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.
Who doesn’t like to save a little extra money? As I have mentioned multiple times before I will save money any which way I can! Our family became members of Sam’s Club back in 2008 when we were expecting Alexander. At the time we figured what better way to save money than to save it while buying diapers, you know an every day baby essential! Now that little Miss Ellie has arrived, we are thrilled that we have kept our Sam’s membership and have already found ourselves stocking up on diapers and wipes every chance we get.
During the month of February, Sam’s Club is giving you the chance to not only save on baby essentials but to earn a $10 Sam’s Club Gift Card too!
Pick up any two of the following baby products to receive a $10 Sam´s Club Gift Card toward your purchase made between Feb 1st and Feb 29th:
*Pampers® Swaddlers® or Pampers Cruisers® Diapers
*Pampers SoftCareTM Scented Baby Wipes
*Similac® Advance® Powder or Similac Sensitive® Powder
*Dreft® Liquid Laundry Detergent
Then just register for your Gift Card at SamsClub.com/giftcardoffer by March 14, 2012
Unfettered ambition.
Familial schisms.
Dark secrets.
The Legacy of Eden has them all.
In this book, a woman recounts her family’s troubled and tragic past while preparing to return to the once grand estate she fled almost two decades earlier.
If you are looking for a book that is sure to grab your attention and suck you in until the very end, The Legacy of Eden is the book for you. Seriously, once I picked it up and started reading it I could not put it down. I found myself wanting to know more with every sentence I read.
From the back of the book:
For generations, Aurelia was the crowning glory of more than three thousand acres of Iowa farmland and golden cornfields. The estate was a monument to matriarch Lavinia Hathaway’s dream to elevate the family name—no matter what relative or stranger she had to destroy in the process. It was a desperation that wrought the downfall of the Hathaways—and the once-prosperous farm.
Now the last inhabitant of the decaying old home has died—alone. None of the surviving members of the Hathaway family want anything to do with the farm, the land or the memories.
Especially Meredith Pincetti. Now living in New York City, for seventeen years Lavinia’s youngest grandchild has tried to forget everything about her family and her past. But with the receipt of a pleading letter, Meredith is again thrust into conflict with the legacy that destroyed her family’s once-great name.
Back at Aurelia, Meredith must confront the rise and fall of the Hathaway family…and her own part in their mottled history.
The Legacy of Eden is available wherever books are sold and at www.MIRABooks.com
You can join in the fun with The Legacy of Eden Blog Scavenger Hunt
As everyone is aware, we welcomed our little Miss Ellie to the family in December. Once again I am breastfeeding however this time around things are a little different like the part in which Ellie will actually take a bottle whereas her older brother Alexander would not.
What does that mean for me?
Well, with Ellie willingly taking a bottle it allows me more free time than I had the last time around and means I am pumping the girls like crazy to build up a supply of boobie milk in both the fridge and the freezer.
When Ellie was born she lost weight rapidly at the hospital which delayed her coming home, this was mostly due to my milk supply not coming in fast enough. In order to get her home we had to supplement with formula for a few feedings while I pumped like crazy to force my supply to arrive. This was no easy task….sitting in a hospital bed, holding two breast shields while pumping and being extremely uncomfortable.
Upon our arrival home and my budding relationship with my beautiful new breast pump I was still struggling to find a way to pump and be comfortable while doing so.
So I did what any other blogging mommy would do…..I turned to the interwebs.
I searched for hands free pumping bras and read review after review on different brands.
And then I found one that best suited my needs.
Simple Wishes.
I reached out to them and they kindly sent me a hands free pumping bra to review.
It arrived.
I am IN LOVE.
Having this bra has given me freedom to be productive while I pump. Now I can read, blog, tweet, even talk on the phone while pumping. Not only does it allow me to be more functional but I am able to be in a comfortable position while pumping now too!
Another thing that made me decide that the Simple Wishes hands free pumping bra was the one for me is the fact that it came big enough and allows it to be adjusted tot he extreme making it something that will be able to decrease in size as I do!
Big thanks to Simple Wishes for a wonderful bra that I stand behind 100%!
Disclaimer: I was provided with product at no charge to me in exchange for my complete and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Deb Johnson of Budding Chefs will lead us in a Valentine’s Day story time and making a yummy Valentine’s Day treat!
Budding Chefs, LLC provides cooking classes for children ages 3 and up including in-home, community-based, and educational enrichment classes and scout troop cooking activities/Legacy cooking badge workshops.
Kids Night Out!! Valentine’s Day Party Friday, February 10th
5:00pm – 7:30pm
Cost Per Child: $12 (members),
$15 (non-members)
Love is in the air this month and our theme this time is a “Valentine’s Day Party”. Drop those little ones off and go have some time for yourself for a few hours. The kids will get to play in the town, make Valentine’s Day crafts, play fun games, eat pizza and make their very own dessert.
Pre-registration is required. Space is limited and will fill up FAST!
Call 434-1234 to sign your child up.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tuesday, February 14th
$2.00 off admission price if you wear red or pink to show your Valentine’s Day spirit!
Girls Night Out! Scrapbooking Fun! Friday, February 17th
6:30pm to midnight
Cost: $10 – includes snacks and drinks
Join us for a night of scrapbooking fun! Do you have pictures you took from this past summer or fall? Maybe you have pictures from last year. This is a great time to get together with friends and get those pictures in albums so your family can start enjoying them. You will have tools such as punches, cutting systems and a Cricut machine for you to use. Call 434-1234 to sign up and reserve your spot TODAY!!
Crafty Kids @ 10 am
Wednesday, February 22nd
Join us for some fun, while you guide your child through creating their very own master piece to take home. “Crafty Kids” will be held monthly to let your child release their creativity! Class size is limited. Free with admission.
It’s no secret that my children LOVE to help out in the kitchen. My oldest son, Zack, aspires to become a professional chef when he is older. My little dude, Alexander is already convinced that his daddy is a chef and loves to help him in the kitchen any way he can.
As a family, we made the decision to spend more time eating at home as a family and gave up eating fast food as our new years resolution this year. I am proud to say that we are still on track after the first month of the year has come to a close. With our resolution we have stocked the fridge, freezers and pantry to ensure that there is always something to cook. We have dug all over the internet for new to us recipes for some healthy family friendly meals and started planning out menus.
Another part of our resolution was to eat better as well so we have learned new ways to cook our foods and are teaching the kids more about baking foods instead of frying them and choosing fresh vegetables instead of canned. We are also working hard on removing the processed/boxed foods from our diet as well.
I will admit, over the years we have not taught our children the proper tools for eating healthy. You know it is bad when you have an almost 4 year old who recognizes all of the signs and logos for the fast food chains. Together we have been creating healthy meals and a lot of those meals contain one of our favorite foods…rice! The kids love to try new meals but one of their favorites with rice is paprika chicken with sauce over a bed of rice….it is delish! Believe it or not, we’ve even turned to Uncle Ben’s for new recipe ideas as well!
By doing all of this together as a family, we are not only improving our lifestyle but we are spending more time together as a family, as one unit.
After setting our goals in place, I was excited to learn that Uncle Ben’s is encouraging families to get in the kitchen to cook and eat together too!
To empower and encouage parents to connect with their kids, one meal at a time, Uncle Ben’s has launched an exciting national contest called Ben’s Beginners. By entering the contest, you could win $20,000, along with a $50,000 grant towards a cafeteria makeover for your child’s school. In addition, you will have a chance to appear on The Rachael Ray show! Uncle Ben’s is calling for parents with children ages 5-12 to submit a 2-3 minute video of you cooking a rice-based dish with your children. For more info on the contest, please check out Ben’s Beginners on Facebook!
Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Uncle Ben’s blogging program, for 6,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
