Recent Posts

Today’s Wild Card author is:

Loree Lough

and the book:

Beautiful Bandit (Lone Star Legends V1)

***Special thanks to Cathy Hickling of Whitaker House for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

At last count, Loree had 73 books (fiction and non-fiction for kids and adults; one novel optioned for a TV movie; and many more slated for release), 63 short stories, and more than 2,500 articles in print. Her stories have earned dozens of industry and “Readers’ Choice” awards. A frequent guest speaker for writers’ organizations, book clubs, private and government institutions, corporations, college and high school writing programs and more, Loree has encouraged thousands with her comedic approach to ‘learned-the-hard-way’ lessons about the craft and the industry.

Visit the author’s website.

Here is a snack that will have your kids asking to eat fruit.

The Freeze-Dried Funky Monkey Fruit Snacks taste so great.  I received all seven flavors that the company offers to taste test.  I love that each package has 3 servings of fruit in it. 

They are very easy to take along with you in your purse or bag.  So if you’re out all day and the kids (or you!) want to munch on something, you don’t have to stop and pick up junk

As I inch closer to 40, I notice that it isn’t as easy to shed the pounds I gain as it used to be.  Each time we vacation there are a few pounds that just don’t want to come off once we’re back home.  Even when I try really hard watching what I eat, and making sure that I exercise every day.  So I’m always up to try new fitness routines or meal plans that might help me to get those stubborn pounds off my frame.

Mitch Gaylor, Olympic Gymnast, has a DVD workout program called ‘Melt it Off with Mitch‘. 

The secret of Mitch’s exercise program is

Today’s Wild Card author is:

Andrew McDonough

and the book:

Jesus and the Children

***Special thanks to Pam Mettler of Zondervan for sending me a review copy.***

Product Details:

List Price: $4.99
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (January 15, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031071947X
ISBN-13: 978-0310719472

A Tidbit Romance – Erin Coss (The Chicken Dance Mama)

Erin Coss is delighted to share the tidbits she’s found as she’s studied God’s Word with you.    So she penned this book A Tidbit Romance: Falling in Love with God’s Word One Devotion at a Time.

60 short devotionals are within its pages, enough for a couple of months worth to go with your morning coffee or afternoon quiet time while the kids are napping.  The word “tidbit” describes these devotions perfectly.  Tidbits generally are a short pieces of information about something that is easily looked over yet the facts hold interest when expounded on

In order to foster a love for being in the kitchen, parents need to spend quality time with their kids in it.

That can sometimes be challenging.

I for example, am one of those parents who feels it easier to just do it myself rather than let my kid help, because then I have to coach her and clean up after her.  One day I sat up and noticed though, that my daughter, wouldn’t be able to fend for herself if I didn’t put my perfectionism aside and let her help.

4 mothers worked together and created Picture Me Cooking, a recipe book that parents and kids can use together.  But it’s not just a recipe book, it’s also an heirloom that will chronicle the fun you have in your kitchen as a family.

A friend of mine told me recently that eating gluten-free can be like a detox for your body.  She eats a gluten-free diet when she returns from vacation and has indulged a little much, in order to feel better.  I think this is something I might try and do the next time I eat a bit too much junk, and I know I won’t feel deprived eating Mary’s Gone Crackers gluten-free products during that time.

We recently had a chance to try Mary’s Gone Crackers Pretzel Snacks Sticks & Twigs.  What a fun name!

I have thought a lot about freezer cooking in the last four years, but have never done it.  That would be because I don’t have a large deep freeze…but we purchased one last week and it’s being delivered this Thursday and I am so excited!  I have already tried and frozen a couple of weeks worth of recipes in 30 Meals In One Day, but am looking forward to a day blitz where I can get all my cooking for a whole month done in a single day!

There are so many delicious easy recipes in this book, you really have a lot of options in the meals you create for your family.  Did I mention that the majority of them are easy?!  Oh yeah I did!  I think a lot of people that don’t think they could do freezer cooking think that it’s because trying to make 30 different meals in one day for a whole month would be well…a trifle overwhelming.  But 30 Meals In One Day is laid out so well, and is so simple to use, that you’ll be cooking only one day a month.  

Last summer I picked up a great score in the Target $1.00 section.  They had packages of scrapbook Picnic Papers, in colorful and cute patterns.  I didn’t get around to using them last year, but when I joined the Glue Dots Summer Bonding Project through Twitter Moms, I knew that they would be perfect for making little note cards to send out to my blog readers with their wins, or to thank the families that have invited us in for parties and dinners this summer.

Because I suffer from Raynaud’s Syndrome, which has similar symptoms to many autoimmune disorders, I tend to often have muscle aches & stiffness and swelling from injuries.  I also take a low dose aspirin daily to ensure my blood doesn’t clot after having a TIA stroke a number of years ago.  That means that I bruise easily, and they are usually unsightly too!

I never realized their was a natural remedy for those things in Arnica (actually I had never heard of Arnica before at all).   I was contacted by Boiron (see my review of their Cold Products for Children) to review Arnicare Gel and since I was impressed with the Boiron products I’ve tried I agreed.