A Bit Stuffed Up. #FreeSample #MC sponsored

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Zarbee’s Naturals. I received a promotional item and a product sample as a thank you for participating.

I've been talking about Spring a lot lately.... I suppose you can say I am pretty happy it's here. I love Spring, but for many it's a time of suffering with congestion. I personally know that Spring can bring with it a stuffy nose and congestion, not only for myself but for my kids too. There's a new all natural product out there that may help relieve your seasonal congestion...

Zarbee's Naturals has launched the Seasonal Relief Project. Zarbee's Seasonal Relief is a new solution with clinical support for combating general congestion. This dietary supplement is made from the extract of Butterbur, a plant used for centuries in Europe, but less so in the U.S.

 Butterbur is both a humble weed and a powerful plant. Butterbur grows wild along rivers, ditches and marshes worldwide, though ours comes from farms in Germany. Its sparse, red flowers shoot up in early spring, followed by huge, heart-shaped leaves.

Europeans have benefited for centuries from its effective properties, but it's less well known in the U.S. So Zarbee's is working hard to get the word out about this great, natural solution featuring the power of natural Butterbur.

You can get your free sample and a $3 off coupon by visiting the site and clicking "try now".

You can also get some tips at the site and... once you've tried Zarbee's Naturals you can come back and tell them about it and they will donate to a good cause- just for you taking the time to let them know what you thought!

Zarbee’s Naturals’ Seasonal Relief is available over the counter at CVS and Target. Zarbee's is intended for children 12 years of age and older. If you are pregnant or nursing, please consult a doctor before use. And please, keep this and all supplements out of the reach of children.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Budget Friendly Baby Food? #Giveaway

This is a partnered post with Perrigo Nutritionals. I received samples for the purpose of this post. All opinions are my own.

Baby food... who knew it could cost SO much?! Honestly, if there was one thing I would tell my before-kids self it would be that baby food is pricey! Thank goodness there are a few ways to save a buck!

Okay, so let's talk about money saving tips.

Crystal Paine’s 5 Money Saving Tips for Families

Create a Budget
A budget gives you parameters and purpose, it gives you boundaries, and it gives you freedom to live creatively within those boundaries.

Shop With Cash
When you shop with a credit card (or even a debit card, for that matter!) you can have your budget in your head and you can do the best to stick with it when you check out, but it’s so much easier to go just a little bit over here and there when you’re swiping!

Plan a Menu
When you have a plan in place for what you’re supposed to be eating each meal and you’ve already purchased the ingredients for those recipes, it’s a lot harder to justify chucking the plan for takeout.

Use Coupons
Coupons are a great way to save a lot of money on your grocery bill, but they can be hard to keep up with. Clipping, sorting, and organizing coupons takes time — so enter a coupon database! You’ll have access to printable and other coupons currently available and it’s one of the most effective and efficient ways to save money on groceries.

Buy Store Brands
One way to save a great deal of money on your grocery budget is to learn to like and use a variety of brands. The sooner you can get over being a brand-snob, the more your pocketbook will thank you.
For example, while I breast fed my children, moms who choose to formula feed can save up to 50 percent by switching to store brand formula, which meets the same FDA quality standards as expensive name brands. There are also coupons available at a website - StoreBrandFormula.com .  This one simple change can save moms about $600 a year!

We use all of these great money-saving ideas. With a large family we need to keep a close tab on how much we spend (especially on food, since it's a large expense). We love store brand items here.... just for the cost-savings, sure there are a couple items that we splurge on, but the truth is 99% of the time the store brand tastes just like the name-brand. Orrin doesn't seem to mind store-brand foods one bit, and it's great to be able to keep a few extra dollars in our pocket!

GIVEAWAY
   
This giveaway is for:

A copy of “Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your  Passion for Life” by Crystal Paine.       
1 container of store brand formula 
9 assorted Puree Pouches  
5 assorted Puffs 
4 assorted Yogurt Bites

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A breath of fresh air...#FebrezeSpring

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/Febreze. 

Spring is my favorite time of year. I absolutely love it. The sunshine is an instant mood booster. Rain is also one of my favorite Spring-time things. The smell after a nice thunderstorm is so relaxing to me. Spring smells in general are amazing.... fresh new flowers, the first fresh cutting of grass- it's just all wonderful. 

The longer sunny days allow my family and I to enjoy the outdoors and soak in the sun that we had been missing for the long winter. We love to play outside, go on nature walks, and watch as the Earth comes alive once again.

Spring cleaning is always on my list of Spring to-do's, and with Febreze it's even more enjoyable. Febreze has some great new scents that are available at Walmart this year. 

My husband is a HUGE fan of Febreze Air Effects. He keeps several of these around the house so that he can boost the scent in our home. We have tried the Set & Refresh previously. It's a great air freshener but it only lasts about a week. I have been amazed with the NOTICEables. I DO notice the scent more since there are two alternating scents, and it's still going strong.  The car vent clips were a bit strong for me honestly. I like the scent, but it was just too overwhelming when I was right there by the vent. Overall, I have been impressed with all of the products we have received, and we really loved the Nectar scent with wildflower being a very close second. 

TRY IT! 

Comment below for your chance to win a $15 Walmart Gift Card! I will pick one winner on 4-25-14.

(Make sure I have a way to get in touch with you!)

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure.#7DaysofSpringCleaning

This post was made possible through the support of Goodwill. All opinions are my own.

Need a little motivation to declutter? Perhaps you've been meaning to, but don't want to pay to toss all of your unwanted things away? Well, how about donating your usable, but not wanted, items to Goodwill? Not only will someone else find a treasure, but you'll be helping create jobs.

#7DaysofSpringCleaning:

Goodwill is encouraging everyone to participate in #7DaysofSpringCleaning by urging people to focus on cleaning different areas of their home for seven consecutive days. Spring cleaning can be very overwhelming if you do it all at once, so why not spread it out over a week and make it a little less daunting!

Day 1) Clear your closet clutter

Day 2) Time to tackle the kitchen

Day 3) Spread holiday cheer (holiday decorations, center pieces, Halloween)

Day 4) Downsize your tech toys (used laptops)

Day 5) Clean out your office supplies

Day 6) Provide quality entertainment (unused movies, video games)

Day 7) Downsize your bookshelf

If you have stuff to donate you can calculate your donation impact.

So... how about it? What do YOU have cluttering up your house? We donate all throughout the year, and there always seems to be more to donate. Kids grow out of items, kids get bored of items.... "stuff" gets overwhelming- those are all great reasons to share some of your stuff with Goodwill and create some jobs!

It'll make you want to finish each other's..... sandwiches! #Recipe

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Roman Meal. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Hope you got my little Frozen play on words there. Yes, yes, it's struck our house too we can't hide from "Let it Go" or any other catchy song that may or may not mention finishing each other's sandwiches.... but while we're thinking of sandwiches, what's a pretty important component to sandwiches? The bread, of course!

Roman Meal bread is is always baked fresh, locally with more many regional bakeries across the United States to delivering freshly baked bread to your local grocery store.

Roman Meal's whole grains are a good source for vitamin D, calcium, and fiber! Studies have shown whole grain intake may reduce the risk of heart disease, so it's wise to try to add in some whole grains to your diet. Good tasting bread is a great way to do this. 

But....bread isn't just for sandwiches, oh no. There a ton of great recipes that will help you get creative with Roman Meal bread!  I really wanted to make the Raspberry Hazelnut Toast Bites, but I didn't have everything I needed so I decided on the Chocolaty Whole Grain Cinnamon Toast Treats instead.

(Click the recipe to go to the recipe page)

Okay, so they might not be the healthiest treat, but a little whole grain into an indulgence at least boosts it up a bit, right? The kids loved these, and I preferred them without the chocolate. Either way they're tasty! 

Now, how about some contests? First, Roman Meal’s Baked Fresh Sweepstakes is going on through April 30th. One grand prizewinner will receive $2,500; several others will win free bread coupons! Be sure to sign up for the Roman Meal newsletter to keep up to date with future promotions as well!

What is your favorite way to eat/use bread?

LEGENDS OF OZ: DOROTHY’S RETURN

LEGENDS OF OZ: DOROTHY’S RETURN in theaters May 9

Visit the official website

Like Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return on Facebook

Follow @LegendsofOz on Twitter

Follow on Google+, Tumblr & Pinterest

Subscribe on YouTube

#LegendsofOz

 

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return is a 3D-animated musical based on the adventure books by Roger Stanton Baum, the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum. A continuation of one of the world’s most popular and beloved fairy tales, Legends of Oz finds Dorothy (Lea Michele) waking to post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow (Dan Aykroyd), the Lion (Jim Belushi), the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer) and Glinda (Bernadette Peters) from a devious new villain, the Jester (Martin Short). Wiser the owl (Oliver Platt), Marshal Mallow (Hugh Dancy), China Princess (Megan Hilty) and Tugg the tugboat (Patrick Stewart) join Dorothy on her latest magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order and happiness to Emerald City. Set to the tunes of Academy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Bryan Adams, Legends of Oz marks a charming, family-friendly return to the Oz franchise.

 

Starring Lea Michele, Hugh Dancy, Megan Hilty, Jim Belushi, Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer, Oliver Platt, Bernadette Peters and Patrick Stewart with new music by Bryan Adams

Directed by Daniel St. Pierre and Will Finn

Written by Based on the book “Dorothy of Oz” by Roger Stanton Baum

Screenplay by Randi Barnes and Adam Balsam

Produced by Bonnie Radford, Ryan Carroll and Roland Carroll

Make it a Hoppy Easter with Oriental Trading!

I received product for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

Easter has always been a fun holiday for me. I love the egg hunts and the feeling of Spring that comes along with it. One thing I didn't think about, though, is the cost! Holy smokes can it get pricey, especially with 8 kids!

Oriental Trading has some great deals to help make your Easter celebration fun- without breaking the bank! For about $75 I was able to get 12 baskets, 144 small plastic eggs, 72 pre-filled Jumbo eggs, 12 Easter basket bags, and an Easter Candy and Toy assortment (218 pieces)! 

That's less than $10 per child in our house....with extras for next year, or for donation! 

Oriental Trading has great catalogs full of stuff that is great for parties, get togethers, birthdays, crafts, weddings, holidays- there is just SO much available! It's great to go online and see everything they offer. 

Right now, you can get your Easter supplies shipped right to your door! They'll be there by Easter if you select ground shipping and place your order by April 10th, or if you're running a bit behind and can't order before the 10th you can select faster shipping in order for your order to make it before Easter. 

I was pretty happy with all of the supplies we received. The jumbo filled eggs each had a small toy (such as a necklace, yo-yo, ball on a string, or mini-finger skateboard) and a sticker inside. The 144 pastel eggs we received were pretty decent, although the "pastel pink" color was nearly white. The eggs were small, but I was happy that all but 3 of the eggs closed (and stayed closed). I filled those with the Easter Candy and Toy assortment. The assortment included Easter gliders (which were pretty nice, little kids would likely need help from an adult to assemble), sticky bunnies (hard to describe, they remind me of those slap hands from the 90's), flying bunnies, temporary tattoos, flying disks and of course some candy. The baskets we got were on the smaller side, but were great for about 6 eggs and a couple of the small toys. 

The biggest thing I wish were different was with the basket bags. I really wish some coordinating twist ties came with the bags. It's a small thing, but it means I need to make a trip for some ribbon or twist ties for the bags. 

How about you; what kinds of supplies do you need for Easter? Do you plan on having an egg hunt, Easter Baskets, both?

Gentle {Spring} Cleaning #DDDivas sponsored

This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Pampers. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

From the sound of the rain on our roof I can tell that Spring is here. I am SO thankful, because that was probably the longest Winter I can remember, at least in my area. With Spring comes Spring cleaning... something that is always a lot of work but refreshing once completed. I'm always more apt to keep up with the cleaning once my whole house looks great (I want it to stay that way)!

Cleaning can be tough not only on your muscles, but on your skin, too. Simple things like gloves and lotion can help make cleaning a bit more gentle. This Swiffer mop really helps, too... no more buckets of water! 

When you think of cleaning you usually think of your home, right? Well, you can also think of those little baby bottoms. Whenever we change our babies, we need to clean them up, right? Well, how gentle is that clean?  With Pampers Sensitive cleaning can be a bit more Gentle. Pampers and Double Duty Divas has given me the chance to help give someone the gift of a "Gentle Clean". 

I pondered what I could do to make this happen. At first, I thought maybe a cleaning service...but $50 doesn't go all that far. Instead I've teamed up with a local parent resource center and given two moms a gift basket of Pampers Sensitive diapers and wipes! Gentle on the parent's pocketbooks and gentle on baby's tush! Perfect.

Pampers wants to give everyone a chance to get a gentle clean, so there's a great Twitter party on April 8th.

Twitter Party Information:

The Twitter Party will take place on Tuesday April 8th at 9pm EST. 

Please share this link and encourage your readers to join us and RSVP: http://twtvite.com/PampersGentleClean

To participate, follow your hosts @DoubleDutyDivas, @BridgetteLA, @CeceliaMecca @AngieKcom @WhatMommiesNeed @RamblingChick, and our sponsor @Pampers.

Twitter Party Prizes Include:

1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + $50 SpaFinder.com Gift Card

1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + $50 Car Cleaning Service Gift Card

1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + $100 Merry Maids Gift Card

1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct)

1 Box of Pampers Sensitive Wipes (448 ct) + Roomba Pet and Allergy (ARV $450)

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway