What's the trick to preparing for the holidays?

60 days until Christmas, 28 days until Thanksgiving, and only 8 days until my oldest turns 10 so I'm starting to feel the push.
That being said I thought I would share with you my top 10 tricks to preparing for the holiday season!
Recently I shared some wonderful Mom invented goodies with some of my Mom friends thanks to #MompactLNO.  I created goody bags to put some of the various things in for the Moms which brings me to tip.
#1, have your children help with some of the decorating!
I picked up a package of foam leaf stickers and colored paper bags. My oldest stuck 3 stickers on each bag and then helped me fill them.











#2 Take time to be grateful for even the little things in your life.  My group of Moms created Gratitude jars using stickers, ribbon, scraps of paper, and empty recycled canning jars.
Share with your family and friends as a way to be grateful this season. Ask each family member even the younger ones to share what they are thankful for, write it on a slip of paper and date it.

#3 Keep lots of warm drinks handy as there is nothing better to calm the stress then a cup of warm. Remember as we prepare for the holiday season, a stressed out Mom doesn't make for a fun holiday. If you need to cut back on some of the decorating or bake a little less then do it. I know I am planning on baking for gifts this year as well as crafting, but I am also cutting back on the decorating and trying to simplify things a little.

#4 Buffet style is awesome! Keep is simple, if you are having guests over consider a buffet style rather than a formal sit down event. Yes sitting down for a meal is good (we do it almost every night at home) but being with people and having conversation is good too. I have found over the years some of my favorite parties have been buffet style (also easier to clean up at least for me.




#5 Keep a basket on the counter in the bathroom filled with products that will help visiting Moms and little ones. We have grown out of the baby stage but I have friends and family with little ones.  Here are some of the wonderful Mompact Products to fill a basket with:
  

Boogie Wipes, Diaper Buds, and TidyTots potty chair liners

#6 Stay Consistent  I know during the holidays sometimes we want to relax the rules a bit, not a good idea. Stay consistent with rules and consequences, add some extra snuggle time and extra incentives to following the rules, but don't relax the rules recovering on the back side of the holidays will be too hard. Penalty Pal is a great way to simplify timeouts with a single spot on the wall, a floor , perhaps even the kitchen cabinet or pantry door.

#7 Drink extra water, I know that sounds silly, but with the change in the weather and the rush rush of the holidays remember to drink your 8+ glasses a day.

#8. Cuddle with your kids more. We live in a very materialistic society and sometimes I think we forget about the simple things like snuggling. Read a book, share the day's events, ask them what they think of things.
#9. Menu plan and freezer meals are a huge way to save time and stress. It can also be a money saver if you can pick up larger quantities of things to have on hand.
#10 Share your thoughts and ideas with friends and family. Coming together and sharing some of the responsibilities for the holidays can make it easier. Potluck is a wonderful option for large family dinners (even buffet style). Maybe change it up a little and only buy gifts for the children to save money. Think outside the box, what will help make someone else's life a little less stressful.

Join us tonight (10/25) for a twitter party where we can share tips and tricks for the holiday season.
You can also enter to win a prize pack filled with treats to make you life a little easier.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Healthy options at IHOP plus #breakfastlove

I must be a bad mother because my boys don't remember every going to an IHOP. Well, I will let them slide since the last night either went they were both pretty young.  Thankfully I remedied that by taking them to IHOP for a healthy breakfast on our way to a recent homeschool field trip.

IHOP now has a healthy options menu for adults and for kids with options including whole wheat pancakes, turkey bacon, and egg substitute. 

I had to try the blueberry whole wheat crepes if nothing else. For being whole wheat, I really didn't notice that much different. I did notice the filling was over the top sweet, but had kind of expected that. While they were nice, it would have been nicer to have some extra protein with it, such as eggs to balance out the meal. 

The boys ordered of the kids menu.

Cameron is not a breakfast eater, so was happy to find a grilled cheese and fruit available.  Having fruit available as a side is an awesome way to promote healthy eating.

Nathan loves pancakes so he ordered a full on breakfast with scrambled eggs, but also wanted fruit. We ordered a side of fruit and ended up with a HUGE bowl of fruit we all ended up sharing.

Having hot sauce on eggs has become a new favorite thing for Nathan so our waiter brought him the selection. 

So IHOP has all these wonderful new Simple & Fit options featured through out their menu, not just the wonderful whole wheat blueberry crepes. IHOP joined forces with Quaker Brand oatmeal to create amazing flavors of Oatmeal including Super Fruit Oatmeal, oh my goodness, it looked heavenly, I'll be trying that next time for sure.

Now if your mouth is watering for some amazing Simple & Fit options under 1,00 calories many under 700 calories, do I have a surprise for you, an IHOP $50.00 giftcard for one of my readers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Snack Time and On the Go Meal help with QuickSplit

Even though we homeschool, we always seem to going somewhere or feel crunched for time. If we stay home I am preparing 3 full home cooked meals and a snack or two that day; and that adds up to a lot of time spent preparing, cooking, and plating food.  
I was so happy to hear about  The Quick Split a portable, mom invented, patented product made in the USA. I know that sounds like a sales pitch, but honestly that list of highlights caught my attention.

This   portable food cutting gadget  packs a punch for moms on the go or buried at home.
As soon as I received mine I put it to work making snack time a lot easier.  My boys love mini Quesadillas for snack so I agreed knowing I could make them a little easier to cut up with my new   
portable pizza cutter.  And before you ask, I have a regular pizza cutter from Papa Murphy's but it is bulky and not really sharp so if I use it I end up going over the tortillas a couple times to cut them and it still doesn't quite get the job done.

I love the compact size and the handle styling.
I couldn't believe it cut through the tortillas in one pass.
Sure made afternoon snack time faster which meant two little boys were happily going on with their day.

This is a patented gadget and is the first of its kind on the market! 
  The Quick Split on Facebook  and The Quick Split on Twitter  a great way to connect with this amazing little product online. 

  Retails for $15.00 and currently has free shipping if purchased from her website

This product is also part of the current Meet the Moms Giveaway over on the Mompact Facebook page.  Be sure to stop by for your chance to win an amazing bundle of products.

The giveaway ends Sunday the May 20, 2012 so hurry over to enter.


disclaimer: I received this review opportunity as part of Mompact.com.  All opinions are my own

R is for Rafflecopter win a MomPact assortment

I love Rafflecopter giveaways they are so easy to enter.
So here is one for you to enter featuring Fashion and Function solutions including the On the Cuff  I reviewed earlier this week sponsored by the Mom Inventors of MomPact
 
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meet the Moms with a Mompact Rafflecopter event.

Do you want to be a HippMama too? Here is your chance to win one HippMama Toolbelt and two Hot Joe Jackets from Mompact.  You can read my review of the HippMama Toolbelt 




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter and an Apple iPad2

I am so excited about this!
Enter to win an Apple iPad2 from Rafflecopter.
Just complete the form below.
But do me a favor, mention Cariann McCready  in the first entry as the one who referred you so I have a chance to win a Kindle Fire.
I am not the owner of the giveaway only sharing with my readers.

This giveaway is open for the US and Canadian residents and will close February 9th at 12:01 a.m. EST.

MomPact Blog Hop: ezShade Review and Giveaway

I am so glad you stopped by. I want to introduce you to Linda Varga. She is a mom inventor and responsible for creating the ezShade.  ezShade is UV protection that attaches to a beach umbrella or a pop-up canopy.  I received both as part of the MomPact Blog Hop and have enjoyed reviewing this product.  At the bottom of this post you will have the chance to win one for yourself.   

I was happy with the product. I first tried the umbrella ezShade. We have a dark green umbrella so I picked a green shade. The greens are very different but overall the ezShade did a great job adding shade to the area. I was a little disappointed with the sticky velcro pieces. They were small and I had to reapply them a couple of times. I would have liked to see them a little larger.  I love the fact that it is light weight  and easy to set up. It is also adjustable height wise so if we tip the umbrella to an angle I can adjust the length of the shade at the bottom with velcro tape. Also being able to weight it down along the bottom adds stability.

#MomPact bonus giveaway, have you entered?

I am so excited that I get to give either an ezShade umbrella or canopy shade to one of my lucky readers as part of the Mompact Blog Hop! Over 120 blogs are participating over 150 prizes up for grabs and Mompact is now sweetening the pot with extra big prizes! Today's giveaway for $100 cash!

Check out Mompact on Facebook and go to QuestionMoms.com under Giveaways for more surprises including a huge gift basket giveaway!

Mid Summer Moolah Giveaway!

Welcome to Mid-Summer Moolah!

hosted by Formula Mom



We are half way through summer. Is there something you really wanted to do and didn't, or maybe a special treat you really wanted.  Well, here is your chance.
Formula Mom, Unvlmom, and 39 other awesome bloggers have come together to celebrate the summer.

41 blogs have come together to offer one winner $410 cash paid via Paypal or $410 in an Amazon gift code (the winner gets the choice)!

Each entry is a chance to win, so check out the Rafflecopter form below and get clicking to visit all of the amazing blogs participating in this event!

You will be able to enter until 11:59pm EST on Saturday, July 30th. Following the conclusion of the event, a winner will be drawn and notified via email.

The winner will have 48 hours to confirm their win or another winner will be drawn.
Thank you for  entering!

And the Winner is: Cheesy Skillet Goody Bag

I guess that should read "and the Winners are", since we have two lucky people.
Stephanie D'Anquilla   and Heather S.
you are the winners of the Velvetta Cheesy Skillets Goody Bags.
Please contact me with your mailing address and we will get your packages sent out as soon as possible.

I hope everyone has a great day and enjoys dinner with the family tonight!

Velveeta Cheesy Skillet Party Review and Giveaway

We were selected to host a House Party gathering featuring Velveeta Cheesy Skillet Dinners.  I prepared 3 of the 4 dinners and we added salad as a side dish.  I chose  Ultimate Cheeseburger Macaroni, Zesty Nacho , and Chicken and Broccoli. To save time since I knew I was going to make 3 of the dinners I pre-browned the ground beef. I used a vegetarian meat replacement for the Ultimate cheeseburger macaroni  and 2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts for the Chicken and Broccoli.   We have 6 people for dinner and everyone was able to try each of the dishes.   While my family is spoiled (according to them) by my home cooked pasta dishes they each had a favorite. Cameron my oldest liked the zesty nacho dish while Nathan preferred the Ultimate Cheeseburger Macaroni.  My Dad liked the Chicken and Broccoli one but was open to all three of them. Mike my husband unfortunately  wasn't a fan of any of them.  I assumed the dishes would end up being salty as Velveeta tends to be salty, but they weren't.

I love the fact they are easy to fix and are essentially one dish meals.  For me as a mom I would prefer more vegetables in the dishes but that could be easily fixed by adding half a package of frozen vegetables or fresh if you have them. 

House Party events are great , everything you need is included in the box and in this case I was given a $5 Wal-mart gift card to purchase the meat with.  My local Wal-mart is not a Super Wal-mart so I saved the card and picked up the meat at Safeway on sale.  Each guest received a bright yellow Velveeta  Cheesy Skillets reusable tote bag, a magnet wipe off sheet (great for leaving notes on the refrigerator), and a coupon for $1.00 off the purchase of a Velveeta Cheesy Skillets dinner.   Since I did not have enough guests to hand out all the goodies 2 lucky readers will receive the same goodies my guests did.

The Tote is perfect for trips to the grocery store or like I’m using it today, a trip to the park with the boys.

 

Giveaway begins June 22, 2011 and ends June 26, 2011 midnight pacific time. Winner will be announced June 27^th.

To enter Follow  “Unionvale Mom’s Spot” with Google Follower and leave a comment telling us which Velveeta Cheesy Skillet you would like to try.

Extra entries:

1.     1.  Sign up with House Party and leave me a comment

2.     2.  Follow me on twitter and leave a comment with your twitter handle

3.       3. Tweet this giveaway and include the Hashtag #Cheesyskillet and mention @unvlmom in the tweet. Leave a comment with the link to the tweet. ( can be done one daily for a total of 4 extra entries)

4.      4.  Like  Unionvale Mom’s Spot on FB (use the link here on the blog) and leave a comment.



P         This prize package doe not include the Cheesy Skillet dinners picture in the above shot.

This review is provided from a House Party event and all opinions are our own personal review, no additional monetary compensation was given. The prize package is remaining items from the Event and was provided as part of a House Party Velveeta Cheesy Skillets Party. Shipping Charges are being paid for my Unionvale Mom's Spot blog owner and not House Party or Velveeta. This giveaway is a U.S only due to shipping costs. 

I'm going to Boot Camp

Bloggy Boot Camp that is...

Thanks to MadHatterMom I won a ticket to the Bloggy Boot Camp in Seattle... I can't wait for June 4th to get here.... I was going over the list of speakers and am super excited to hear these speakers, most of whom I follow on twitter... There is something about meeting/ hearing speakers in real life rather than just online comments via Twitter and Facebook. Don't get me wrong I am very addicted to both social networks, but I still thrive on some real interactions.

The whole thing became very real today when Tina forwarded me the ticket via email... Now to figure out where I am going to stay... at $110 (plus taxes) a hotel room is not realistic....

Review, Recipe, and Giveaway

 

Thought I would share today's lunch recipe along with a review of a wonderful product and a giveaway. You'll have to read the whole blog for the giveaway.

Turkey and Rice Lunch

1/2 cup uncooked rice (I use a blend of basmati brown rice and jasmin white rice)

8-10 stands thin spaghetti noodles broken into pieces

1 Tbsp Herbie or G.O.H mix

1 cup Chicken broth

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 cup diced turkey or chicken

1 Tbsp butter

In medium sauce pan combine butter , spaghetti and rice. melt butter and lightly brown noodles and rice. Add Herbie ( or GOH mix) and chicken broth. Cover and simmer until rice is tender (usually 20 minutes) Add veggies and meat cover and cook for approx 10 minutes on medium low heat.

Serve warm

Can add Parmesan cheese as a garnish

Feeds 2-3

If I am making this for the whole family I double the recipe and serve for dinner with sourdough bread and salad. Today it was lunch for husband and me.

 

Herbie ETC. is a small company started when I was young. Herbie the original seasoning was used for popcorn topping and general seasoning. The entire line of seasoning is low sodium (less than 3%) and is incredibly veristile . Today's recipe featured original Herbie.  We are giving away a small bag of original Herbie along with a larger bag of the Deli Herbie (great for potato salad seasoning, roast, veggies, etc.)


Mandatory Entry: Like Herbie ETC on Facebook and comment back here. (The facebook page has lots of ideas for what Herbie is good for) . Leave a comment here.
Additional entries:
Like Unvlmom's Spot on Facebook (you can also click like on our sidebar). Leave a comment below
Follow Unvlmom's Spot on Google leave a comment.
Follow me onTwitter  leave a comment.
Share this giveaway on facebook or twitter (can share 1 time on each)  leave a comment for each.

6 possible entries to the giveaway.
Due to shipping costs this is open to U.S. residents only.
Drawing will be held using Random.org on April 30th. Winner will be announced on May1st.
Hope you have a wonderful Resurrection Weekend.