Imagination!

Every now and then I will be doing the dishes or cleaning up and I will hear my son in the playroom playing with his action figures. It always amazes me how much they actually absorb from the world around them. I can hear him sending the Daddy off to work, telling the little ones that he will be back home soon and that he will miss them.
He knows the firemen protect the families and are always quick to arrive and save cats from trees.
He knows that the Mommy works hard and really loves her babies, and sings them songs before bed.

It is truly amazing to see the world through a child's eyes.
So when I was asked to review the Imaginext Rescue City Centre, I jumped at the chance! What a great way for kids to use their imagination.


As soon as we received it I knew he would have a blast!

This was a refreshing toy, that steered away from the fighting and shooting action figures and really lets the kids engage in innocent imagination.

I have to say he plays with this Rescue City Center for a few hours a day, as we know sometimes the toys our kids have get played with for 5 minutes and they move onto the next. But this one has really captured his interest. There are interactive sounds and lights, and so many possibilities!

It comes with two action figures, a firetruck and lots of accessories. I think his favorite part is locking up the bad guys in the jail cell!

This toy is a definite winner in our house and if you are looking for a gift for your kids for Christmas this one certainly makes it into my top 10. #ImaginextAdventures

You can also have the chance to win 1 of 5 300$ Imaginext Prize packs including:

• Imaginext Rescue City Centre
• Imaginext Mega Apatasaurus
• Imaginext Eagle Talon Castle
• Imaginext Batcave

Just head over to this page http://www.fisher-price.com/en_CA/brands/Imaginext/index.html www.imaginextadventure.com

Good luck to everyone and stay tuned for more Christmas gift ideas for the whole family coming up all month!


“Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Imaginext Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

It's almost that time!

Does anyone else out there feel like every year passes faster and faster then the last? I swear I feel like we were just swimming in our pool having a BBQ and with a blink of an eye we are a month away from Christmas.

The snow will be arriving this week with our first storm of the season predicted for tomorrow and before we know it, we will be celebrating the New Year.

Each year we try to instill old traditions and new ones as well into our Christmas time fun. This year we went to see the CP Rail Holiday train and even though it was really cold we had such a great time!

They collect donations for the food bank in whichever city they have stopped and the fully lit up train opens up into a wonderful musical party for about a half hour!

Santa comes out of the train and visits with the children for pictures and hands out Candy canes, there are real live firetrucks and firemen for the kids to see. It really is an amazing event and I cannot wait to continue this tradition every year! Even my 14 year old had fun!

This is a picture of one of the cars that were lit up, but there were so many gorgeous ones! 

 Look at the look on P's face! It really shows the magic of Christmas through a child's eyes! He is so happy here!

As we start the month of December I will be reviewing some of the latest and greatest toys that made it on our Christmas lists this year and years past as well so stay tuned we have lots of holiday fun and tradition coming your way! Contests and giveaways too!

Mom Guilt.......

We all had the moments before we had kids, when we would judge parents, a crying baby in a restaurant or a 3 year old having a tantrum in a store.....my kids will never act like that we would say....why is that mother giving in to him? I would never....

Well time for a reality check.....

Truth is, we do the best we can. That is all we can do. I try to understand why we all judge each other, even after we have kids about who is doing what wrong.

I am sure my friends and family are sick of hearing me say "do what works for you" but I just cannot say it enough.

We criticize each other on everything we do, whether we breast feed or bottle feed, whether we co-sleep or not, whether that baby is walking or talking when they are "supposed" to. It's ridiculous. If we spent as much time supporting each other as we do criticizing, the world would be a fantastic place.

Now I'm not suggesting we don't give each other advice about things that have worked for us,I strongly believe that parenting is about trial and error. We learn as we go, there is no manual to how this works. We just do what we can to the best of our abilities.

When my son was born I was very lucky that he was a good sleeper, but some nights weren't so easy, in fact some weeks weren't easy. There were nights that he co-slept with us because it was the only way we could sleep at all. Does that mean I am doing it wrong?

He used a pacifier at bedtime up until last week and he is 3, am I wrong to have "Allowed" that to happen?

If there is one thing I have learned being a parent, is that every child is different, they all have their own time line for milestones and eventually they all will start school with no pacifier, no diaper and will be walking and talking.

By the time they hit high school, they will no longer be breastfeeding and will be sleeping in their beds through the night. So let's stop trying to do  things the "right" way, let's stop worrying about what other people think and let's just enjoy our kids.

When you see that Mom in the store giving into a tantrum, smile at her. Let her know that sometimes its OK to just want to finish a shopping trip in peace. When that baby in the restaurant is crying and screaming, send the parents a cup of coffee, it is probably the first time in awhile they have gotten out of the house.

It is ok to not do things the same way as the Mom next door, or even the way your very own Mom did it.

Just do what works for you, at the end of the day it is you and your family that matter. Be happy and enjoy the ride, these kids grow up way too fast to not embrace every moment!

Testing Tuesday

So I know I was doing posts call Pin-Thursdays, where I would test a pin from Pinterest but doesn't Testing Tuesdays sound better? So here we go!

As I mentioned yesterday we made my husband some Birthday cookies and where else would I turn to find a delicious recipe?

Why Pinterest of course! Make sure you check out our Pins and feel free to send me any that you would like to see my try out! Here is the link to my Pinterest page:

Everyone Needs Mom Pinterest Page

I just started yesterday so please bear with me on the few pins I have up!

 So back to testing!
This is the recipe that I tested:
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/pudding-cookies/

I pretty much had everything on hand with the exception of the box of Vanilla pudding mix, so it was pretty straight forward from there. I left them in the oven about 11 mins but basically watched for the browning of the bottoms for the last 2 mins.
And drumroll pls.........

These are soooooo good! You can really taste the creamy vanilla pudding. Definitely a Pin-Sucess!!

I would also like to announce the Winner of the 100 days to Christmas e-book.

Sandra Haydon

Congrats to you and keep an eye on your email inbox for your copy!

Remember folks, watch my Facebook page and my posts to catch some great giveaways!

Is it Fall already?

Wow tomorrow will be October 1st! Where has the time gone?? I remember when I was younger, the days, months and years would pass so slowly. I would always hear my older family members say "The days and weeks just fly by" I would mumble under my breath " I guess you haven't just spend the WHOLE day at school with double math...."

Little did I know years down the line I would be repeating the same words they did on a weekly basis! Weeks fly by, weekends even faster. But now I am seeing the seasons fly by, with of course the exception of winter which seems to last for 10 months of the year!

I used to think that summer was my favorite season, the BBQ's, the swimming, the late setting sun. But now, I think this is the first year that I have accepted that I truly love Fall. I love the sweater weather, the late night fires, the crispy sounding leaves. I really do love it all.

I really want to take the time to appreciate fall this year, take lots of family pictures, do some cute crafts like the cute little bird feeder P and I made last week.

This afternoon we will be making some special birthday cookies for Daddy's birthday too.

I hope I keep true to that, with life so busy it is sometimes so hard to find time to step back and enjoy the moments. But if I don't do it who will! Stay tuned to see all my awesome fall stuff this month!

Oh and I will also be featuring some great reviews and hosting some fun giveaways! There is one ending today on my Facebook page! Check it out!

Now that I have you thinking, what is your favorite season and why?

Busy! Busy! Busy! And a Giveaway!!!

With back to school in full swing, we are trying really hard to get our routine back into play.
A summer full of staying up late and sleeping in, is no longer our reality. This Mama is back to waking up at 6 am, and I have to say I am not a fan!
Although my dream of getting up at 6 to do some Yoga, shower and get ready before my little guy is up, is always in the back of my mind. It hasn't happened yet!
I usually sit here with my giant mug of coffee and yawn.....
I'll get there eventually!

We have also been potty training my 3 year old son. I really thought it was going to be a difficult task, but to my surprise he really caught on! He tells me when he has to go now and wears big boy undies all day long! We are still working on nap time and bedtime, so I am wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions for training him at night? He usually has a half a cup of milk before bed, and I am thinking I should probably try to eliminate liquids as much as possible after supper.

And last but not least, I have been starting to prep my Christmas lists! I know some of you will think I am crazy, but getting a head start is the best thing to do! I will be using the new e-book from www.listplanit.com, called 100 days to Christmas. It is a great book, with lots of tips and ideas for making your holidays organized and enjoyable! It is filled with lots of lists, in fact her site has more lists and planners then I can even tell you. It truly is a control freaks dream! The first 30 days are free to try and after that it costs only 5$ a month! I have a link to the Christmas e-book in the top right hand corner of this blog as well! Just click the picture of the book!

The first day of the 100 Days to Christmas e-book starts on September 16th, and I am ready! And the best news is that by commenting below and telling me what the most hectic part of the holidays are for you and your family, you can win your very own copy of 100 days of Christmas! I will draw a name at random on September 16th! Make sure you are a follower of my blog, have "liked" my Facebook page and bonus points if you follow me on Twitter!

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Everyone-Needs-MOM/199487523408752

Twitter page: https://twitter.com/Every1needsmom


Good luck!!

Weekly Meals....Cheque please!

We love to eat, like seriously love it....what I don't love is planning what to eat a week in advance! I dread it every week, I make my numbered list from 1 to 7 and tap the pen on my head.....What are we going to have this week for meals?? Probably the same things we have every other week....Tacos, chicken breast, pasta.....rinse and repeat...over and over...

It drives me insane! Throw in a couple of picky eaters and I just keep spinning in this vicious cycle!

I am a self proclaimed Pinterest addict so I do search there for recipes, but I do admit that if anything has more then 4 ingredients or has the words overnight in it, I'm out...

So how do I win this uphill battle? Any suggestions? I need quick easy meals that will please everyone...is there even such a thing?

And the winner is........

Thank you to all of you who left me comments about your DIY projects! I drew a name at noon using http://www.miniwebtool.com/random-name-picker/ and our winner is........

 

A.Grey! Congrats! Pls email me your mailing address to jhoward9@hotmail.com!

Thank you to everyone who participated and keep an eye open for another giveaway coming up soon!

Pinsday- DIY Color Mason Jars

Every Wednesday I will post about a pin from Pinterest that I have tested! We will see which ones are successful and which ones are fails! They could be recipes, cleaning tricks, or crafts.Feel free to send me some suggestions as well!

Here is my Pin-test for this week!

DIY Color Mason Jars

Here is what you will need:

Pint Mason Jars
Mod Podge Gloss
Water
Liquid Food Coloring
Plastic Spoons and Knives (or Popsicle Sticks)
Cookie Sheet
Parchment Paper
Measuring Spoon (tbsp)
Oven (Pre-heated to 225 degrees)
Something to protect your workspace (Newspaper, Paper Bags, Cardboard)

 1.Wash out your mason jars and remove and stickers or labels on them, ) I use Goo Gone and all the adhesive comes right off!)

2.Pour 1 Tablespoon of Mod Podge Gloss into an empty Mason Jar. Add 1/2 Tablespoon of water and 9 drop of food coloring. If mixing primary colors to create a secondary color like orange, make sure your drops do not exceed 9 drops combined (example: for orange use 6 drops of yellow and 3 drops of red, totaling 9 drops). If you add too much food coloring, the mixture will be too thin and will cause streaking.

3. Stir the materials in the mason jar together with a plastic spoon or popsicle stick until the color is uniform and you don’t see any white Mod Podge. Be sure to mix well around the inside edges and the bottom of the mason jar.
*I still had white in the edges so next time ill mix more thoroughly...

4.Swirl the Mod Podge around the inside of the jar until it is completely covered.

*You can see on the bottom edge there is some white still there, next time I will mix it much more thoroughly..it still turned out fine though!

5. Once the inside of the mason jars is completely covered, including the inside rim, set the jars upside down on top of plastic knives (or Popsicle sticks) on your protected work surface to let the excess Mod Podge run out of the jars. Placing the jars on sticks will allow the Mod Podge to run out without it pooling around the inside of the rim.
Let the mason jars drain in this position for 1 hour.

6. Repeat as necessary for as many colored mason jars you need.
The colors of the mason jars will look pastel because you mixed the food coloring with white Mod Podge.
*Once the Mod Podge dries clear, your color will dry the same color as the food coloring you chose.

7. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.

8. After 1 hour, carefully lift the jars and gently wipe any Mod Podge from the outside rim of the jar (if there is any).

9. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the mason jars right side up on the lined cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet and jars into a preheated over for 1 hour until the Mod Podge is completely dry and the glass is transparent.

10. Remove the jars from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, sit back and admire your new gorgeous DIY Color Mason Jars!

Really happy with the way it turned out for my first try! I will be making 2 more in this color and using them in my bathroom for q-tips, cotton balls, and makeup remover pads! 

Comment below and let me know how you would use yours! 

 

Super Saturdays!

With a husband who works long hours, 5 days a week, we always countdown the days until weekend! Even though they fly by in a flash we still try to enjoy every minute of them...
Yesterday was a really fun day for us. Our 3 year old loves planes, every time he hears one flying by over our house he has to run to the nearest window and check it out.
So yesterday morning my husband suggested we go over to an area by the airport and watch them land!
 When we arrived, there were planes landing every 5 minutes! So exciting!

It was a little loud for P's liking but we sat in the car instead and watched quite a few land and he liked it better. Every time one would pass he would cover his head thinking it was going to touch him! HA!

Next we went over to Toys R Us because who can resist the toy store right? P loves it so much there, that as soon as he sees the sign he cheers for joy! We made the rounds and got out with only a 7$ purchase! A new record for us!

We also stopped at Globo shoes and accessories. As you all know the back to school vibe is in full swing and my teen needs to look her best! She has been researching school bags for the last two weeks in order to find the right one!  We knew she wanted a Jansport brand one, but the color decision was a difficult one..(oh to be young again!)

We went in and were so surprised that they had all the colors she was debating on, so after trying them all on her back and making sure all was just right we came out with this beauty:

And these suckers aren't cheap! 35$ for a school bag? Dear lord! I think the most expensive bag I ever had when I was in school cost 10$...oh well! Whatever I can do to make her enjoy school I will do!
Between bags, uniforms, supplies and shoes, its almost as expensive as Christmas time!

What are your tips and tricks to getting your kids ready for school on a budget? Is it possible to make both your kids and your wallet happy?

It's that time of year again!

God how I love the easy mornings of summer....no alarm clocks, no rushing around, no cranky kids...
But alas! All good things must come to an end! With my teenage daughter waking up at 11 every day all summer, it is going to take a miracle to get her up in the mornings!
It usually takes a good solid month before our routine is down pat.
We try about 2 weeks earlier to wake up a half hour earlier every two days, to try to re-set her internal clock.
Maybe easier said then done but we try! 
One of our biggest struggles is getting her to eat breakfast before she leaves.
 When she eats that early she doesn't feel well, but if she doesn't eat, it makes for a long wait until lunch.
I need something portable that I can send off with her to eat once she gets to school.
I usually opt for cereal bars, drinkable yogurt and fruit.
She has always really liked YOP drinkable yogurt. It's easy, portable and she can pretty much eat it anywhere.
And I am happy to send her off with something healthier then a pop tart or a bag of sugary cereal.
As moms we want whats best for our kids, although it's not always easy we are lucky to have those available products to make our mornings a little easier on everyone!

 If you would like to try YOP out for yourselves, head on over to the Life made Delicious Facebook page for your free coupon on August 7th, while supplies last so make sure you get there bright and early!

https://www.facebook.com/LifeMadeDelicious

Leave me some comments and let me know how you guys get your kids out the door in the morning, awake, dressed and fed!


“Disclosure – I am participating in the Help YOP Help You Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Review : Instep Quick 'n EZ Bike Trailer

So as a mom of 2 I always say that I want to get in shape, but I can never find the time to get to a gym. Arranging for childcare is a hassle and since I don't drive getting there is also a hassle!
I have tried working out at home with workout DVD's and video game workouts, but alas the couch always gets the better of me and I never keep it up.
Before I met my husband I used to walk everywhere, not out of choice but out of need! I had no car or license and I needed to get places, so after my daughter was born it was easy to get back in shape.
But once my prince charming came along 12 years ago with his four wheeled steed, getting everywhere I needed to be became  A LOT easier! And as it got easier I got lazier!
So needless to say after my son was born 3 years ago my body never got the same opportunities as it did after my daughter...
When we moved into this house last year I swore that I would get out and jog every morning since our neighborhood was so quiet and had so little traffic.
Get up at 6 a.m while everyone was still asleep and jog my butt off for 30 minutes! That was my plan!
Well its been a year and not once have I woken up at 6 a.m!
I needed a solution, to be able to jog anytime of day that I felt up to it, without having it be too early or too late at night.

Meet my solution:

This beauty has solved all my problems! I can now jog any time of day, I just strap my little guy in there and run! I can also use it as a bike trailer which is something I would like to do this fall as well!

This jogging stroller / bike trailer can hold two children with five point harness and has lots of other fun features such as:

- A bug screen
- A rain shield
- It folds down flat for storage in 2 minutes
- comes with the conversion for the stroller ( something you usually have to buy extra)
- parking break for stroller mode
- 80-100 lbs weight limit
- Storage area behind the child seat

My only con to this jogger is that in stroller mode the front wheel can be a little wobbly when you are on a bumpy road. Otherwise this thing is a dream.

They sell for about 150-200$ in stores, or you can maybe catch a great deal like I did and grab it at a garage sale for 50$!

I give this one a A+!

Home Sweet Home.....right?

My topic today is home ownership. We purchased our first home last summer and were so excited to get moved in and settled! My mother in law was moving in with us as well, since we had renovated the basement to be a bachelor apartment for her. So basically a toddler, a tween, and two moves.....maybe we weren't excited about that part?

Thankfully for my sisters and brother in law, who without we still would be moving to this day. We were also lucky to only be moving a few streets over, which made the back and forth trips with loads of boxes a little easier for us ( easier yes....but not more fun.....). Anyway we got it done and are still alive to talk about it, so I chalk it up as a success!

Now comes the real hidden topic! Nobody really tells you how hard home ownership really is! There is always so much to do! Fix things that have broken, upkeep things so they don't break, check to see which items need upkeep....its a never ending battle! I know it will get easier in the coming years as our yearly maintenance become routine and our knowledge base of the ins and outs of what makes our house tick become second nature, but boy! oh boy! I have to say this year was full of learning!

I think the hardest part is having the confidence in ourselves to say "Hey, we can fix that!" Rather then call somebody and pay them to do it. Now I am not saying I'm going to try to re-wire our house or anything major but I'm sure we are far more capable to doing things then we think! That is what Youtube is for right?

The bottom line is we LOVE our house, no matter how much we complain about the amount of work it is, if we could go back in time we would chose the same house over and over again!

Would you like to win a 25$ gift card to Home Depot for your own house? Leave me a comment letting me know what do-it-yourself projects you guys have done around the house! Remember you need to be a follower of my blog and you need to have "liked" my Facebook page!The more followers and views I have the more giveaways I can do!

I will have a random draw for the winner on August 15th!

Good luck!

Dont call it a come back!

Blog family! I am officially back to blogging full time! Now that we have moved, settled in and somewhat got our routine down, I now have to the time to write you all of you lovely people everyday! I'm back with some great reviews, great giveaways and some tidbits of our life that will hopefully make you laugh, cry and shake your head.

So please follow along, tell your friends and family about it, and have fun!

Tuesday February 19th, 2013

Tonight's Meal : Slow cooker Chicken Parm
Today's Chore : Main floor Bathroom
Today's Goal : Work out for 30 minutes during nap time
Product of the day: Lysol Power Free Bathroom Cleaner


 Tonight's Meal : Slow cooker Chicken Parm

Tonight's dinner is slow cooker chicken Parm. Pasta is a favorite in our house with the exception of my teen daughter who loves anything chicken, so put the two together and everyone wins. On top of it all, Mom gets to use the slow cooker which, makes it an easy dinner and Ta-da we have a winner!

Here is tonight's recipe:

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I cut mine into strips, to make them into more reasonable serving sizes for the kids)
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 egg, beaten
4-6 slices mozzarella cheese
1 jar (28-ounces) favorite marinara sauce

Directions: Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the bottom of the crockpot stoneware.
In a medium bowl, beat egg.  In second medium bowl, mix the bread crumbs, spices, and grated Parmesan cheese all together.

Dip chicken in beaten egg and then toss into bread crumb mixture to coat completely on both sides.  Place chicken breasts on bottom of crockpot.  Place a layer of mozzarella slices on top of breaded chicken breasts.  Cover cheese layered chicken with entire jar of sauce.

Place lid of crockpot securely on and turn heat to LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.  Serve over cooked pasta of your choice. 

And here is the original link:
http://fullbellies.blogspot.ca/2011/03/slow-cooker-chicken-parmesan.html


Today's Chore : Main floor Bathroom

 The chore I dread the most is cleaning the bathrooms, I think it's a mixture of the grossness of it and the fact that I have 2 to clean....
but alas it must be cleaned and it doesnt seem like I have any volunteers lining up to do it for me.

My main floor bath is the easier of the 2 bathrooms, it is smaller and the tub is only used to bath my youngest son. However, since it is on the main floor it has the most used toilet and sink...gross.....

My procedure is pretty simple, start at the door and end with the toilet. I spray everything down with cleaner, and use a toilet bowl under rim cleaner. I wear gloves which saves my mental state from touching the gross stuff and also protects my skin. My manicurist once told me " if you wouldn't put your face in it, don't put your hands in it" So I highly suggest wearing gloves every time you clean.

I mark a little "B" with permanent marker on my bathroom gloves and a "K" on my kitchen gloves. You probably don't want to mix the two up ;)

I then proceed to wipe everything down with a hot wet rag, the tub gets rinsed extra since I don't want any of the chemicals being left behind in the tub for my little guy.

Toilet is last since it is the germiest, and gets a good scrub in the bowl and a hefty wipe down with a hot wet rag.

I do a quick vacuum ( since that is where we blow dry our hair and believe me the amount of hair that gets onto our floors is insane!) a quick swiffer as well, toss the bath mats in the wash and there you have it! 


Today's Goal : Work out for 30 minutes during nap time

Well my goal again today was to have a 30 minute work out session, however we were waiting to have a few things done in the house by our handyman and he became available, so I'm sure you can side with me when I say that, I probably wouldn't want the guy to catch me doing the UFC trainer on Wii...hahahaha

Proof that there were indeed workmen at my house! LOL


Product of the day: Lysol Power Free Bathroom Cleaner

 
This is a fairly new product on the market and there are a whole line of different products.

This is their spiel:

LYSOL® Power & Free™ Bathroom Cleaner is a powerful cleaner without the harshness of bleach. The hydrogen peroxide formula releases thousands of micro bubbles that penetrate to dissolve lime scale and rust stains.

• Kills 99.9% of viruses & bacteria
• No bleach harshness
• No gloves, masks or protective eye wear needed
• No harsh chemical residue
• Leaves a fresh clean scent

I used it to clean my bathroom today and here are my thoughts:

Pros:

- Clean fresh scent
- Well priced
- Cleaned surfaces well
- No strong chemicals


Cons:

- There should be an option for a mist spray on the nozzle, it sprays in a strong stream and is not always pleasant as it goes everywhere including the walls
- Could work a little better on soap scum, but with a little elbow grease it got the job done

Im happy with this product and look forward to trying their other cleaners as well!


Happy Tuesday everyone!

Monday February 18th, 2013

Tonight's Meal : Sweet & Spicy Oven Baked Pork Chops
Today's Chore : Clean Fridge
Today's Goal : Work out for 30 minutes during naptime
Product of the day: Method Antibac Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner


So Im thinking of this new format of blogging, not sure if I will keep it, but I will at least give it a try, every day I will post what is on the menu for dinner that night ( most will include the recipe), what my chore of the day is ( there may be multiple but I will try to stick to one per post), what my goal of the day is ( believe me I have many), and I will also be featuring a product of the day ( a review of a product) , which sometimes will include a giveaway! Hope you guys like it! Let me know by leaving a comment!


Tonight's Meal: Sweet & Spicy Oven Baked Pork Chops


Here is the recipe for the marinade for tonight's pork chops.

This blend of sweet, savory and spicy make for an amazing, balanced pork chop that goes well with any side: rice, salad, veggies, pasta. Try it out, you won't regret it.

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp chili (sriracha works nicely)
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic
Juice of 1/2 lime
Mix all together in a bowl
Take 3-4 pork chops, place in a large zip lock bag and pour in marinade. Let it marinate for an hour or up to two days, the longer the better (you can poke holes in the pork chops first to allow the marinade to seep in through better).
After the pork chops have marinated for as long as you like, heat oven to 425˚.
Pour marinade and chops in a baking dish, and place in heated oven.
Cook for 30-40 minutes.
Once done, let sit out and cool down. The pork chops should be moist and drenched in flavor. Enjoy!


 Or here is the direct link to the original recipe!
http://www.ireallylikefood.com/748320113/pork-chops-recipe/


Today's Goal: Clean the fridge


Here are some before pics of the fridge:

 We just did groceries so sometimes our fridge can become cluttered and unorganized, but I went through all the condiments checking expiry dates and dumping anything that looked funky.


Here is the after pics, everything cleaned and wiped down, everything put back in an organized way :)

Here is an after pic of my freezer, but I forgot to take a before pic, it really didn't need much organizing since my hubby is pretty good and making sure everything manages to fit! I sometimes buy more then we have room for and he ends up with a jigsaw puzzle to make it work!

So now even though this was a small task, I feel so much better getting it done, I must be in and out of the fridge at least 20 times a day, and every time I open it I think about cleaning it out. Well now its done!

Today's Goal: Workout for 30 minutes a day

This weekend I made the realization that it is getting easier to put on weight and harder to keep it off! So I need to do something about it! Being winter its hard to get out everyday and walk. Today with the wind chill its -21. No thanks! So I have to find other ways to work off the calories.
We really love to eat and food is something I really enjoy, so in order to continue to eat what I love (which is everything) I have to earn it!

Today I decided I would try out the UFC trainer for Wii. I bought it for my husband last Christmas and its still in the shrink wrap..

You can still see the wrapping paper on it!



Product of the day: Method Antibac Antibacterial Kitchen Cleaner

For anyone who knows me, I am an avid fan of all things Method! So when I found this kitchen cleaner I thought I would give it a try!
Today I used it to clean out the fridge. Here are my thoughts!

Pros:

I love the fact that its anti-bacterial
It is made by my fav brand Method
Cleaned everything very well and left no streaks


Cons:

Hard to find in stores
Smell could be better
A couple of spots in the fridge I had to use a stronger product in order to remove them


All in all I am happy with this product!


If you would like to win a bottle of your very own, make sure you "LIKE" my Facebook fan page and that you are signed up as a follower on my blog! I will draw a winner on Friday!

Another Lazy day!

I came across an article today and I just had to laugh, toddlers are so unpredictable, some days they are content to just sit and play all day and other days its one meltdown after another!

The article I read is entitled:

46 Reasons my 3 year old might be having a fit:

His sock is on wrong.
His lip tastes salty.
His shirt has a tag on it.
The car seat is weird.
He’s hungry, but can’t remember the word “hungry.”
Someone touched his knee.
He’s not allowed to get in the oven.
I picked out the wrong pants.
His brother looked at him.
His brother didn’t look at him.
His hair is heavy.
We don’t understand what he said.
He doesn’t want to get out of the car.
He wants to get out of the car by himself.
The iPad has a password.
His sleeve is touching his thumb.
He doesn’t understand how popsicles are made.
The inside of his nose stinks.
Chicken is gross.
A balloon he got six months ago is missing.
A puzzle piece won’t fit in upside down.
I gave him the wrong blue crayon.
The gummi vitamin is too firm.
Netflix is slow.
He jumped off the sofa and we weren’t watching.
He’s not allowed to touch fire.
Everything is wrong with his coat.
There’s a dog within a 70 mile radius.
A shoe should fit either foot.
I asked him a question.
His brother is talking.
He can’t lift a pumpkin.
He can’t have my keys.
The cat is in his way.
The cat won’t let him touch its eyeball.
The inside of his cheek feels rough.
Things take too long to cook.
He has too much food in his mouth.
He sneezed.
He doesn’t know how to type.
The DustBuster is going to eat him.
His mom is taking a shower.
Someone knocked over his tower.
He got powdered sugar on his pants.
The yogurt won’t stay on his spoon.
EVERYTHING IS TOO HOT.

Now some of these struck home with us and others just made us laugh, but isn't it crazy how when we are going through these moments ourselves its not so funny, but when we actually sit back and think about it, they are priceless moments!

I am still not back on my feet from this cold! I still feel so run down and have zero energy! Havent made much progress on the cleaning front of this house, but I try to get at least one or two things done from my to-do list everyday. Hopefully by next week I will be back in the swing of things!

Tonight for dinner I am making one of my favorites Baked Ziti, I found the recipe on Pinterest my obssession! I have found so many amazing recipes and ideas on there!

Here is the link in case you would like to try it!

http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/02/14/three-cheese-baked-ziti/

What is everyone else having for dinner tonight?

Lazy Slow cooker days...

I have to say some days I have tons of energy and can clean the whole house from top to bottom....and other days ....well I could sleep straight through. Today is one of those lazy days, I am slowly but surely recovering from a flu that hit our house and although I am feeling better, my body has not caught up yet.

For these kinds of days I like to make use of my slow cooker, a Mother's best friend as I like to call it! There are just so many recipes out there to try and it makes my day so much easier. A little prep in the morning and voila dinner is ready by 5 pm.

On a day that I would have definitely gone the route of take out rather then cook, I am able to keep my save not spend resolution as well! Everyone wins! Even my picky eater loves the recipes I make!

Tonight we are having Chicken Parmesan in the slow cooker, we have tried this recipe before and we all love it!

Here is the link in case you would like to try it as well, super easy and delicious!

http://fullbellies.blogspot.ca/2011/03/slow-cooker-chicken-parmesan.html

Another thing I have found important in our journey to save money is meal planning! Every weekend before we do groceries I have to plan out what we will be having each night for dinner, knowing when I wake up what is on the menu for dinner, prevents the 4pm panic and stress of figuring out what to have which ultimately leads to ordering take out.

This past weekend we only spent 28$ on takeout, which if you know us is kind of a big deal! We decided not to cut it out entirely or we would feel deprived of it and want it even more! But we used coupons! So that has to count for something!

In the big picture if we look at each and every penny we spend, sometimes it can be the little things we dont think about that can really add up!

So Im off to eat my delish dinner, see you tomorrow!

Please feel free to post some of your tried and true slow cooker recipes in the comment section! I love to try new recipes!

2013 Here we go!!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe and healthy New Year! We had a great one but we were struck with that terrible flu that has been going around. This is the worst year for this strain of the flu! Almost every person I know has been hit with it one way or another! So awful!

On a better note, I have so much hope and goals for this year that I cant wait to share them with you! I have made a few resolutions and set a few goals and hopefully I can follow through with most if not all of them! So here is my list of resolutions so far:

1. Make time to take care of myself
2. Make time to enjoy and focus on my relationship
3. Save and pay off as much debt as possible!
4. Spend quality time with each of my kids everyday
5. Spend more time outside

Sounds awesome right? Just hope I can manage it. Sometimes those things are easier said then done! So please read along as we go through this next year together and follow my attempt at a great 2013!

Did anyone out there make any similar resolutions? Let me know how you are doing with them and if you have any ideas of how to make them work!