Mario Lopez Is Coming To Town

Mario Lopez will be visiting the South Hill Mall in Puyallup Washington Nov. 27, 2010! He is giving free autographs as well. He be at the center court from 1-3pm. Joining him will be his girlfriend Laine Mazza.

Low Fat Chip Dip

Image courtesy of foodchannel.com

Here is a lower fat and calorie chip dip.

Ingredients:

6 tbs light or fat free cottage cheese

¼ cup light or fat free cream cheese

¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil (drained)

1 tsp lemon juice

Pinch of garlic powder (not garlic salt)

2 to 4 tbs buttermilk

Directions:

In a food processor, combine all in all ingredients except the buttermilk. Pulse until mixture forms a slightly textured dip. Add the desired amount of buttermilk to thin as desired.

Serve with baked chips.

This might make a good appetizer for your holiday get together!

Free Vitamin Sample

Free Sample of Ester C Gummies.

It is super easy. Just provide your mailing address and email and the sample is on its way.

*One sample per household.While supplies last so hurry and get yours.

It bet you can get your kids to eat this vitamin gummy.

Starbucks Buy One Get One Free

I almost forgot to tell you about the Starbucks deal I stumbled upon while getting my gingerbread latte Tuesday.

Starting today Nov. 18- Nov. 21 from 2pm-5pm Starbucks is having a buy 1 get 1 FREE Holiday drink special.

Oh, and if you have not tried their new crème brulee, it is heavenly.

A Massive Brain Fart

Image courtesy of badcopnodonuts.com

How hard could it be to take a crib apart? I imagined it to take about 15 minutes and I knew I would surprise my husband. I was so WRONG!

Things started off OK. Gabe was downstairs playing really well, so I headed upstairs to tackle my task. Armed with the screwdriver in one and and a toddler in the other, I was confident in my abilities. 5 screws were out in under a minute. I thought I was on a roll! Zip Zip Zip, all the screws are out but now I need that tool that looks like a “L”. I still do not know what that stupid thing is called. I have no desire to acquire the name. It will forever be the “L” tool in this family.

I got everything apart with the screw driver and the “L” tool but now I can not figure out the last step. There is a random screw so close to the top of the crib rail and I can not figure out how to fit that “L” tool in there. It seemed so long. I spent twenty minutes screwing around with this tool and busted my knuckles a dozen times. I was clearly not going to figure it out. I did not want to wait for my hubby to come home so I had to give in and call him. Surprised ruined.

He was not understanding what I was saying at all and this was even more frustrating. I am sure I was not describing it well. After all, it was my first time taking apart a crib. He could not give me much advice since he was confused but that was OK because suddenly I had a light bulb go off in my head. Why not turn the tool around. Genius! Well, not really... I had been using the tool wrong all along. The long part is the handle and not the tool.

A few seconds later I completed my task. The crib was taken apart, the toddler bed in place, and the crib hauled off to the garage. There was a bump in the road but ultimately I did complete this project by myself.

Geez... Talk about a brain fart. It must be the lack of sleep.

Amy's Toilet Paper Turkeys

Melomomma reader and friend has shared these wonderful photos of her children and daycare children making toilet paper turkeys.

Thank you Amy and nice job kids!

Balloon Turkey Craft

Image courtesy of kidzworld.com

What you will need:
Balloon
Glue
Googly eyes
Scissors
Construction Paper

Directions:
1. Blow up a balloon.
2. Cut out a triangle for the nose and a squiggly for the snood.
3. Glue on the googly eyes, nose, and snood.

4. Cut out feathers.
5. Glue on the feathers.

Allow to dry and you have yourself a funny little balloon turkey. To make this craft suitable for older children as well decorate the feathers with paint, gems, markers, lace, felt, etc...

Check out my other crafts as well!

Giveaway Winner

Image courtesy of chakpak.com

Congrats to Stacy for winning Melomomma's first ever give away!

If you did not win, stay tuned. I have more to come!

Thank you Melomomma readers!

Did I Just Bribe My Kids?

Image courtesy of msnbc.msn.com

Bribery, oh sweet bribery. Never did I imagine myself having to bribe my kids. Some of my favorite ones are, “Come on son. Sit back in the grocery cart and I promise to buy you a candy bar!” “If you take a bath you can have a piece of fudge” “If you sleep in your own bed all night for 3 nights you can get a new toy” and “If you don't have any accidents you can choose what we eat for dinner”. Does any of these sound a little familiar?

When I was prego I had no real clue what was in store for me. I did not think I would have to bribe them just to get through a normal everyday event. I imagined myself being a hard core mom who's children always listened and never back talked. Yeah right! What dream world was I living in? I reserve bribery for those tough times where I feel the world is coming to an end, but lately that is seeming more often.

When my children started walking and talking I quickly found ways to work through the tough times. I do try to avoid bribery when possible but as the night goes on and I get even more exhausted it becomes a case of “do what you have to do to get through the day”.

Do you frown upon bribery completely or use it when necessary?

Free Taco's Tuesday

Image courtesy of couponsurfer.blogspot.com

FREE Tacos Nov. 16, 2010. No purchase necessary! No coupon necessary! It is simple, just go to Jack In The Box Tuesday Nov .16 after 2 pm and snag 2 free tacos.

Yummy!!! Thanks Jack!

Old El Paso Review and GIVEAWAY

Image courtesy of glutenfreeislife.com

I was recently chosen to review some Old El Paso taco seasoning. We had a delicious dinner. My picky eaters even ate the meat that was seasoned with Origional Old El Paso seasoning. The seasoning had a real mild flavor that was just right for little kid's taste buds but enough flavor that us adults really enjoyed it. Thanks MyBlogSpark and Old El Paso for the opportunity.

Old El Paso has also provided my readers with a coupon to snag a pack of their seasoning at a great deal.

Additionally, there will be a giveaway! Old El Paso is generously providing one lucky Melomomma reader with a prize pack including: 1 packet Old El Paso seasoning, a cactus chip and dip serving tray, a set of three fiesta serving trays, and a $10.00 gift card to purchase all of your taco fixings.

If you would like to be entered in this giveaway simply leave a comment below and an email address so I can contact you when you win. You have until 8p.m. Nov. 16^th to enter. The winner will be announced Tuesday night.