#SunstarSmiles Twitter Party tonight!

Everyone needs to brush their teeth and take care of them. One company that makes great tooth products is Sunstar Gum. They love to talk teeth and will be doing that tonight!  Sunstar Gum is  holding a twitter party tonight on twitter from 7-8pm est with @stacieinAtlanta. There will be awesome prize packs with Sunstar Gum products and Amex Gift Cards.

   All the info you need to rsvp and who to follow can be found at The Divine Miss Mommy 

   I hope to see you there!

Mom they are singing a bad word

 Since my 6yr old loves music we gave him a Ipod shuffle for Christmas with some songs he likes already downloaded on to it.  The songs we chose were either ones he liked by the artist or Kidz Bop songs. We chose based on content and swear words in the songs. So it I was surprised when he came up to me after listening to the songs and proceeded to tell me he could not listen to one because it has the S word in it. It was a Kidz Pop song so I told him he was mistaken and it was ok to listen to it.

         After the 5th time of him listening to it and telling me there was a swear word I gave the song a listen. The S word that was the bad word in the song? Stupid. That led to a whole discussion of what bad words and bad bad words are. I then had to discuss with him when using the word stupid was ok (like this game is stupid) as opposed to when it was not (calling someone stupid). 

  This makes me wonder what other words I am going to need to explain. I need more wine. 

Been a long time

I haven't posted in a very long time. I had planned on posting again a few times during the last year but life kept getting in the way. Life has a funny way of doing that. I see other blogs posting multiple  times a day and I think how in the world can they do that?

    Life is crazy and as my youngest gets older I realize I need to be in the moment more. I need to make memories with each child that I can cherish later. Life speeds by way to fast and in a blink of eye you have a teenager. I wish I could keep my children young forever but know that is not possible. I have a year and a half left before my youngest starts school and I plan on enjoying every minute I have with her.

Yo Gabba Gabba live tour and a Twitter party

Last year I was lucky enough to win tickets to Yo Gabba Gabba live tour in Rochester. My fiance and I took our two youngest kids. While the baby really wasn't into it my then 4 yr old loved it. The show was only about a 1hr long which is perfect for little kids with short attention spans. There was also alot of interactive things like balloons, bubbles and beach balls that helped keep the kids entrained.

I am excited that they are touring again this year and are coming to buffalo! My youngest is now older and loves Yo Gabba Gabba. She runs into the room if she hears it come on. The tour this year is being presented by Kia motors and is going to more then 50 cities! I am sure you can find one that will be close to you out of all those cities. For more info, tickets and to find a city near you you can go to the Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! site. I hope to see you there!

On Sept 20, 2011 from 9-10est there will be a #Gabbatour party on twitter. It is hosted by @StacieinAtlanta with co-hosts @crissy @mommyinsider and @jollymom.
They will be giving away Seven CD/DVD Prize Packs and tickets to the show. For more info and to RSVP check out the Divine Miss Mommy Hope to see you there!

Our walk around Niagara Falls

I grew up in Niagara Falls so I am always in shock when people say that is one of the places they most want to visit. Growing up the Falls was no big deal. You went down there for picnics in the summer or to walk around when it was really hot since the mist would cool you off. In the winter there was the festival of lights that you could walk around and look at. So after hearing numerous people say they would love to visit Niagara Falls I decided it was time to show my youngest daughter it.

I have heard from family members that still live there ( I live in the area just further away) that the area around the Falls has changed allot. I was not fully prepared for how much when we got there though.

One of the major things was you had to pay for parking. I knew that they were charging for parking now but the price to park on Goat Island (it overlooks the Falls) had my jaw dropping. It was $10, yes $10 (I am still in shock) Growing up parking was always free. We would drive to Goat Island, park and then do our thing. I had the most romantic kiss of my life on Three Sisters Island (they come off Goat Island) in the rain when I was a teen.

The area surrounding the Falls growing up was a mall (no longer there), the winter garden (a big indoor plant house attached to the mall) and the turtle (Native American history building shaped like a turtle). Now it is a big empty mall, the winter garden is torn down and the turtle is a tourist area. the walkways where they would have the festival of lights set up is now all banners proclaiming souvenirs. This is all clogging up what I feel should be a natural walkway way to the falls.


With that all said the Falls is still breathtaking. To stand there and see the water pouring over to hit the rocks below is awesome. Three Sister's Island reminds the same and is still my favorite part of Niagara Falls. Here are some pics I took on our day there.

Tastes from Home with Frito-Lay recipe contest and giveaway (closed!)

As a mom I am always looking for new recipes to try. When my grandmother passed away a couple of years ago I ended up with all of her old cookbooks. Looking through them I saw that there were quite a few I could use and some of them that reminded me of her and home. One of these recipes was honey-mustard chicken. So when Frito-lay emailed me about a recipe contest that reminded me of home I had to submit this one.

Honey Mustard Glazed Chicken (makes 4 servings
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard
4 chicken breast halves (we use skinned and with bone about 4 oz a breast)

Preheat oven to 375
Combine honey, brown sugar and mustard in a small bowl and stir well. Place chicken in a 11 x 7 x 2 inch baking dish. Spray dish with cooking spray or coat with butter. Brush glaze over the chicken. Cover and bake for 20 Min's (15 for smaller breast). Uncover and then broil chicken for about 2 Min's until golden brown. Then serve (we usually do a mashed potato)

I love Frito-lay chips and they have some tasty ones. They have come out with Regional chips that were inspired by popular regional cuisine. Here are some of them

Northeastern U.S. – Lay’s Honey Mustard
Midwestern U.S. – Lay’s Creamy Garden Ranch
Northwestern U.S. – Lay’s Balsamic Sweet Onion
Southwestern U.S. – Lay’s Chipotle Ranch
Southeastern U.S. – Lay’s Cajun Herb & Spice

**All of the Lay's Regional Flavored potato chips are made with all natural ingredients and cooked in healthier oils, like corn and sunflower oils, which contain 80% or more of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat - the "good fats." They also contain 0 grams of trans fats per serving.

**There’s also less sodium in them than you might think – a 1-oz serving of our Lay’s Regional Flavored potato chips contains less salt than a plain bagel!

I can't wait to try the Cajun Herb & spice and the Balsamic Sweet onion.

Giveaway is closed. winner was chosen via random.org and emailed. Thank you all for entering.

Now on to the giveaway. Frito-lay is letting me giveaway to one of my readers a multi-pack of Lay’s Regional Flavors.

Mandatory Entry: Share a flavor or recipe that remind you of home

Extra entries (leave a comment for each thing you do):
Follow Frito-lay on twitter
Like Frito-lay on facebook
Like me on facebook
Follow me on twitter
Follow me via GFC
Tweet (1 daily and leave link.) #Win a variety pack of the Lay's Regional Flavors potato chips from @mellanhead http://tinyurl.com/3mebmvs
#FritoFlavors


****One entry per household. Giveaway ends 9/4. I will email winner who will have 48hrs to email back. After 48 hrs with no e-mail a new winner will be chosen. Remember to leave e-mail if not in your google profile!

*Disclaimer:All opinions are my own. Frito-Lay provided me samples of the Regional Flavors chips and my blog post is an entry for the Tastes from Home with Frito-Lay contest.

A theme?

I was at a twitter party the other night (yes I am addicted to twitter parties) and it was about having a blog. One of the things that was brought up is that you need or should have a theme. So this got me to thinking, should I have a theme and what should it be?

The first one that came to mind was deal blog. That thought was quickly followed by does the world really need another deal/coupon blog. I follow about 6 (it might me more) and they generally post the same thing. Do I really want to follow a pack? No, so that one is out.

Next up was a parenting blog, that is out. I like to do my own parenting thing. My belief is what might not work for one parent might work for another. Also I am done having kids and not going to research baby stuff.

How about a Buffalo blog? This might work except for the fact I hate Buffalo and NY state. Could I blog about a city I hate? I think I could. I mean me hating it has nothing to do with blogging about area activities and companies (and we do have some great ones I will admit) .

My last thought was a vlog. I like doing video more then I like typing. I have enough cameras to do this and it would be better forum for me to show my personality. Also I wouldn't spend all night rewriting what I wrote.

In the end I want my blog to reflect me. I think that above all I blog should reflect a person and not a specific theme they stick to. So for now I will write what I want to write about and if I threw in some deals, videos or Buffalo things then it is all good.