States Still Needed!

Here is a list (I keep updating) for the states we still need for the Postcard Swap

http://gapcswap.blogspot.com/2010/02/states-still-needed.html

What's For Dinner

You can download my meal plan for the next week HERE!
I have all the recipes and a grocery list too!
http://www.4shared.com/file/229034368/bfabb652/Document1.html

Postcard Swap - Join us!

How it works: 50 families (one from each state) will swap postcards over the next year. Each state will have their own week and will send out 49 postcards, one to each state, during that week. We will go in alphabetical order of the states. At the end of 50 weeks we will all have received a postcard from 49 other states!

At my house, we plan on putting up a large map of the United States, and connecting each postcard that we receive to it’s corresponding state.

The postcards will be somehow themed about the state that you live in (I know I see state postcards all of the time at places like Walgreens and gas stations, but you could feel free to make your own, as well!) On the back of the postcards, I was thinking that your family could just write either a fun fact about your state or why you like living in your state.

To join: email me at adventures and gapcswap @ gmail dot com

If you are interested, but your state is not on the list of states we need, send me an email anyway. With enough interest I will put together a second (or more?) swap. I don't want anyone to miss out!

The Button: Grab the button and spread the word!!!

<a href=" http://www.tanyapeila.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src=" http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o252/tpeila/PostcardSwap-1.jpg " /></b"/>

Things to remember: This is a family swap, a great way for kids to learn about the states. Postcards should be state themed. You can buy them or just make them yourself if you'd like to. The cost to send 50 postcards is $14. Did I miss anything? Please send me an email if you have any questions. More details will be posted soon!

Here is a list of the states we still need!

http://gapcswap.blogspot.com/2010/02/states-still-needed.html

What did YOU do this weekend?

The inspiration - We are not treehouse engineers but we want a treehouse for the kids!

The Tree

The Planning/Pondering - Seriously he did this ALL day on Saturday, part of Sunday, and EARLY Monday morning!

The Auger - Meant for TWO people, 4' deep, 12" diameter...

The Holes - Warning this video may cause excessive laughing to the point where you may pee your pants.

The Tree Roots

More Holes

And this is just day one... More next weekend!

Deal of the Day - $5 BABY blowout!

From now until 2/28/10 littlemissmatched.com is having a HUGE $5 BABY blowout sale!

Shop now before I buy everything up!

Spring is coming! Are you ready?

I am SO excited for spring to arrive! I know it is coming because my crocus have started to bloom. My favorite thing to do every spring is find a spot for a garden and start my seeds! This year I am lucky enough to have a garden in the back of our house. However the previous owner has made me look deeper into gardening. She grew all sorts of herbs and veggies in pots! It is AMAZING to me!

First I subscribed to Average Person Gardening. I get a weekly newsletter with great tips! This weeks tip I love is Italian Herb Garden - How To Establish Your Own One.

I then quickly learned about their Seeds of the Month club! Your first month is free. Then after that it is ONLY $20 a year! And you get four seed packets per month!

You can join the Seeds of the Month by clicking here!

My next shipment comes in just 11 days!

I am learning TONS about gardening and pruning!

This last weekend I pruned blackberry bushes and two different varieties of grapes. This weekend I head for the kiwi tree and blueberry bushes.

Little Man is super excited as he can snack on anything outside!

I would love to connect with you all on your gardening tips and passions! I also hope you will all join the Seeds of the Month club so we can garden together!

Top Ten Family Vacation Tips #DriveHappy

This post is being written as part of a contest at Twitter Moms. Bloggers have been asked to share their tips for creating a fun family vacation that is free of distractions. Here are my top 10.
1. Invest in a portable DVD player. Some moms don't agree with me on this one but it is nice to have when you just need some quite time.
2. Bring a backpack filled with "new" things for your kids to do. They can use it in the car, on the air plane, in restaurants, etc.
3. Let everyone help plan your trip! Include you kids in what they want to do.
4. Be prepared to deviate from the plan. Anyone who has kids knows, the plan can change at any moment with an unexpected nap, or accident!
5. Don't plan too much in one day. When we took our 3-year old to Disneyland we scheduled to go back to the hotel twice a day for his naps. He was on a schedule and a cranky child makes for an unhappy vacation!
6. Don't spend a ton on souvenirs. Just let everyone chose one or two things.
7. For babies plan, plan. plan. My sister-in-law took a gallon sized zip loc bag and put a bib and utensils in it for every day they were traveling. Great way to remember babies are messy at times!
8. Don't think you have to do it all. Even if you only see a couple things, as long as you are having fun and relaxing it will be a trip to remember.
9. If traveling by plane remember small children may need something to help them with the altitude adjustment. Bring suckers, gum, pacifiers, or a bottle to help ease the ear discomfort.
10. Just HAVE fun!

New name!

Did you know S&W Rice got a new name? Me either!!!

Their new name is Mahatma Gourmet Rice, the quality, consistency and great taste you’ve come to expect are exactly the same!

I am a BzzAgent and they sent me some Mahatma Gourmet Rice to try out. I love using the long grain rice with some Frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's (I think I need more in my freezer too!). SIMPLE dinner, inexpensive and QUICK. Less than 20 minutes and around $7 for the entire meal. Serves 4-6.

Mahatma® is the number one selling rice brand in the U.S. Sold in extra long grain rice, parboiled, whole grain brown, rice mixes, Thai Jasmine and Indian Basmati. Mahatma's popularity is attributed to its consistent fluffy texture and quality.

Free You Rock! Valentine

My friend Amy over at Living Locutro posted this awesome last minute You Rock Valentine on her site. She is a GREAT designer and has tons of free printable on her site. Check it out today!

Since you probably have your kids done for school I would use these for neighbor kids, family or even adults!

Download the You Rock! Free Printable PDF.

LOL Kids say the cutest things!

So this morning I was washing my face with my Clarisonic, (basically a vibrating brush works GREAT). Little Man asked what I was doing. I told him "Washing my face."
He proceeds to tell me that he saw on "real" t.v. that there was this thing you could put around your tummy that made your tummy REALLY flat (showing me the visual of a size 0). But then he said the lady on the t.v. still had an ugly face because she was really old. Then he told me I was really old. LOL. Of course he took that part back.
Then he said people can go to the store and buy it if they want a flat tummy but he forgot which store.
Then he blurts out "Costco! They have it a Costco!"
They are so innocent!
Last night he told me it looked like I had a baby in my tummy. I told him "nope just fat." Then he asked why I had tummy fat and I told him it was because of his sister just like I have gray hair from him!
Hope you got a good laught at this today!

Help me out! VOTE for my Little Princess!

I have a HUGE favor. First I need you to go to http://www.burdastyle.com/join and join Burda Style a sewing website (dont worry you can opt out and they will not send you ANY emails!) then I need you to go to http://www.burdastyle.com/albums/138/images?page=48&size=small and vote for ASHLEE!!! So she can ...model her new ladybug dress!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help us out and pass this on to everyone you know! This will take about 5 minutes or less because you ahve to verify you email address to sign up. Thanks!!!

WIN - $50 Safeway Gift Certificate from Fiber One

I LOVE yogurt. In fact I eat it everyday. Normally I eat Activia with 1/4 cup of Kashi granola YUMMY!

My friends at Fiber One and MyBlogSpark sent me some VIP coupons to try New Fiber One yogurt, the only leading nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber (20 percent of the Recommended Daily Value). It is also a good source of calcium and vitamins A and D, making this a guilt-free and all-around great choice for dieters and those watching their weights. Each cup includes the creamy, delicious taste you expect from Yoplait, and you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying it. Fiber One is available in a variety of flavors including, Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla and Key Lime Pie.

Now I LOVE the vanilla. I have not tried the other flavors yet but I found this is LOWER in calories than my normal daily dose of yogurt and has about the same fiber. It is very tasty and also less hassle than carrying around the extra granola with me!

In addition, from January 13th through February 9th, the Safeway (also good at Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Genuardi’s) family of stores has a special deal where you can purchase two 4-packs of Fiber One yogurt for only $4!

Tanyapeila.com and Fiber One are giving away one $50 Gift Certificate to Safeway (also good at Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Genuardi’s).

Ways to enter to win:

1. Subscribe to my blog! and leave a comment that you subscribed and favorite flavor of yogurt.

2. Follow my on Twitter! @tanyapeila

3. Blog about this contest.

Leave a comment for EACH entry method please.Winner will be chosen February 14, 2010 .

The VIP coupon, gift card, information and additional gift card to give away were all given to me from Safeway (Dominick’s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Genuardi’s) and Fiber One through MyBlogSpark.)

Deal of the Day

Thanks to Trisha @ http://www.247moms.com/ for this SUPER Deal of the Day!

Deal Of The Day - Free Burger and Fries at Denny's. The first 500,00 people to register for Denny's Rewards before February 14, 2010 will be emailed a coupon on February 28 for a free burger and fries. The burger and fries coupon will be valid from March 1-7.

Click here to register today.

Cute Valentines Day Carft from Family Fun!

From www.familyfun.com

I get the Family Fun newsletter via email and thought this was SO sute I have to share!

This idea, from the Coakley sisters -- 12-year-old Amelia and 9-year-old Olivia -- of Fulton, New York, is one Valentine gift that keeps on giving: a heart-shaped cutter to make cookies or clay hearts all year long.
Materials
Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Card stock or paper
Markers
Ribbon
Instructions
The Coakley sisters attach a favorite sugar-cookie or play-dough recipe to their cutting-edge valentines, but you can keep it simple with a heart-shaped message that says, "You're cut out to be mine."

Soft Scrub TOTAL

I am a proud Soft Scrub Club Captain, because I LOVE Soft Scrub! I normally just use soft scrub on my kitchen sink to get it back to nice and white! However I was recently given a seek peek into the newest product of the Soft Scrub family, Soft Scrub TOTAL!

Coming in two varieties, Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl and Soft Scrub Total Kitchen. I no long have to use multiple products in my kitchen and bathroom. One for each and voila! all done!

The BEST part of it all (well two best parts) the nozzle allows you to get a stream or a foam which is SUPER and even better yet it sprays upside down! Yes moms and dads you can use it in the toilet, shower, or anywhere in your kitchen or bathroom and not have or worry about keeping it upright!

Find your own coupon HERE for great savings on New Soft Scrub Total Bath & Bowl or Soft Scrub Total Kitchen coming to store near you!

I received a free sample from Soft Scrub to write a review on this product.

Kissing Hands Necklace - From No Time For Flash Cards

I get this newsletter everyday and I just love the thought of this craft. Especially for deployed soldiers!
Kissing Hand Necklace (see link for pictures of this craft!)
1. Gather your materials. Today we are using Shrinky Dinks- yes they still exist! I got ours at Micheal’s, as well as colored pencils, scissors, a baking sheet with parchment paper, a hole punch and some ribbon or plastic thread. My son picked his out, honestly I would use ribbon if I were you, the plastic thread doesn’t lay flat when you wear it.
2. Start by tracing your little one’s hand with a colored pencil.
3. Ask them to dictate ( or write if they can) what they want to say.
4. Have them color it.
5. Make your own hand as well. Remember your hand will be worn by your child so write them a note.
6. Cut out.
7. Punch a hole in each.
8. Watch them shrink.
9. Don’t take your eyes off them when they lay flat it’s time to take them out.
10. Let cool and thread the ribbon and thread through.
11. Pop it on and when you miss each other you have a message to remind you of the bond and love you share!