Bloggy Giveaway Time

Every three months Bloggy Giveaways hosts a huge giveaway with over 1000 different AWESOME prizes You can check out the full giveaway list HERE or check out my personal faves below: BE SURE TO KEEP CHECKING BACK - I will continue to add to this list over the next week!!!

STORY TIME FELTS I was really excited to find this giveaway- I bought some of these stories at a garage sale and always wondered where to buy them and now I know. Be sure to check out this great giveaway at Katydidandkid AND at Mustard Seeds


WIGGLE GIGGLE LEARN Educational CD What an amazing product. Learning activities and games for children 1-5 years old.

These activities are designed to target 10 goals parents have for their children 1. Be in good health 2. Be happy 3. Have positive self-esteem 4. Have a love of learning 5. Become independent 6. Become responsible 7. Have opportunity 8. Have time with mom and dad 9. Succeed in school and life 10. Have many friends

I have really been looking for a product to help my little guy get a head start on his education and I think that this is exactly what I've been looking for!
You can enter to win @ Frugal Mommy of 2 girls but just to warn you I plan on winning this one for sure!!


SCRIBBLE IT VINYL WALL ART Too many cute options to choose from and at great prices. My personal favorites are the Family names with the established dates and the monograms.
Enter to win @ Everything Up Close







$25 BPGAS CARD - and now that gas prices are actually dropping that will get you even a little farther. You can enter to win at Wisconsin Mommy


FABKINS (FABulous napKINS)- Not just cute but sooo usefull too. Check em' out at MomMostTraveled
(be sure to check out the African Safari style!)


ALL POPART.COM PORTRAIT- What fun for your kids room!
at Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls
also check out the coupons on her sidebar!





$30 PAYPAL CASH!!- You know you want it!!!
at Sandier Pastures (desert living, Dubai style)


POTTERY APPLE BAKERS: My mouth is watering just thinking about them! at LANEY POTTERY
Be sure to visit LaneyPottery.com to see the Pottery Apple Bakers for yourself.






TUPPERWARE: You Gotta love It!
at My Parenting Ideas Perfect for those Holiday Jello's!!!

V-Tech Laptops for Kids

Megan of meganblethenphotography sent me and e-mail about a toy her kids love the V-Tech laptops for kids.

"My kids are very easy and hard to please at the same time. Sometimes a paper plate will do the trick and other times only a specific train or car toy! But without fail my kids love legos and Mega Blocks! I actually love them too. Yes they are a big mess to clean up, but my oldest son (he'll be 4 in October) has developed quite an imagination in the last year and it interesting to see the things he comes up with! So I love Legos!:)

Another toy my kids love are their laptops. We have the V-tech age 3-5(I think) and my oldest son will sit and use it for hours. It teaches reading, letters, math, etc. He gets really into it. I think it's great for him. When he accomplishes something it makes him excited. "

I don't know about your kids but my little guy loves the computer- It may come from all the time he watches mom typing away but any time he gets close he tries to pound away at the keys and goes crazy with the mouse. When he was six months old in an effort to 'distract' him from my computer I brought him his very own V-Tech laptop - the infant version and although it didn't completely distract him from my computer he did love pounding on the keys and watching the lights flash.

Chistmas is coming....

That's right folks, you heard me Christmas is right around the corner! I am what some might call a picture taking fanatic so when I heard about this cool store Photoworks I was so excited!! They have an awesome selection of Photo products and all at very reasonable prices. My favorite is this cute little brag book for your purse- I bet the grandma's would just love one!!!

Right now they are giving away a $50 gift certificate to Photoworks over at This Full House (another fun site) so get yourself over there and enter soon- There contest ends early Tue morning (oct 7th).

Tupperware- You gotta love it!

My first thought when I hear the word Tupperware is the green set my mother has had forever... all little outdated but virtually indestructible! It has always amazed me the cool kitchen solutions that Tupperware has.

When I was a kid on vacation with my grandma she always brought what we called the carrot elevator (Pick-a-deli at left) full of tasty carrots or celery.


Tupperware has all sorts of cool kitchen contraptions including great lunch sets for kids- like this Playhouse Disney set that I adore. To grab your favorite tupperware items you ca visit Leslie over at You Just Gotta Laugh. It's Tupperware- YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!

Doodle's Place- A Fun New Website

Always on the lookout for cute new stationary I found a wonderful new company today! Sugar Lump Stationary has the cutest note cards- not only can you actually customize them- you can send them a photograph and they will do a doodle just for you for your cards. I am thinking they would make awesome Christmas Cards.

I found these cute cards at another fun site Doodles' Place- be sure to check out Mandi's posts on Children's activities and some tasty looking recipes.

Welches Dried Fruit Snacks

I can't believe it but I almost missed stumbling across this tasty little treat! My little nephew who is three loves these- one day he was kind enough to share and boy are they tasty. They are bite size which makes them great for kids and not over sugary like some dried fruit.

I just gave some to my little one year old today and he gobbled them right down- they don't dissolve quickly so it's best your child is fairly good at chewing food before you give them these (they are little enough however they won't choke a child if swallowed whole)

In our store they are hidden in with the fruit snacks and not the other dried fruit so you may have to do a little looking to find them. - Welch's website has a tasty looking recipe for the Berry Medley variety (Berry Sensational Salad) that I can't wait to try you can check it out here.

Keeping It Clean When Baking/Cooking

I love to bake but sometimes it seems like even the simplest recipes leave my kitchen looking like a mini twister came for a visit. Here are a few tips that I have found help cut down on clean up time.

Peeling Vegetables/Cutting Fruit- Spread butcher paper or old newspapers on the counter. You can peel vegetables right on to the paper or set it next to the cutting board to slide the rinds from fruit on to. When your done you can easily throw the whole mess away.

Baking Cookies/Rolls- Line the bottom of the pan with tin foil- Clean up is a breeze! This also works well when you are making multiple batches of cookies with only a few pans. As the first batches are baking- place dough on pre cut sheets of tin foil- when the first batches are done you can easily slide off the tin foil with the baked cookies, placing in on the counter to cool- and quickly replace with the second batch of cookies to bake.

Mixing Bowls, Utensils, Measuring Cups & Spoons- When someone shared this tip with me it seemed like such a no brainer that I couldn't believe I wasn't doing it already- When you are baking/cooking keep a sink of soapy water full- Just taking an extra second or two to rinse of the bowls and utensils you use then putting them to soak can save so much time scrubbing off dried food later.

Cooking Spray- Cooking spray is a handy thing to have on hand- If you spray a little in a Tupperware container before you store tomato based foods your Tupperware wont stain. You can spray it on your hands before you knead dough or roll cookies to help food from sticking to your hands. It also works great to spray a little on a measuring cup or spoon before measuring things like peanut butter- or syrups. You can even spray it on your grill to help foods keep from sticking to it!

What kitchen tips do you have?