Healthy After-School Snack Recipes

Pick up some recipe ideas for Super Bowl Sunday!  Even if you don’t really follow football that closely or even at all – almost everyone celebrates the Superbowl. There’s fun for everyone, like new and silly commercials, over the top pre-game and half time entertainment shows, and of course, the excuse to have a party, eat, drink and be merry.

Be creative and submit your own healthy party food and after-school snack recipes!

You can find out more at Frugal New England Kitchen. I’ll be entering the contest by submitting my own recipes for snacks and party foods that my family enjoys and so be sure to visit so you won’t miss out on a chance to Win a Walmart Gift Gard from the Salsa Sensations “What’s Your Craving” contest.

© 2011 C. Matthews

Enter Your Fresh Salsa Recipes in the Salsa Sensations “What’s Your Craving Contest” for a chance to Win a $1,000 Walmart Gift Card is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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There are many families out there who are unable to afford the additional expense of school supplies.  Fortunately, the “Bag It Forward” Program sponsored by Elmer’s Back to School at Walmart is able to assist those in need!

When fall rolls around I usually get a little wistful when the big yellow school bus drives down my street but doesn’t stop at my door any longer, now that I’m an empty nestor. My daughters have graduated college, and my grandkids are in pre-school.

My youngest daughter is an Early Intervention Associate and currently finishing up her Masters degree in Rehabilitation and Disabilities Studies with a concentration in Pediatrics and Developmental Disabilities.

Most people are aware that budgets everywhere are being cut – household, state, municipal, corporate and sadly, education and classroom budgets.

Teachers and schools are relying on the families of it’s students to provide supplies for classrooms. This also holds true for my daughter’s position as an in-home counselor for a non-profit Birth-to-Three program.

I was given the opportunity through the Collective Bias forum that I’m a member of, to shop and purchase school and educational supplies to donate to children and educators for this coming school year.

My daughter and I shopped together this past Sunday, and the shopping trip provided me a first-hand look into my daughter’s chosen profession.

I created my first Whrrl story. I hope you’ll take the time to take a peek at it!

As my daughter and I wandered the isles in Walmart, she kept the specific needs of her clients in mind:

While shopping I decided to pick out certain educational toy items that I believe will help my young students grow and develop in multiple ways.  I chose Playdoh as an item to help my students learn their colors as well as develop creativity.  Playdoh is a toy that is used often because we can create a task analysis to help the children learn to play with Playdoh, and it can also be used as a reinforcer for the children.

Another educational toy item that I picked out were 2 toy dinosaurs because not only do children enjoy playing with the dinosaurs, but they can also be used to teach children actions with objects, such as making the dinosaur walk; hop; and roar.

I picked out a set of matchbox cars and trucks to help develop actions with objects as well because many children with special needs are incapable of driving a car back and fourth, or creating the sound beep beep.  These toys assist the children with developing functional play skills which are important in preschool and their daily lives.

One of the toys I picked out comes with a shape sorter and nesting cups.  This is perfect for developing shape discrimination and object manipulation.  The nesting cups also assist with teaching the children different attributes such as big versus little.

I also chose crayons, construction paper, and Elmer’s glue to provide an arts and crafts lessons.  Coloring is important in a child’s life and it is also great to teach a child how to cut paper along a line to develop fine motor skills, and gluing the paper together with Elmer’s creates excitement for the project, as well as creativity.  This also provides a time for the children to become familiar with many different art projects such as gluing glitter, seeds, paper, and other materials for children who have sensory disorders.

Some other products I chose to buy were stickers to reinforce the children for their great work in order to maintain the child’s attention it is important to reinforce.

I also chose some fun learning tools such as a Lego truck, which came with larger Lego blocks for the children to develop and work on muscle and gross motor coordination by connecting the Legos.  The truck acts as a reinforcer for the child to place the Legos in and drive around once they have completed the task.

I also chose foam letters that connect because they can double as a puzzle to complete as well as an alphabet lesson.  They are very creative to work with and can be used to introduce colors to the children.

I picked out many toys that I feel will be extremely educational and helpful to my young students and many of the toys can double for more than one lesson.  This was a great opportunity to provide me with more educational materials that will benefit my young students and help to provide a new and exciting learning environment.  They will be able to work on functional play skills, fine motor tasks, gross motor tasks and arts and crafts.

Please take the challenge, and if you’re able to purchase school supplies in preparation for the new school year, perhaps you can place a few extra items in your cart to buy and help a family or classroom in need so that all students have access to the supplies necessary for a positive educational experience.

For More Information Visit: www.bagitforward.org

Follow on Twitter: #bagitforward

Enter Your Fresh Salsa Recipes in the Salsa Sensations “What’s Your Craving Contest” for a chance to Win a $1,000 Walmart Gift Card is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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Snap, Smooth & Go!

While out shopping today to pick up a card for my daughter’s birthday, I came across a beauty product I just had to share with you!  My new best friend, Sally Hansen, has come out with a New facial hair removal system called “Insta-Smooth Pods.”

Most women are familiar with the process of waxing, especially now that summer’s right around the corner.  With bikini’s, everything gets waxed these days it seems. However, before waxing came on the scene, we gals had to use a creme depilatory.

As a baby boomer, getting rid of unsightly facial hair is even more important to me.  Waxing on a regular basis can get expensive, but with Insta-Smooth Pods you can easily perform this part of your beauty routine in the privacy of your own home!

I just bought a new Logitech 9000 Pro Web Cam and am so eager to try it out!  To see how Sally Hansen Insta-Smooth Pods work, please watch my Inaugural Vlogging Moment, and watch me remove facial hair!

From the Sally Hansen website:

• Hair Removal has never been faster, easier, more convenient!
• First ever individual-use pods with built in applicator, give you precise results every time.
• Snap, smooth, go!
• No touch application, no drips and no mess!Perfect for upper lip, chin and hairline.
• Compact & convenient portable pods go wherever you do – for instant use, easy disposal.
• Great for on-the-go or last minute touch-ups.
• Advanced moisturizing formula with Vitamin E, Aloe and Chamomile, for smooth, healthy looking skin.
• Results in as little as 3 minutes!
• Salon Tested – Dermatologist Tested.
• Kit Includes: 6 Pods and complete instructions in English, Spanish and French.

Available at these local stores:

CVS, Stop & Shop, Meijer, Walmart, Target

Note:  I was not compensated for this review.

Enter Your Fresh Salsa Recipes in the Salsa Sensations “What’s Your Craving Contest” for a chance to Win a $1,000 Walmart Gift Card is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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Store Brands Save Parents Money

I became a young mom in the early 1980s.  At the time, I belonged to a women’s civic organization and the topic often arose where we discussed the merits of breastfeeding versus bottle feeding.  As I worked part-time, I made the decision while in the hospital and chose to bottle feed my babies, who are now 26 and 22.  My sisters-in-law also bottle fed my niece and nephews, so it was just something we did in my family. At the time, I used glass bottles which I sterilized in a baby bottle sterilizer.  The plastic liners were just coming out, but I preferred to use the glass bottles. Visitors who came to my house got handed a baby and a bottle.

Did you know that today, all infant formulas that are marketed in the United States are subject to the same exacting standards of the FDA, pursuant to the Infant Formula Act of 1980 and the subsequent LSRO report commissioned by FDA in 1998? This legislation vested FDA with the authority to ensure that all infant formulas sold in the United States meet minimum and maximum nutrient specifications.

Store-brand formulas, which are labeled with the names of retail-store brands such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, and Babies “R” Us are as nutritionally equivalent to name-brand formulas. Furthermore, store brand formula typically saves parents up to 50 percent on formula.

Parent’s Choice Infant Formula are currently on sale and available exclusively at Walmart.

For a limited time, Parent’s Choice Infant Formula is available as a special buy: parents can buy two cans for just $10!

• Parent’s Choice Milk Infant Formula is on sale in a 15.5 oz. (440 gram) can for $5.00 each.

• Parent’s Choice Gentle Infant Formula for babies with fussiness or gas is on sale in a special 12.9 oz (366 gram) can for $5.00 each.

Now more important than ever, this information is for many mothers because of changes in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. As of October 1, 2009, a new WIC initiative aimed at increasing breastfeeding rates among families reallocates funding for all currently provided foods, including infant formula, baby foods, juices, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

This program could mean a reduction of up to 20 percent in infant-formula subsidies; parents who previously had most of their formula paid for by WIC may now have to purchase formula on their own.

For more information visit: Parent’s Choice Infant Formula

Enter Your Fresh Salsa Recipes in the Salsa Sensations “What’s Your Craving Contest” for a chance to Win a $1,000 Walmart Gift Card is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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Wow!  Now here’s a good tip of the day!

Walmart has a section on their website where you can get Free Samples!

You read right!  You can get Free Samples of products ~ everything from Baby Products, Health Products, Home Goods & More!  You can get Huggies diapers, Playtex tampons, Towelettes, Fiber Supplements, Food items!

Every young family and even Baby Boomers such as myself can use a little something extra to help out with the finances!

Looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time on this site!

If you know of any others, let me know too!

Enter Your Fresh Salsa Recipes in the Salsa Sensations “What’s Your Craving Contest” for a chance to Win a $1,000 Walmart Gift Card is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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Back in January or so, I did a couple of blog entries here and here praising the benefits of joining Yahoo Swap, Barter & Trade Groups, as well as Yahoo Shopping Groups, as a means of shedding excess eBay inventory and meeting quota for the various companies I’m an affiliate rep for.

Well, I’m eating humble pie now, and am here as a hard-working WAHM to tell you, whoa nelly, slow down before you do anything like that and make the same mistakes I did.

I’m so much wiser for it now, and I’d like to tell you why. If I had come across any blogs telling it like it is before I joined, I would have thought twice.

I played by all the rules. One rep per company, listed my items, tried to join in the conversations, promoted my specials, yada yada yada.

But it’s not pretty. On the swap groups, I got taken for a ride. I’ve withdrawn from all I ever joined. I listed pretty good inventory from my eBay store – NWT (New, With Tag) kids Baby Gap PJs, Webkinz, etc. I sent my items with Delivery Confirmation when the vultures snapped them up. Any time I went online (which was really, really often) to try to “grab” an item – nothing was listed. What was on there? Pacifiers (used?)…. I’m not kidding here; coasters, probably just junk that was lying around the house.

All the gals were begging for “Walmart” gift certificates, and grabbed anything they could get their hands on, leaving nothing else. What really was the last straw for me on one group was that someone was offering to “burn DVD’s” to swap. Now, anyone with an ounce of ethics knows that it’s illegal to do that. As a paralegal, I protested and said I didn’t want to be any part of that ~ guess what ~ the group owner decided to hold a “vote” to see what the group thought about burning the DVDs. Well, I was outta there – and withdrew faster than you could hit “enter.” And I left behind probably several hundred dollars in “points to spend” and figure the Walmart gals could use them more than I need them.

My latest rant today is about the “Shopping Groups” that promote one rep per company, and you get to be Consultant-of-the-Month (COTM.) I belonged to two groups. Each month, I faithfully placed my order, and waited my turn to be COTM.

There’s supposed to be two COTM per month. As a COTM, everyone is supposed to place an order with you, and theoretically, you can get 4-5 orders, which would allow you to meet quota. Well, the other rep got all the orders, and I only got one.

I got an email from one group member in response to my withdrawal, who had this to say about me: …. maybe no one wanted what i had to offer that month?

At this point, I’ve had enough of these cliquey, greedy groups. When I withdrew from one other shopping group today, one nice gal e-mailed me and said she was in agreement with me and ‘right behind me on her way out.’ Fortunately, there are some nice, honorable people that I met on these groups, but they’re  few & far between.

Am I whining? Yes, in a way, I admit it. But the only positive experience that I feel has come of this, is that I’m brazen enough to post it here and try to warn anyone who’s thinking that this is the next best thing since sliced bread, to think twice. You don’t want to end up with a bad taste in your mouth.

Enter Your Fresh Salsa Recipes in the Salsa Sensations “What’s Your Craving Contest” for a chance to Win a $1,000 Walmart Gift Card is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

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