All posts by Anne Younger

Anne is a 30-something full-time SAHM mom of 5 ranging from 3 to 17 and grandma of 1 who resides in Ashwaubenon (Green Bay) Wisconsin. She started blogging in 2008 as a way to regain her sanity. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, cheeseburgers and vodka along with spending time with her husband and kids.

For Our Furry Friends

Is BRAVECTO Right for Your Dog? #12Bravecto

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As you have read over the last few months, we have been doing our best to protect Balty from fleas and ticks. As a pet owner, his health and well-being are always a top priority, because really, he’s just like one of our kids and that is why when our vet suggested BRAVECTO® (Fluralaner), we knew we were making the right decision.

Why BRAVECTO?

BRAVECTO is a tasty chew that provides protection from fleas and ticks for up to 12 weeks*.
BRAVECTO kills fleas, prevents flea infestations, and kills ticks (black-legged tick, American dog tick, and brown dog tick) for 12 weeks and kills lone star ticks for 8 weeks. That’s nearly 3 times longer protection than a monthly treatment.
BRAVECTO is FDA approved.
BRAVECTO is convenient. All it takes is 1 tasty chew for up to 12 weeks of flea and tick protection*.

BRAVECTO is not recommended for all dogs. BRAVECTO is approved only for dogs 6 months or older. This is because Bravecto is prescribed based on weight. Puppies under 6 months of age grow rapidly and their weights change too much over the 12-week treatment period.

Choosing the Right Tick Protection

I’m sure you are just like us when it comes to your dog and want to make sure they are protected. When it came to making the choice for Balty, I did some online research and I talked with our vet.

If your dog stays indoors most of the time, you may think that they don’t need protection, but they do. Both active dogs and couch-potato dogs are still at risk of exposure to ticks. As you can see, Balty is more of a couch-potato dog.

If you have a dog that swims’ swimming does not necessarily increase tick exposure risk but it does make it important to use a chewable form of flea and tick protection that won’t wear off from the water or post-swim bath.

How to Check Your Pet

Examine your pet for ticks after an outing. Part the dogs’ hair and ruff up his/her coat. Visually look for a tick (remember they can be very, very small), check in the ears and between the paw pads, too.

Click HERE for more information on how to check for and remove ticks. Remember, it is always a good idea to consult your veterinarian for advice on how to remove ticks from your dog.

Find a Vet Near You

Talk to your veterinarian to discuss which product is best for your pet. One convenient option that provides extended duration is BRAVECTO, a tasty oral chew, that lasts for up to 12 weeks*. BRAVECTO takes the worry out of tick protection so you and your pet can enjoy the outdoors! To find a veterinarian near you to discuss whether BRAVECTO is right for your dog click here.

Connect

For more information about BRAVECTO, be sure to connect on Facebook and Twitter.

*Bravecto kills fleas, prevents flea infestations, and kills ticks (black-legged tick, American dog tick, and brown dog tick) for 12 weeks. Bravecto also kills lone start ticks for 8 weeks. Go to Bravecto.com for full prescribing information.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information published. However, it remains the responsibility of the readers to familiarize themselves with the product information contained on the USA product label or package. More product information is available here: https://intervetus.naccvp.com/product/view/1047512?e=d97b22ed63e734e84c1a5910a9c8f531z1688

Cleaning Tips & Tricks

5 Tips for a Successful Fall Reset with Swiffer and Febreze+ Giveaway – Ends 9/29

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The kids are back in school, the weather is cooling off, the leaves are falling from the trees, and that can only mean one thing; fall is upon us.

Fall is my absolute favorite season, for so many reasons. I love the cooler nights, having windows open, hearing the rustling of the leaves and all of the events that come with it.

Most people get crazy about spring cleaning, but for me, I am all about fall cleaning, or a fall reset. By a fall reset I mean getting our home and everything else ready for the changing of the season.

Get Ready for Fall with These Tips

When it comes to getting our home ready for fall, I have a strict list of items that I like to get done. Since we are in Wisconsin, there are a lot of things that need to be taken care of before winter hits and I like to take care of it all during my fall reset.

Pack Away Your Warm Weather Clothes

Before packing away your warm weather clothes, be sure to pull out any sizes that are too small. I know my kids are constantly growing and most items don’t fit them from one season to the next. We like to donate any items that are too small to our local thrift shop. Once we have everything sorted, we store all of our warm weather clothes in storage bins either under beds or in our basement.

Clean Out the Closets

Fall is also the perfect time to make sure all of your closets are clean and in order. Make sure you remove any shoes, jackets, blankets, bedding, etc. that are no longer needed.

Throughly Clean All Flooring

Yes, it is important to clean your floors on a regular basis but it is during this time that I like to make sure every little nook and cranny of flooring in our house gets throughly cleaned. I start by moving all of our furniture, sweeping, and then swiffering everywhere.

Since we have all hardwood and vinyl floors in our home, we are able to do all of this with the help of a Swiffer Wetjet.

With 7 people and a giant dog, there is always something on our floors to clean up and I perfer the Swiffer Wetjet for cleaning our floors because it really gets the job done. I am always amazed at how much dirt it really does remove from our floors!

The New & Improved Swiffer WetJet gives you a more thorough clean in just minutes. That’s because the ABSORB + LOCK™ strip helps trap dirt & grime deep in the pad. I used the new pad with ABSORB + LOCK™ strip for improved absorption of dirt/grime on our living room floor and couldn’t believe how well it removed the dirt and grime.

The New & Improved Swiffer WetJet also comes with a new solution formula for more effective cleaning, has a dual-spray nozzle solution dispense for a powerful floor clean, offers a reinforced handle that releases the perfect amount of solution with the touch of a finger, a stronger pad attachment to keep your cleaning pad in place as you clean and it is safe for cleaning virtually every finished wood floor type.

Refresh Your Furniture

After a season of sweaty and, let’s face it, dirty, smelly kids, climbing on my furniture, I like to give them all a nice cleaning. I start by removing all of the cushions and cleaning underneath them, spot treating any stains and then spraying them down and make them smell good again with some Febreze Fabric Refresh. I am hooked on the new Big Sur scent, it is the perfect mix of the outdoors for me!

Refresh the Air

I’m sure most of us have had the windows closed and the A/C running all summer long to combat the heat. I hate the smell of the house when it is all stuffy and once I can open the windows and get some fresh air circulating, I like to add some great scents to it using Febreze Air Effects and NOTICEables. The both no how to fight off certain smells in the air and make everything smell better.

Share Your Tips

These are just some of our tips for our fall reset, please feel free to share some of yours in the comments below, we love to hear from our readers.

Win a Swiffer Wetjet & Febreze Prize Pack

You can enter to win a Swiffer Wetject & Febreze prize pack to help get you with your fall reset using the form below.

This giveaway will end on 9/29/2016 at 11:59pm CST. Winner’s will be contacted via email and will have 24 hours to respond with their mailing information to claim their prize. The Megalomaniac Mommy is not responsible for prize fulfillment. Any questions, please contact us.

*The Megalomaniac Mommy policies on giveaways can be found here.

Swiffer Wetjet Febreze Prize Pack

Food

5 Baking Substitutions for Healthier Desserts

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There are few things as delicious as fresh-baked pastries and desserts, but if you are trying to get your family to eat healthy, you may wonder if you should ban these treats. While cookies, brownies, and cakes are all delicious, their ingredients call for fats and different types of sugar and according to statistics released by the American Heart Association, children in the United States already eat three times as much sugar on a daily basis than is recommended. However, there are several surprising substitutions to add into your recipes to help make them as healthy as they are tasty.

1. Beets

One the main attractions of any baked good is their sweetness, and if you have a sweet tooth, they can be difficult to resist. However, there are ways to give sugar the boot while making brownies or cookies, and one of the most surprising is by using grated beets in place of sugar. Beets have a sweet taste and when finely grated, they have almost the same texture as granulated sugar and give your baked goods the moistness that makes most pastries so desirable.

To cut the sugar from brownies or cookies using beets, use a blender to finely grate two thirds of a cup of the root and replace the brown or white sugar in the recipe with it. Be sure to take the time to grate your beets properly to avoid clumping.

2. Beans

Many cookie recipes call for shortening or salted butter, which can greatly increase their fat content. Many shortenings contain trans fats, which are unsaturated fats that have been proven to cause high cholesterol and heart disease, which is currently the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. If you want to make a tray of brownies but want to cut back on the shortening, consider replacing it with beans.

There are a number of different types of beans you can use that will not alter the taste of your brownies, such as lentils, black beans, or cannellini beans. Puree them in your blender with a few tablespoons of water, note how much shortening your recipe calls for, then replace half its amount with the beans. This will cut back on the fat content of your brownies but not on the flavor.

3. Whole Wheat Flour

While white flour may look pure and powdery, it is not the healthiest option for baking because it has usually been heavily processed and may contain additives such as artificial preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. This can result in your family ingesting much more sugar than is necessary. To avoid this, substitute whole wheat flour for white flour when you bake. Whole wheat flour contains fiber, which supports healthy digestion and may give your baked goods a less heavy texture.

4. All-Natural Cookie Dough

Many commercial doughs that you find in your local grocery store’s dairy section may be convenient when it comes to whipping up a quick batch of cookies, but they also may contain artificial ingredients and added sugar that makes them a questionable option when it comes to healthy eating. If you need a batch of cookies for a bake sale and are pressed for time, consider shopping for an all-natural cookie dough for your fridge or pantry instead.

If you are looking for a dairy free, low-sugar cookie dough that is also free of preservatives, consider using Hampton Creek Just Cookie Dough, which contains only eight grams of sugar per servings. This mixture also contains unsweetened chocolate chips and wheat flour, not white, which helps cut down the fat and sugar content, not on the taste.

5. Low-Fat Milk

If you are making a homemade pie crust, you can cut back on butter by substituting it with a few tablespoons of low-fat milk instead. This will result in a crust that has fewer calories and less fat overall. The moistness of the milk will help the crumbs stick together, eliminating the need for butter.

To make this pie crust, grate six ounces of honey graham crackers in a blender and then add two tablespoons of low-fat milk and blend them until the crumbs have a paste-like texture and you can press them into the pie tin. Add the milk gradually so the mixture does not become too runny.

Cookies, cakes, brownies, and pies made with these ingredients can help you achieve that balance between healthy eating and indulgence that the whole family will be able to appreciate.

Toys

Kids Rest Easy with DreamFrenz + Giveaway – Ends 9/29

Anne Younger Leave a comment

If you have a child who is anything like my little Ellie, then you know what it is like to have your child sleep in a bed covered in a sea of stuffed animals and dolls. There are nights when Ellie sleeps with so many different things I have a hard time figuring out which is her on our video baby monitor.

Ellie recently discovered her new favorite thing to sleep with and that is Merry, her new Dream Frenz.

What Are Dream Frenz?

With an oversized, soft head and a tiny body that tucks inside, Dream Frenz are a cuddly plush pillow but also a toy, a stuffed character and a comforting companion that never fails to evoke a smile. Dream Frenz believes that every child should be a dreamer; the characters are designed to inspire selfexpression, story-telling and imagination in children.

The Story Behind Dream Frenz

Dream Frenz was founded by Florida-based mom-entrepreneur Halie Fulton, who left the practice of law to focus instead on the “Mommy Track”. While raising her daughters, Halie was inspired by the ‘tadpole drawings’ of her oldest daughter – she subsequently launched her company to bring the drawings to life. Tadpole drawings are drawings by pre-school age children. Researchers believe that the tadpole represents the child’s body self-image and that these drawings, typically with big, colorful heads, tiny bodies and happy faces, are an early attempt at realistic drawing.

A Bedtime Friend

Ellie loves snuggling up with her Merry the Mermaid Dream Frenz in bed every night and now her brothers have been asking for their own Dream Frenz too.

Get Your Own Dream Frenz

Dream Frenz currently come in 10 different characters and .ore are currently in development, including a sports line, a heroes line and an international line and are ONLY available at Walmart. They are designed for kids ages 3 and older and can be found on Walmart.com for $24.00.

Win a Dream Frenz

You can win a Dream Frenz of your choice when you enter using the form below.

Not pictured: Brittany, Ray and St. Nick.

*The Megalomaniac Mommy policies on giveaways can be found here.

Dream Frenz

Stock Up Alert

Stock Up Alert: Snapple® Tea on Rollback at Walmart

Anne Younger Leave a comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SnappleRollback #CollectiveBias

As a family of 7, you know how much we like to save money whenever we can, especially when it comes to our family grocery budget. Before we shop, we always try to find the best price for the items on our list and when we see a good stock up price, I tend to share it here.

Stock Up on Snapple 64 Oz. Peach, Diet Peach, and Kiwi Strawberry- Buy 2/$3 on Rollback at Walmart!

Buy your favorite Snapple flavors for only $1.50/64 Oz. bottle (originally $1.98) from now until November 30th. Don’t miss out on your chance to enjoy more of your favorite Snapple drinks when you shop at Walmart! Make Time for Snapple!