!

Related Links:

Can I Make a Deep Dish Pizza?

Dinner is in the Bag

Freezer Worthy Pizza Sauce

Pizza Hut Pizza Dough Crust

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original craftster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: Kid Recipes, Notebook Experiments, Recipes

This chicken cooked in milk looks like a recipe that I have to try (@ The Kitchn)

This little dress decor is too cute (@ ohdeedoh)

I love this round-up of ideas for things to do with Easter eggs (@ One Crafty Place)

This crocheted bottle cozy would be a great little baby shower gift with glass baby bottles (@ design sponge)

These heat embossed rocks would be a fun project to do with the kids or to use as placeholders at a dinner table (@ cheeky magpie)

I love these tips for greening up the lunch bag (@ betz white)

I want to try these lemon-herb roasted drumsticks (@ Serious Eats)

I need to do a spice cabinet clean out (@ Small Notebook)

These impromptu princess crowns would be great for a birthday party (@ Sparkle Power)

I would love to try making these etched glass jars (@ Martha Stewart)

This homemade buttermilk ranch dressing look delicious (@ Simply Recipes)

This hungry caterpillar cupcake train is too cute (@ Coco Cake Cupcakes)

These Easter finger puppets are darling (@ The Purl Bee)

I would really like an oilcloth tablecloth for my kitchen table (@ Twig & Thistle)

I am going to have to print out some of these little Easter printables (@ Skip to My Lou)

I love these little bird's nests as a sweet Easter treat (@ My Insanity)

I want to try this technique for cooking moist chicken breasts (@ The Kitchn, hat tip to Not Martha)

I want to try making these easy hooded towels (@ Make & Takes)

These Peep cupcakes sound like the perfect Easter treat (@ Baking Bites)

Labels: Favorites, Notebook

I just want to say a special thank you to each of you for visiting my website and sharing it with your friends, family, and your own readers. We had another great month and it is all thanks to you. I hope to continue offering support through our site, lots of giveaways for our readers, and a place where you feel valued and cared for. If there is anything you would like to see on here, please contact me (amy@momadvice.com) and let me know what you would like to see in the upcoming year.

Don't forget, you can subscribe to my feeds and never miss another thing on our site again! We have a landing page where it makes it easy to subscribe to our blogs and you can even subscribe to my article feed.

This month's top referrers were:

1. Freebies 4 Mom
2. Twitter
3. Facebook
4. Money Saving Mom
5. Wisebread
6. Common Sense With Money
7. Baby Cheapskate
8. Tip Nut
9. I'm An Organizing Junkie
10. Feels Like Home

Please take some time this month to check out each of their sites. They are amazing at what they do and we are thankful that we have such great supporters!

This month's top articles & entries were:

1. The Cost of a Homemade Happy Meal
2. Depression Era Cooking: The Poor Man's Feast
3. Throwing a Baby Shower on a Budget
4. Simplifying Your Grocery Day Resource List
5. Homemade Hamburger Buns
6. Storing Homemade Bread & Bread Ingredients
7. Post No Spend Challenge Confessions
8. Tis' The Final Day of No Spend! Rejoice!
9. Cracking the McDonald's Coffee Code
10. Ain't No Party Like a Lego Party

Labels: Monthly Recaps