Werther’s Original Unwrap the Magic Sweepstakes

I received free product and a gift card in exchange for this post, but all opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

When I was offered the chance to share about Werther’s Original, I must say I did a little happy dance at the computer. I have always loved Werther’s Original hard candies and was eager to try out their other products.

Oh, so you noticed the title of this post has the word sweepstakes in it? Well, that’s because you can enter the Unwrap the Magic Sweepstakes for a chance to win the Grand Prize: the winner and up to three guests will embark on a grand culinary adventure into a food and wine lover’s paradise at the 2015 Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival. Weekly winners will also be selected to receive a prize package that includes Werther’s® Original® products as well as a $25 ©Disney gift card.

If you’re like me, I know you can always use a trip away! Here’s how you can enter: www.werthersmagic.com.

Making Our Own Food Pouches with Infantino

I received free product to produce this post, but all opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.

When Owen first arrived, I thought about making our own baby food. Plenty of people do, so I figured I’d give it a go. Well… we didn’t end up doing that, and now at a year old, he’s pretty much done with “baby” food. However, Charlie (at 3.5) still loves pouches! When we were given the chance to try out Infantino’s Fresh Squeezed line, I thought this was the perfect time to make our own.

I set everything up the night before. When I opened the Squeeze Station box I was surprised at how simple it was! All I had to do to set it up was wash the parts and put it back together. To put your station together, you just need to slide the pouches into slots and screw on the tube. How easy is that?

Slow Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza Dip

#spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between our site and Save-A-Lot. This could include providing us with content, product, access or other forms of payment.

Most people follow a sport in one form or another. In our house, we’re football people. And I mean, WE. I know some wives pretend to follow football and “cheer” for their husband’s team, but have no real idea what is going on. This is not the case in our house. I was a Ravens fan long before my husband and I started dating. He’s just lucky he is too.

Charlie loves to watch football with Mommy and Daddy now. He says “Go Ravens”! And he can echo us in the same exact tone when we say “Come on….” (be that a good thing or not).

When we’re watching football we sometimes forget to eat real meals, so our snacking has to be heavy! And what’s better for a football snack than some warm cheesy meaty dip?

 

Owen is 1!

I can’t believe that my baby, my last baby, turns 1 today! I know it’s so cliché and everyone says it, but it’s true: our babies really do grow up too quick. We had his 1st Birthday Party this past Saturday, so stay tuned for some jungle party fun, but I wanted to share some quick pics for his 1st birthday.

This is our first picture of Owen. I do regret not having someone take a pic of all 3 of us. I see tons of pics like that where mom is still on the table, but most moms having c-sections probably weren’t screaming in pain the majority of time.

Feel Confident About LBL with Poise

Thanks to Poise for sponsoring today’s post.

So here we go. This is definitely a post that’s a bit different from recipes and crafts, but one that the moms will totally get. You know that feeling when you sneeze, laugh, or maybe even jump? The one that feels like a little tinkle maybe? That’s called light bladder leakage (LBL). I know… not really a pleasant thing to talk about, but what’s really unpleasant is having to wear a giant pad just because a little LBL might happen.

Don’t let the fear of LBL change your daily routine! If you want to laugh, jump around with your kiddos or exercise without worrying about a little tinkle, do it! Right now, you can grab a free sample of the new Poise Microliners!

Mail Carrier & Letter Halloween Costumes

This post may contain affiliate links.

This is our first Halloween with both boys. Owen was 2 days old last year and we were still in the hospital. My mom and step-father took Charlie trick or treating last year and we are so excited to be able to take both around this year!

After given a few choices, Charlie decided on being a mailman for Halloween. So, that left Owen as a package or a letter.

Easy One Pot Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta

This post is sponsored by Hillshire Brands in partnership with Mom It Forward. However, all opinions are my own.

At our house, we need a protein in every meal. Hillshire Farm Lit’l Smokies have made it a breeze to add protein to our dishes. Sure, you can always eat mac and cheese plain, but doesn’t this look soooo much better?

Before shopping at Safeway, I always check my Just For U coupons and add anything I might pick up. The coupons are added right to my card! Right now, you can find some great coupons on Hillshire Brands, including this one for Lit’l Smokies.

Making Baths Fun with BathBlocks

I received a free BathBlocks set in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

I don’t know about you, but bath time at our house is hit or miss. We recently got the chance to test out BathBlocks. What kid doesn’t like blocks? BathBlocks are the perfect tub toy. You can build and create waterslides, ball runs, floating towns, castles, and more!

Charlie’s 3.5 and has a little trouble getting them to stick to the tub, but so do Tom and I. It says to use soap suds to increase cling to the wall, but we still had a hard time. I think it’ll just take time to get it down. Either way, Charlie thinks they’re fantastic and will easily play with them in the tub for half an hour.

#GetGoing with Jif to Go Dippers

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence Central for Jif To Go Dippers. I received a sample to facilitate my review and a thank you item for participating.

If you’re a parent, you know how kids are always STARVING. Sure… occasionally we forget to feed them, but usually they seem to be hungry 2 minutes after they ate anyway. You know what I’m talking about. So, as parents we are required to arm our bags, cars, and pockets with snacks to refuel.

Jif has made snacking on-the-go super convenient with their new Jif to Go Dippers.

[Giveaway] Citrus Lane Gift Box Subscription

Our Getaway to Crown Reef Resort in Myrtle Beach

I won a trip from Purex Insiders and Crown Reef Resort, but all opinions are our own.

We just got back from an amazing 4 nights away! When was the last time you went away without the kids? For us, it had been since our honeymoon (a little over 4 years ago).

Instead of that long drive (which we just took 3 weeks prior with the boys), we flew from BWI to Myrtle Beach. I didn’t even realize MB had an airport, but they do! It’s small and cute, but has everything you need. The Crown Reef Resort shuttle picked us up from baggage claim and dropped us off at the resort check-in. I was a little nervous about arriving so early in the morning (10am) and that our room wouldn’t be ready, but after just about 10 minutes, we were handed our keys and off we went!

Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers

I love making stuffed peppers, but don’t always have ground beef on hand. After a quick check of the freezer and pantry, I threw together some quick and easy chicken fajita stuffed peppers.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• 1/2 a large yellow onion, diced
• 1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 package of rice (we used Rice Pilaf this time, but Spanish works great) 
• 1 fajita seasoning packet
• 2/3 cup of water
• 4 bell peppers
• shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

2 Weeks of Free eMeals

This post contains affiliate links.

I found a really fun freebie for you guys this week! As many of you know, I LOVE eMeals! eMeals is a meal planning service that sends you a weekly list of recipes including side dishes with a completed grocery list. Not only does eMeals get you organized, but they can help you eat healthier, save money and have more time with your family…and who doesn’t want that?!

16 Perfect Crafts for Fall

I don’t know about you, but where we are in Maryland, it definitely feels like Fall this week! Since we love doing crafts, I wanted to share some of the awesome crafts we found that are perfect for Fall.

Thankful Tree Tutorial – One Creative Mommy

Patchwork Pumpkins – The Nerd’s Wife

Paper Plate Scarecrow – The Neighborhood Moms

Easy Tissue Paper Pumpkin – Mom’s Messy Miracles

Celebrate Mini Milestones with Netflix

I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team and received a Netflix subscription and a streaming device in return for posting Netflix updates and reviews. However, all opinions are my own and we were Netflix users prior to joining the Stream Team.

This is our first month as a Netflix Stream Team member! I’m very excited to share new Netflix finds, crafts, recipes and more with you every month!

At this point in our lives, we’ve accomplished quite a few milestones: get married, buy a house, and have a baby. I love that as parents now, we get to experience all the mini milestones x2!

This spring, Charlie started baseball and I remember how exciting it was for his first baseball game! And just last month he started preschool!

We love curling up on the couch (or often the floor) to watch movies or tv shows on Netflix. I love that Netflix has something so easily relatable to many of these mini milestones!

Tissue Paper Pumpkin

This post may contain affiliate links.

Easy crafts are perfect for our house. This pumpkin is a fun and easy craft that’s perfect for fall. Charlie loves making crafts and I love being able to use them to decorate the house. This is now hanging on our door!

10 Tips For a Smarter Home

Thanks to Direct Energy for sponsoring today's discussion.

If you’re like us, you’re always looking for ways to save a little money. Take a look at your electric bill and see what you can do make it a little easier on the wallet.

I’m a stay at home mom now, which means my television is on most of the day (not that we’re always watching it), the computer is usually on, and during the summer/winter the AC/heat is on. When I was working, there were days that no one was home for over 10 hours. During that time, we were able to change our thermostat up/down to account for no one needing it. Since this is not the case anymore, we’re working on other ways to make our home smarter.

One thing we’ve really been trying to do is use more natural light during the day. We have a big window in our living room and with our new blinds, we get more light through the window than we would if the light was on. Remembering to turn the lights off is hard for anyone. If we don’t turn them on- we don’t forget.

Another way we conserve energy is by using our ceiling fan instead of turning on the AC as soon as it gets a bit too warm. The same concept applies to using blankets to keep warm.

Everything was Awesome at #LegoKidsFest

We received free tickets in exchange for our review. All opinions are my own.

Charlie was so excited about going to LEGO KidsFest! For us, Richmond is about a 3 hour drive (or it should be). Because of traffic and some construction, it took us about 4 hours to get there last night. Lucky for us, Charlie finally fell asleep and got in a nap!

After parking the car and walking to the convention center, we arrived at the event about 5PM.

It started at 4PM and we felt that we would still have plenty of time to see and do everything. I mean, how many hours can you spend looking at and playing with LEGO bricks?

The answer: unknown, but we were completely entertained for the 3.5 hours we were there.

10 Things We Want to Do in October

This post contains affiliate links. I received an outfit free to review, but I love putting my boy in cute clothes anyway.

Last week was a big change in temperature. In the mornings now, it’s nice and cool and definitely feels like fall out there. Dressing Charlie for preschool now means long sleeves and long pants most days!

Look how grown up my boy looks in his newest Fabkids outfit! This shirt is super soft and I want one in my size! The pants seem to run a bit big and the shirt is a bit long, but tucked the shirt into the pants and he was good to go.

Win 3 Little Me Footies

I may receive a small compensation in return for hosting this giveaway, but these are awesome footies anyway!

Little Me apparel lets you embrace the messiness of babyhood. Celebrate those fleeting years when your little newborns transform into toddlers with outfits that are just as good after the tenth wash as they are after the first! You don't have to compromise adorable for durable with the superior quality of each and every Little Me outfit!

Owen has 3 that are absolutely adorable and I’m sad he’s just about grown out of them now.

Safer Window Coverings for Kids + Giveaway

I received free window coverings in exchange for this post, but my love for keeping kids safe is all my own!

October is Window Covering Safety Month! Did you know that’s a thing? Well, it is and it’s a very important issue to address. Because window coverings with cords are cited as one of the top 5 hidden hazards in the home, we jumped at the opportunity to work with Blinds.com to make our window coverings safer!

 

We moved into our townhouse about 6 months before we were married. We knew we would have children in this house, but didn’t think about everything that entailed house-wise. The blinds that came with the house are what stayed up until just recently. Once we had Charlie, we tried some of those cord keepers for the blinds, but they seemed to fall off and become more of a hassle, so our cords were often draped through one of the top blinds to keep it out of his reach.