Fruttare Fruit Bars: Summer Treat and Printable

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Fruttare, but all my opinions are my own. #itsallgood #pmedia  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV 

Recently my JT Boy started water polo and it has been a steep learning curve.
The practices are long, treading water is hard, and swimming laps is rough
when you're an eight-year-old boy.
However, he has stuck with it and gotten stronger in the process.
I wanted to celebrate his growth and accomplishment with a delicious summer treat
and was excited to find these delicious Fruttare Fruit Bars at my local Wal-Mart.

Playing water polo has been an excellent lesson in learning - "I can do hard things."

There have been several times over the last month that JT has wanted to quit.

And I had to talk him through and assure him that this was worth sticking with it.

Sometimes he was hesitant to believe me when I told him it would get easier, 

he would get better, his muscles would grow stronger.

Last week after practice he proudly announced as we walked to the car,

"Mom, I got out of the pool all by myself after practice today!"

This was huge!

He can get out of our neighborhood pool no problem, but the 14ft deep pool

he plays water polo in is a whole other story.

The deck of the pool is a good 18 inch drop into the water and every day after practice

his coach has to give him a hand so he can pull himself out of the water.

But last week he conquered the beast and his accomplishment warranted a celebration.

So I picked up a box of Black Cherry Fruttare Fruit Bars and a box of Strawberry

and Milk Fruttare Fruit Bars and we had a little party in the front yard after practice.

I also made some cute summer note cards and wrote him a note so he'd know how

proud I was of his hard work and perseverance over the last month.

We had Black Cherry and Strawberry and Milk Fruttare bars for our celebration,

but you can also find them in Peach and Milk, Banana and Milk, Pineapple, Lime and more!

It was the perfect refreshing treat after a long, hard practice and JT was excited

to have a fruity, yummy treat to help him cool down on a hot summer day.

I'm sharing the cute summer note cards printable with you so you can celebrate
the little victories in life and let someone you love know you're proud that they
learned they can do hard things.

You should visit the Fruttare website or Facebook page for more yummy flavors
and to find local stores where you can buy your own boxes.

Pregnant Lady Snack Time with FULL Flavor TEN Calorie Soda

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #TENways http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV 

During the pregnancies with JT and Isabella, I gained WAY too much weight!

With JT I gained about 65 pounds and struggled for two years to take the "baby" weight off.

With Isabella, I started about 20 pounds heavier - never able to drop that last

bit of the weight from JT - and gained 45 pounds, so I ended up back in the same spot.

So, I was determined that with this third baby that I was going to keep my

weight gain under control and stay within the guidelines given by my doctor.

Enter the Four Ten Calorie DPSG sodas!

It's no secret that I love soda pop! But drinking full calorie soda is just

not an option for a pregnant woman trying to manage her weight gain.

However, the typical "diet" sodas left a strange taste in my mouth during pregnancy

that wasn't desirable.
So, when I found out that my local WalMart was carrying the TEN sodas, I knew that
this might be what I was looking for.It would help to satisfy my sweet tooth,
but without sacrificing the FULL FLAVOR.

I have such a wicked sweet tooth during pregnancy, which is probably why I have such

a hard time with weight management. However, since I was diagnosed with gestational

diabetes at about 30 weeks pregnant, eating lots of sugar and carbs wasn't an option.

So, I learned to adapt and finding the TEN calorie sodas helped satisfy the sweet I was looking

for, without compromising my blood sugar 

In fact, I did so well with my blood sugar level that I was diet controlled. 

One of my favorite snacks was a protein bar and a glass full of ice and either Sunkist TEN

or A&W Rootbeer TEN. They have such great flavor and hit the spot perfectly.

Right now - through April 17th - you can use THIS COUPON to get $.50 off the
purchase of TWO 2-liter bottles or TWO 4-pack cans of 7UP TEN, A&W TEN,
CANADA DRY TEN, RC TEN, or Sunkist TEN soda at WalMart.
But! If you share the coupon via email, Facebook or Twitter, you'll be brought
to a coupon for a $1.50 off your purchase. So share away!!!!
Offer available while supplies last.

Kleenex and Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate: Essentials for Cold and Flu Season

 

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Kleenex 
but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #KleenexTarget  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

It's that time of year again, when Kleenex brand tissues become a staple around our home.
I grew up with Kleenex as the only facial tissue that my mom trusted and I am
proud to say that I have continued that tradition with my own children.
Both of my children suffer from seasonal allergy induced asthma and during this
cold and flu season it can get especially dicey around here with runny noses and coughs galore.
That's why I have a box of Kleenex in every room and at easy reach for the kids to use
and help contain the germs in the thick, soft layers of tissue.

Right now Target has adorable holiday themed boxes of Kleenex, which fit in nicely
with all of my Christmas decorations. We had to buy the four-pack because I wanted
the green & red box and Isabella wanted the ice blue "Elsa" box .
Target even has a $1 off coupon for Kleenex 4 packs or larger.
 

 Something I love to do for my kids when they are sick during cold and flu season,
is make them my special Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I started off just making this
fun hot cocoa concoction for myself because I love caramel, but once the kids tasted
it, they had to have some for themselves!



 I mix my hot cocoa in my Cocoa Latte machine - which I adore!
The key to a really creamy and delicious cup of hot chocolate is MILK!!!!
I know most of the directions will say to use hot water, but I highly recommend using MILK!
It has changed the the lives of all I have come in contact with, so trust me.
As the hot chocolate mixes in my Cocoa Latte machine
I drizzle in 2-3 tablespoons of caramel syrup.
 Then, I top it with whip cream, drizzle with caramel syrup and sprinkle
some coarse sea salt on top - YUMMY!



A box of Kleenex, a cup of my special salted caramel hot chocolate, a cozy blanket,
and a fun game is all it takes to help create a warm spot for my kids to
snuggle up in and pass a sick day at home.
Even my little Isabella recognizes when a facial tissue isn't Kleenex.
She'll say, "This one isn't the "K" ones like your name. They are scratchy!"
And I totally agree! If it doesn't say Kleenex, keep it away from our noses!
With allergies, asthma, colds and flu around these parts, we have to be choosey
and only use Kleenex so that our noses stay healthy.

So if the cold and flu season rears it's ugly head at your house, be sure

to use Kleenex and whip up some salted caramel hot chocolate to help everyone

stay comfortable and cozy!

Halloween Decor and a Mommy Breather with Hershey's and PEOPLE Magazine

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, PEOPLE Magazine & Hershey’s, but all my opinions are my own. #HersheysPeople #pmedia http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

As I said yesterday, I {LOVE} decorating for Halloween, and I just don't feel
like my Halloween decor is complete without my cute Halloween candy dishes being
filled with lots of yummy candies. They just complete the look and say - It's Halloween!

I was so excited while shopping for Halloween treats at Target last week to find a festive
Fall bag of my favorite Hershey's dish candy, Rolos, in the Halloween candy aisle.
I was even more excited to find out that Target has a $2 off coupon when you buy
PEOPLE Magazine and a 10-14 oz bag of any Hershey's dish candy.
It's always great to get things I want and like and save money at the same time.
The coupon is good while supplies last, so don't delay!



Don't those candy dishes look so much more complete with chocolate?



I must confess that I was a little selfish and picked up the bags with my favorite
Hershey's candies in them. But when I found a bag that had Almond Joy and
tiny rolls of Rolos in it, I just had to have it!




This is a busy year for me.
Between the kids, carpool, dance, basketball, homework, errands,
room mom duties, being in charge of children's Sunday school,
being pregnant, and two birthdays coming up, this time of year can become really overwhelming.
 So I was glad to grab my PEOPLE magazine and take a Mommy Breather in my favorite spot.
Outside of my home are these great benches on a big green lawn where I can put my feet
up and take five from all the rushing that is the Halloween season.




The kids can run around, ride their scooters or do chalk art on the sidewalks and
I can catch 10-15 minutes to rest and regroup.
I love reading while I hang out on the bench,
but books are too hard because I get so engrossed in the story I quit paying attention.
So  PEOPLE magazine is the perfect thing for a quick read on the bench.
I can catch up on what's going on in the entertainment world, take a breather,
and the kids are still supervised and outside in the gorgeous SoCal weather.

So, once your candy dishes are full and the costumes are finished, 

be sure to grab a PEOPLE magazine and take a Mommy Breather in your favorite spot.

And don't forget to enjoy one (or two) of your favorite Hershey's candies while you're at it.

Jelly Shoes: They're Back!

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Jelly Beans 

but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #JellysAreBack http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

I grew up on jelly shoes. I wanted them in every color and every style

and they were the highlight of my budding little fashionista wardrobe.

I wanted so much to share my love of the jelly shoe with my little Isabella,

but it seemed they were gone from the market.

Sure, you could find a random plastic shoe here and there, but they

were never quite like the jelly shoes that I remembered from my childhood.

 But they're back, BABY! And they are cuter than ever!
They come in a wide range of colors and sizes - even for mamas.
Jelly Beans are Australian owned and operated since 2011.
They are made of high quality PVC, so they're sturdy and durable and will stand
up to all the places little feet are sure to take them.

Isabella literally gasped when I opened the box and revealed her pretty pink shoes.
She exclaimed, "I promise, Mom, I won't ever take them off or lose them at the park."
She has a bad habit of leaving her shoes wherever the mood strikes her to remove them.
Last summer we lost three pairs of darling sandals.
So, she loves these so much she was willing to promise to never take them off.
It was really sweet and I don't believe it for a minute :)

The first place she wanted to wear them was to church.

She has this fun rainbow chevron dress and she had the idea to pair them together.

She was excited to show them off to her friends.

It was a good choice to wear them to church for the first wearing,

because they take a bit of breaking in and the short period of time was perfect

for the first couple of times she wore them.

She also loves to wear them to the pool because she can get them off and on herself,

the insides dry quickly if she puts them on with wet feet, and they match

her cute summer swimming suits.

I love that they are bright pink, because they are easy to find!

And since she wears a lot of pink, they go with a lot of her casual and dressy outfits.

Jelly Beans are available for purchase from the Jelly Bean website

and there is FREE SHIPPING in the United States and your shoes

will ship from the US, so that is even more awesome!
You'll love all the pretty colors they come you'll want one for every outfit.
Isabella has the clear ones on her radar for her next purchase.

You can keep up with Jelly Beans:

{WEBSITE}

{TWITTER}

{FACEBOOK}

{INSTAGRAM}

{PINTEREST}

Saturday Date at BJ's Restaurant

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and BJ’s Restaurants  

but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BJsrestaurants http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO 

Between my husbands really hectic work schedule and my incessant need to stay busy

with various projects and events, sometimes we forget to carve out some time 

to hang out with each other. So, when he said he had a free afternoon for lunch,

I jumped at the chance to head to our local BJ's Restaurant and enjoy a couple of hours together.

When I first moved to California and was teaching school, I worked with a lot of fun ladies.

We ordered in lunch from BJ's Restaurant on special days
and headed there for Happy Hour on many a Friday.

I always ordered the same thing - the Santa Fe Salad with Cajun Shrimp, dressing on the side.

I have pretty much stuck with that same dish every time we go to BJ's Restaurant, so I was excited

to hear about the new Big Poppa Smokers BBQ menu items and it gave me the push 

I needed to branch out and try something yummy and new.

 

One thing I love about BJ's Restaurant is the fun atmosphere. 

There are TVs with sports events playing, people talking, servers buzzing around,

and it just lends itself to good conversation and a laid back, fun time.

 We started off with a couple of appetizers.
My husband wanted to try the Corn Fritters with Bacon Aioli, but I wanted to
try the cornbread. So we compromised and got both!
They were both delicious and had great flavor. The sauce with the corn fritters
was amazing!

I was looking for a smaller portion, so I ordered the lunch special

and it was the perfect size and was yummy!!!! It was served with a pulled pork slider,

Jallelujah spiced fries, chicken breast and cole slaw. Plus I got to choose the sauce

that was served with my pulled pork and I chose chipotle - yum!

It was the perfect size and I got a tasted of lots of the new items.

My husband went big and ordered the regular pulled pork sandwich and it was
also served with the Jallelujah spiced fries and coleslaw. He said the pork was tender
and had a great flavor. We both also enjoyed the fried onions on top the sandwiches.

No meal at BJ's Restaurant is complete without dessert!
We decided to diverge from our typical Pizookie and try the Berry Cobbler
from the Big Poppa Smokers BBQ menu and it didn't disappoint.
I'm a huge berry fan, so I loved it! My husband isn't a nut fan, so he picked around the pecans,
but he said he liked it and of course, the vanilla bean ice cream was amazing as always.

It was a fantastic couple of hours for us to enjoy each others company and try some
new food at one of our favorite restaurants. I definitely want to go back and try a few more
things from the menu before the limited time Big Poppa Smokers BBQ menu disappears on September 2nd.

Keep up with BJ's Restaurants on:
{WEBSITE}
{TWITTER}
{FACEBOOK}
{BIG POPPA SMOKERS}

Fantastic! (DRY) Nights with GoodNites Bed Mats

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and GoodNites, 

but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BetterNights  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

My little Isabella is four and a half years old and sleeping dry through the night

has been a major hurdle for her and I know she's getting frustrated

that she hasn't been able to sleep dry consistently.

It's not a new battle at our house. JT had the same troubles and was almost

four before he was able to sleep through the night without an accident.

So, I assumed the same would be true for Isabella.

They are both HEAVY sleepers. I mean HEAVY.

I can turn the light on and vacuum the floor and neither of them will flinch.

I knew through investigating nocturnal enuresis with JT that waking up 

dry wasn't a choice the kids make. It can't be learned or taught.

However, as we get closer and closer to her fifth birthday,

I was starting to worry all over again.

We were relying mostly on what we call "nighttime underwear" at our house.

However, she's old enough and smart enough to know that they are pull-ups.

Once when we were walking through the store to buy some,

she said, "Well, I guess we need to get me some more of those diaper things."

So, when we ran out of "nighttime underwear" the other day I decided

I wanted to try an experiment - no more "nighttime underwear"!

My husband wasn't as convinced as I was and he worried about all

the middle of the night clean-ups that would inevitably happen.

I, on the other hand, was convinced that we would have more dry

nights if she didn't have the pull-ups to rely on.

Sure, there would be accidents, but I was ready to face them!

To make my husband feel better, I went to Target late one night to pick

up some GoodNites and used the $1.50 coupon I printed off.

I wasn't sure how I felt about these disposable bed mats, we had used

them before at Grandma's house where the kids sleep on the floor,

but we had never used them at home on an actual bed.

Isabella was super excited because she finally got to wear her big girl underwear to bed.

Let me tell you - they are awesome!

I was worried they wouldn't be big enough for my little manic sleeper

that rolls all over the entire bed, but the 2.5x3 feet mat has been perfect.

I was also worried they wouldn't stay put, but the four adhesive strips on the back

of the mat are strong and hold well to the fitted sheet on her bed.

I would avoid using the bed mat on a plush fabric.

Isabella has a sheepskin blanket that she took to Grandma's to use as

a sleeping mat and we had a tough time getting the adhesive off the fluffy fabric.

But it just pulls right off of her cotton fitted sheet with no problems.

Here's a picture of Isabella on the GoodNites bed mat so that you can see

the size of the mat in comparison to her four-and-a-half-year-old self.

She decided it would be a good idea for her to pretend to sleep :)

Another cool thing is that if she wakes up dry, the mat can be used again

for another night.

So we just throw the comforter over it and you can't even tell that

the GoodNites mat is hiding under there.

We're going on our third week of GoodNites bed mats success!!!

I have her go potty before she goes to bed and then when I go to bed

at about 11:30 - I get her up and have her go again.

She's only had 2 accidents and the bed mats caught both of them,

so it made clean up at 4am easy peasy and she was able to get back to sleep quickly.

If you're looking for a nighttime solution to help with bed wetting for

your preschooler, I highly recommend the GoodNites.

I know this is a sponsored post, but really, I am so glad we have them.

And when I posted on Instagram that they were life changing,

I had at least three people say how much they love them.

If you want your nights changed, 

then print this coupon from Target before you go 

and you'll save $1.50 on your purchase.

The Land of Nod Comes to Orange County

*This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own.

I have totally adored The Land of Nod for such a long time,

that being able to actually walk into a real life storefront and experience

the magical whimsy in person was so exciting!

On Thursday last week I had to opportunity to attend a pre-Grand Opening party

at the new Land of Nod store in Costa Mesa, CA at South Coast Plaza.

It was so fun to get a sneak peek into the awesomeness that is Land of Nod

and do some shopping for home and family.

There were so many fabulous furniture items - I wanted to take them all home with me.

This itty bitty Chevron chair was one of my favorites!

I really love how The Land of Nod fuses vintage with modern designs.

Everything coordinates, but it isn't overly matchy-matchy.

I can just see putting that adorable chair next to this book case and creating

a super cozy reading nook for the kids in their bedroom.

It's such a great storage solution that displays the books for such 

easy access and let's the kids see all the fun books there are to read.

There is also a fantastic array of vintage-esque toys.

You know the really good ones - like wooden puzzles, puppets, creative

art supplies, giant rubber duckies . . . so cool!

I really wanted to take home a giant gummy bear night light for the kids,

but since I knew they'd battle for the right to sleep with it each night,

I decided to save it for a birthday present in the near future.

In the end I settled on these great nesting suitcases for the kids.

I got one set in green and one in pink. 

My kids love to carry all their fun trinkets around with them,

and I thought these would be perfect for the carrying around of things.

I was right - both kids love them and use them daily.

I couldn't let myself come home empty handed,

so this gorgeous rainbow throw came home with me so that

I can keep cozy and be a rainbow triplet with Elizabeth and Julie!

I highly recommend scooting over to South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa

ASAP to check out the awesomeness for yourself.

If Costa Mesa, CA isn't on your radar - you can still shop online.

You can keep up with The Land of Nod on:

{WEBSITE}

{TWITTER}

{FACEBOOK}

{PINTEREST}

{INSTAGRAM}

Disclosure: This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA   http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.