Written By Mama

Archive for July, 2012

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You asked for it… You got it!!!!

Back to School is just around the corner, and I can’t think of a better way to get ready!!!

I have teamed up with some of my fantastic Bloggy friends in this giveaway for an Amazing Back to School Prize pack!!

There are 3 Gift cards included 1 $15.00 Itunes , 1 $25.00 Kohls, and 1 $15.00 Dunkin Donuts ( what mom doesn’t need her coffee in the morning) .. Plus school supplies and other fun back to school products!!! What a fantastic way to prepare for the school year!!

Simply fill out the Rafflecopter below to get entered to win!! Winner will be verified and contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond to email sent!! Good luck =)

Here’s to a fantastic School Year!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So last night I was laying in bed thinking about Landon’s birthday coming up. Then I started thinking about Halloween.

Every year my brothers and I would dress up before school (unless Halloween fell on a weekend – which was like never), then come home to get our face paint reapplied, eat some dinner, grab mom & head out trick-r-treating. The streets were always full of kids. Every door was opened waiting for us.

As I grew older, I stopped going out on Halloween. Now don’t get me wrong, my all time favorite holiday is Halloween. Always has been, always will be. I still dress up – there was never a Halloween that I didn’t.

October 2010 was Landon’s 1st Halloween. Since he was barely a month old, we knew that trick-r-treating wasn’t an option just yet. So Cody & I dolled up the house with fake body parts and some spider webs, bought the yummiest candy ever & popped in table tennis on the Wii.

3 kids. That’s all that came to our door. As we looked around the neighborhood, we realized that we were the only ones handing out candy!
One little boy came back to our house at least 5 times. I was sad. Where were all the kids?
So the next day I asked around. Apparently with the growing amount of crime in cities large and small, there are “safe places” for kids to get candy. The mall, church parking lots set up ‘trunk-r-treat’, the city hall has booths set up and large shopping centers.

Growing crime?!? Where the heck have I been? I mean, I know it’s worse now than when I was a child, but really?

So last year, since Landon was walking, I decided to take him trick-r-treating. At the mall ):
It was so crowded & the lines were so long. Parents were even telling their kids to “cut in front of” other kids! So we went home. We hit like 3 stores and they were very generous with the candy – so I still feel like we made out like bandits. Still though, it was not what I was use to. It’s not how I grew up knowing Halloween.

Look at how cute Landon was last year!

So this year…this year we’re going to the Fire Station for Halloween.
The idea of door-to-door candy collecting is not something my son’s generation will know – much like pay phones and maps.

What is your favorite Halloween memory?

I love Dr. Seuss. My grandma was a teacher, so every year she sent us books – Christmas, Easter, birthdays, you name it.
When we were old enough, we always asked for Dr. Seuss books.

They teach you valuable life lessons – of course that’s not why we asked for them LOL. That’s why I love them now though.

When I found out I was pregnant, I started gathering all the books from my mom. I knew that’s what I wanted my son to grow up with. Over the last [almost] 2 years, we have been collecting many movies & books to add to his Dr. Seuss collection.

So when I had the opportunity to review Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham and Other Stories, I was super stoked. I knew it would be the perfect addition to his collection.

The new deluxe version is a Blu-Ray/DVD combo. We have watched the Blu-Ray version probably a million times.
Play time is long enough to keep Landon occupied while I do dishes or something. It’s short enough though that he doesn’t get bored watching it, and with 3 stories on one disk he’s watching something different without me having to change the movie.

The 3 stories on the disk include;
The Sneetches, who teach us that being yourself is the best way to fit in.
The Zax, who remind us that there’s nothing to gain from being stubborn – I should probably watch this a few more times
The classic, Green Eggs and Ham, that teaches us to try something new – you just might like it!

There are 4 interactive puzzles included on each disk. Landon and I have played, and completed, each one (:

The best thing is there a subtitles. I know that’s silly for some of you, but my brother-in-law is legally deaf and he’s always had a hard time watching movies – you won’t believe how many don’t have subtitles! It really makes it a family friendly movie.

What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss movie/book?

Guess what? The wonderful folks at Ozeri are letting me giveaway an Ozeri Pro II Kitchen Scale, just like the one I received!

This giveaway is open to the US only. To be eligible to win, you must complete at least ONE entry on the giveaway form.
This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site.
The giveaway will end on August 6th at 12 (noon) CST. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
GOOD LUCK!

Javascript must be enabled to enter this giveaway. Learn how to activate Javascript by clicking here.

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When I first heard of a kitchen scale I thought it was funny. Who in the world wanted to weigh their food?! As I got older though, and started getting concerned about what I ate, that thought completely changed. So when I had the opportunity to review an Ozeri Pro II Digital Kitchen Scale, I instantly started imagining how my life was going to change. Okay, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration but I was pretty darn excited.

When I received my kitchen scale in the mail, I wasted no time. I was excited to open it up and start using it.

The scale is pretty self explanitory. However, if you’re unsure there is still a user manual (:
Not only does it include a scale and user manual, there is also a book that contains calorie information AND get this, US Postal rates! Yes, you can even weigh your letters to make sure they’re properly stamped.
I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve mailed out birthday cards, pictures of Landon or letters to my little brother and they’ve been returned due to too little postage. Ugh. I don’t have to worry about that now!

Weighing a letter to my little brother in AIT

So when I go grocery shopping, I always buy the 3lb package of ground hamburger. I make chili, spaghetti, hamburger helper and many other meals that need hamburger. Depending on what I’m making though, I only need half of a pound. “Guessing” how much half a pound was tends to get a little tricky. Now that I have my Ozeri Kitchen Scale though, I don’t have that problem anymore. I can just set some meat on there and see if it’s the correct amount.

I love using my new scale. I weigh almost everything now, including my chicken. I can’t say I’ve drastically lost weight – actually I gained a little weight ): but it’s going back down again! I know though, that when I’m using my Ozeri Kitchen Scale, I’m making a difference in how much I eat. I’ve also been watching my calories a bit more lately. Having the calorie book around is REALLY handy. They even have a spot for fast foods, such as tacos and sundaes! Not that I eat out anymore. I live too far away from McDonalds & Taco Bell, which works out great for me! (:

As for using it to weigh my letters, well that has saved a lot of time and I know they’re not going to be returned anymore! When prices raise [again] I can just mark it in the book.

Okay, so I told you about how I use the Ozeri Pro II Digital Kitchen Scale. I told you about the calorie book. I told you about user manual. However, there’s more to this little scale. (Ha I sound like an infomertial lol).
This little guy also has a built-in kitchen timer and alarm! All of that is great. If you ask me though, the best thing is, it comes with batteries! You know how much I love when I don’t have to buy batteries (:

So a little about Ozeri…

Ozeri specaializes in the making of digital lifestyle products for the modern home. Not only do they have kitchen scales, but they have salt and pepper grinders, book lights, electric wine openers (I should have gotten one of those!), pedometers,toungsten rings and so much more.

Here’s a few facts about my Ozeri Digital Kitchen Scale:

- Weighs up to 12 lbs. You could weigh a Thanksgiving Turkey with this thing!
- Built-in countdown kitchen timer with 3 alarm modes – yes THREE
- Has a unit button to convert between oz, lbs, g and kg!
- Bright LCD screen with large numbers – great for those that need reading glasses
- Large weighing platform – seriously it’s like the size of a grapefruit
- 3-minute automatic power-off to save battery life – you can also hold the on/off button for about 5 seconds and it will power off
- Compact design & easy to clean – yes it’s very, VERY thin and all you have to do is get a damp cloth to clean it off.
- Runs on 2 AAA batteries WHICH ARE INCLUDED! (Yay!)

See how thin it is?

I seriously am in love with my kitchen scale.

Guess what? The awesome people at Ozeri are allowing me to GIVEAWAY one of their Ozeri Pro II Digital Kitchen Scale. You can enter my Ozeri Kitchen Scale giveaway NOW! Good luck (:

I was recently given a bottle of Ecover Zero Natural Laundry Liquid from Naturally Savvy, to review.

I’m sure I’ve said it umpteen times, I love when detergent is super sudsy. I feel like it helps really get things clean.
When I read the directions, I was a little concerned – use a cup and a half. It sounds like a LOT, but the cap is very small. So I didn’t think it would provide what I needed wanted.

While I’m on the topic, the cap is the only down fall to the entire product. It is difficult to pour without spilling over :-/

Anyways, I poured the detergent & all was good! My washing machine was full of suds!

For those of you that don’t care about the suds -

There is a faint fresh scent to the detergent. However it doesn’t have any artificial scents added or anything like that.
It really provides peace of mind when I’m washing Landon’s laundry. I know it’s not going to irritate his eczema areas.

You can use this detergent in an HE Washing Machine or an older style machine, like mine. No more worrying if it’s going to ruin your machine or not!

Here’s some facts:

- ECOVER was founded in 1980 – 9 years before I was born!
- The bottles are made of 100% PlantPlastic – I’ll be totally honest I had never heard of PlantPlastic until I received the detergent. Oh & you should know, this is a new feature for ECOVER.
- All ingredients are plant-based & mineral
- No artificial fragrances or perfumes – great for sensitive skin & infants.
- NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS!! Yay!
- Septic tank safe – my mom has a septic. You’ll be surprised what CAN’T be used.
- Biodegradable & Phosphate Free

With the bottles being made of PlantPlastic, they are 100% Recyclable & Renewable. I wish more companies did this.

ECOVER also has more products. Not just laundry detergent:

- dishwasher detergent – I need to look into this one.
- toilet bowl cleaner
- all purpose cleaner
- limescale remover

Overall, I am completely satisfied with my ECOVER laundry detergent.

This is going to be me!
Picture courtesy of http://legokidsfest.com/press/

Before I give you the nitty-gritty about the giveaway, let me tell you a few things – you know how I love to educate you first

The LEGO® KidsFest national tour stops in Texas at the Austin Convention Center August 31 – September 2, 2012, bringing all of the creative hands-on, minds-on fun of LEGO building and experiences together in this three acre activity- and entertainment-packed family event for children of all ages and builders of all skills and interests.

Among the many LEGO attractions, families will find:

• LEGO Model Gallery: 40 life-sized models made entirely from LEGO bricks

• LEGO Master Builders: live demonstrations and activities from the crew who get paid to play

• Creation Nation: build your own creation to add to a custom map of the U.S.

• Race Ramps: build your own custom car, then race it down the ramp against friends and family

• LEGO Games Arena: roll the dice to play LEGO board games

• Construction Zones: creative free build, play and display areas

• LEGO DUPLO®: younger visitors can explore imagination through building

• LEGO Retail and KidsFest Marketplace: purchase LEGO merchandise and official KidsFest tour goods

• Brick Pile: a gigantic pile full of LEGO bricks for creative play and enjoyment

• Monochromatic Builds: bricks of a single color to foster group creativity

• Brickscapes: fantastic displays that combine lots of LEGO and DUPLO sets

• LEGO Universe: become a custom LEGO Minifigure in this multiplayer online game

• And much more, covering over 150,000 square feet of space

Do you know how big of an area 150,000 square feet is?!

Picture courtesy of http://legokidsfest.com/press/

I think the part I’m most excited for is, the DUPLO LEGOS for Landon. He has recently gotten into his DUPLO LEGOS and “building” stuff.

Picture courtesy of http://legokidsfest.com/press/
Imagine Landon’s face there!

“Any family who likes to be inspired, get hands-on and have fun together won’t want to miss LEGO KidsFest,” said Vince Rubino, LEGO events manager. “We’re bringing so many activities for Texan families to test and showcase their creativity and building skills in what is sure to be a family event to remember.”

Compared to previous shows you are strongly urged to purchase tickets early. There is no guarantee there will be tickets available for purchase in a few weeks.
Five sessions – all identical – are available for the August 31 – September 2 tour stop. LEGO KidsFest tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for children and can be purchased online atwww.LEGOKidsFest.com
I would love to meet some of you there – I will be there August 31st *hint hint*

So now for the fun stuff…THE GIVEAWAY!

One lucky Written By Mama reader is going to win 2 (two) tickets to LEGO KidsFest in Austin, Texas on August 31st (I hope we see eachother!).

All you have to do is, Like LEGO KidsFest on Facebook, Follow LEGO KidsFest on Twitter then go HERE to enter your name & email address – this step is the most important. If you don’t do this step, you will NOT be eligible to win.

*Written By Mama is NOT picking winners for this giveaway. You must fill out the form above to be eligible to win. The giveaway will close on August 18th. I will email the winner the tickets once they are chosen.*

Did you know, I only did 1 semester in college? There are many reasons behind it, but the main reason? It was too expensive to start up for another semester.
My history book was over $65. That History class was only a little more than the book itself – and I have no idea what happened to the book.

That’s why I wish I had known about CampusBookRentals. CampusBookRentals is a website that offers textbook rentals – at a HUGE discount.

With your paid book rental, you also get FREE shipping – both ways! You get live support, referral bonuses and you can highlight in the book. All of that is included and there are NO membership fees. The best part? You’re almost guaranteed to find the book you need, they serve students in over 5,000 campuses. Renting books from CampusBookRentals can help you save on bookstore prices – you can expect to see up to 90% off each book.

It’s really easy to find the book(s) you’re looking for. Just type in the Author, Name, ISBN or even a keyword. You can price compare, easily find prices and details for each book.

With each textbook you rent, CampusBookRentals donates to Operation Smile. So not only are they providing a great service to college students, but they’re also helping a GREAT cause.

This post is a sponsored post. I was compensated for my time. Regardless, I only recommend products & services I think are beneficial.

Friday Night Meal For the Whole Family

Pizza is always a weekend family favorite! Not only is it delicious it’s easy, just call in an order or pop a frozen one in the oven. Try this new twist on pizza, not only is it a healthier swap, it tastes like the real thing!
Friday Night Pizza Stuffed Chicken

All you need is:
•4 Chicken Breasts
•Turkey Pepperoni
•½ cup Pizza Sauce or spaghetti sauce
•¼ cup Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese
•¼ cup Cheddar Cheese
•1 tspGarlic
•1 tspItalian spices/blend

Preparation:
•Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
•Coat a baking dish or place foil down for easy clean up.
•Mix the stuffing in a large bowl-half of the pizza sauce, cheddar cheese, half of the mozzarella cheese, garlic Italian spices and mix.
•Beat chicken thin and salt and pepper each breast
•Spoon stuffing onto each breast and add 4-6 pepperonis
•Roll and place seam down into baking dish
•Pour the remaining pizza sauce on top, place 1-3 turkey pepperonis on each breast and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
•Bake for 30-35 minutes until cooked.

Serve with your favorite salad and/veggie and you have a complete, yummy and healthy meal that the whole family will love! Have fun with it and change it up, add turkey sausage or all veggies to make your favorite pizza. Remember you can make this as healthy as you want, opt for reduced fat cheese, use less pepperoni and use a smaller chicken breast. Happy eating!

Author Bio
Nancy Parker was a professional nanny and she loves to write about wide range of subjects like health, Parenting, Child Care, and Babysitting, find a nanny tips etc. You can reach her @ nancy.parker015 @ gmail.com.

I’ve lived in Texas for many, many years. There are all kinds of bugs down here. Waterbugs, Junebugs, fleas and a whole-heck-of-a-lot more. Moving to the country has introduced me to other kinds of bugs…like scorpions! Ack! In the month we’ve lived here, I have come in contact with 2 – yes TWO – scorpions.
Finding something to spray was getting difficult with Landon & Scrappy. I was starting to get desperate though, the critters were all over – inside and outside.
The absolute worse part, there were fleas all over outside and Scrappy was getting eaten ):

So when I had the opportunity to review Nature-Cide, I haven’t been more excited. As you can see, I have a TON of places for bugs and critters to hide. I received Ant Spray, Indoor Pest & Bug Spray, Outdoor Pest & Bug Spray and Flea & Tick Spray.

As pet/animal friendly I am, I certainly don’t want anything making my home theirs.

When my box arrived I ripped it open, grabbed Cody and started spraying. Cody sprayed for ants and I sprayed around the house for all the other critters. The ant spray was important for us, Cody is allergic to ants. He went into anafeletic shock once. It was so scary.
Then we took the flea spray and sprayed it all over Scrappy, per the directions.

Let me back-track real quick…while I was spraying all the hidey-holes I saw spiders and ants running everywhere. I think I heard a snack slither around in the leaves while I was spraying, but I’m not totally sure. You know how my imagination gets

The directions say it’s safe to spray every day. I don’t spray daily, but I do spray once a week. I haven’t had ANY critters come inside since I’ve sprayed, seriously. Well we have a lot of flies for some reason, but Landon has stealth skills and manages to catch each one…then thinks it’s necessary to give them to me. *shudders*

Scrappy hasn’t had any flea problems since we’ve sprayed. Which means the outdoor spray and flea spray all work wonderfully.

It took me a couple weeks to spray inside. I didn’t want to spray while Landon was there – no matter how safe it is. So when Cody took him for father-son day, I took it as a chance to do something productive. I was mostly concerned because those nasty, super gross water bugs were starting to show up. So I cleaned out the cabinets, moved stuff from windows and started spraying the indoor spray. I haven’t seen any dead bugs, but I haven’t seen any live ones either! So I’m going to assume it’s working (:

I have to say though, the label says it has a “pleaseant aroma” – I disagree with that. It’s a weird smell. Even Cody didn’t like it. That’s my personaly opinion though. I’m sure others would disagree with me (:

So a little about Natur-Cide…

They sell a varitey of bug sprays; ant spray, indoor pest & bug spray, bed bug spray, flea & tick spray and outdoor pest & bug spray. The bed bug spray comes in many different sizes including a travel size bottle. I think that’s a great idea for traveling families.

“Nature-Cide is a 100% natural and higly effective insect, rodent and reptile insectiside/pesticide and repellent product line. The POISON FREE way to rid yourself and your family from all types of pests…”

Here’s a little how it works:

Since bugs breathe through their bodies (oh man I’m getting the heebiejeebies writing this…seriously LOL), when they’re exposed to Nature-Cide’s unique formulation fumes, they get overwhelmed & their mental capacities are impared. If they can’t get away from it, they exhaust themselves to death. To fix the chance of them gettin away, just make sure you spray them directly

Nature-Cide makes no guarantee that critters, such as snakes and mice, will be killed (such a harsh way to say it huh? Dont’ worry, that was my wording, not theirs). It should make them leave the area though.

Overall, I am completely satisfied with my sprays. They have given me a little peace at night, knowing that a scorpion won’t find a way into Landon’s bed.

Guess what?! Nature-Cide is letting me giveaway 1 bottle to 5 winners. Yes you read that right, 5 of you will get to win any one (1) bottle of their spray for free! You can enter my Nature-Cide giveaway NOW! (:

I received one of the following products, payments or services listed above to conduct my review. Regardless, I only recommend what I think you would find useful.