This one I first saw on One Pretty Thing blog.  You have to check out that blog…TONS of ideas there!

This Twinkle Pom Pom Ornament from  Zakka Life is so stinkin’ cute and looks totally easy to make for all ages.   

The ornament pictured is from Zakka Life:)  I need to get some supplies and will post pics when I am done.

Have you done any holiday crafting yet?

Yep, I am out there on Facebook and on Twitter, if you aren’t following me yet…go ahead…I give you permission;)

Not sure how interesting I am, but you just never know!!

Use the code “labor09″ for 25% off your total order at Tote and Tee.  Code good until Tuesday at midnight:)

I think this is the 4th week of meal planning and it’s the best thing ever.  I only have to shop once, I know exactly what we are having and my fave…only have to think about it once!  Here is this weeks…

Monday:  Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Corn (didn’t use this one from last weeks yet)

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Smoked Mac & Cheese (OMG, this looks sooo good!)

Wednesday: Yummy premarinated Salmon from Costco, rice and Cheesy Bacon Brocolli Almondine

Thursday: Slow Cooker Enchiladas

Friday: Eat out or leftovers…whatever the night brings

Saturday: Crockpot Chili and Cornbread

Sunday: Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken

Thanks to my pal Erin at Pink Alligator Designs for the fun pictures:)

(she does the cutest crochet hats for kids! Gotta check them out!)

And the WINNER of the “post on my blog and make me feel special”  contest is Beth Dahl!

I am emailing you now to find out what tee you would like:)

Here is my meal plan this week:

Monday- Baked Potato Bar

Tuesday- Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage Bake and Garlic Bread

Wednesday- Leftovers from Tuesday, tons left and everyone liked it. Plus it’s PTA meeting night:)

Thursday- Creamy Pork Chops in the Crock pot with Glorified Hash Browns

Friday- Grilled Cheese and Potato Cheese Soup

Saturday- Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Corn

Sunday- Poppin’ Garlic Ranch Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie with a chopped salad

Looks like lots of creamy things…might need to slim it up next week! oops!

One of my favorite web gals Audrey over at Mom Generations blogged that she was pledging to drink more water.  Even better, if you pledged with her…you have a chance to win a $500 gift card.  All this was sponsored by my fave Crystal Light.  Well hot dog, guess who won?  Yep, me! Freakin exciting!!

The gift cards came in the mail yesterday and I am so ready to use them! I decided to see how much I could stretch the money.  I love getting a lot for a little.  I am going to share my little adventure with you.

Our first stop was at Kohl’s.  We went last night and holy moly, we rocked the clearance rack.   Our mission was to get April a new backpack (her other one was not working out!) and look at clothes for April and Abby.  (I will totally do my own shopping..don’t worry…but need to be ALONE for that!)

Let me just start by saying we ended up SAVING $473.21.  Oh come on, pick your jaw up and check it out with me!

April scored and ended up with the most stuff.

I just put it all on the couch see you can see what we got.

She got:

Black/white Bermuda shorts reg. $40 sale price $10.50

Purple floral cotton top reg. $24 sale price $4.80

Pink shirt reg. $24 sale price $9.60

3 fun loud print short sleeve hoodies reg. $34 each, sale price $3.40 ($10.20 for 3!)

Blue floral cami top reg $16 sale $1.60

2 shortie button up sweaters (blue & green) reg $30 each, sale price $6 ea ($12 for 2!)

Blue plaid top reg $24 sale price $4.80

Khaki capris for school reg $40 sale $8

Jansport backpack reg. $50 sale price $39.99

If my math is right, we got ALL her clothes for $61. 50!!

Oh, and her backpack for $39.99

Now Abby’s loot…

Notice lots of “fashion scarves” ?  Those are her fave!

She got:

Turq top with scarf reg $28 sale $5.60

Green peace top with scarf reg $26 sale $10.40

Green dress (I think it’s actually a shirt in a bigger size but totally looks cute as a dress!)

reg $28 sale $5.60

White skort reg $32 sale $6.40

Denim shorts with way too cute belt reg $26 now $5.20

And I did get a 2 things for me…

Purple top reg $30 sale $6

Dress reg $64 sale $12.80

That would bring my total to $153.49

But WAIT, it gets better!

Apparently the super nice guy that was ringing my stuff up didn’t know how to work the AmEx gift cards.  He finally figured it out but he had to scan the whole purchase over again. (I totally didn’t mind and was being so patient!) Well, bonus on TOP of bonus…he ended up giving me an ADDITIONAL 20% off my whole order!

So, take $30. 70 off the total, add $10.19 for tax and we have…

GRAND TOTAL

my price $132.98!! (reg price $606.19)

I am having fun with my blog and hoping that more of you will stop in and see what I have going on.  I am not uber interesting but thought it would be fun to get to know the gal behind all these tees.

So get cozy, cruise around and leave a comment anywhere on my blog by Sept. 1st.  I will draw a name from all those that post and give the winner one initial tee (that’s posted on my site) of your choice.

You can post something here, let me know what you think of my newly organized Tee Shop!

Or here…where we did a super duper cute new craft.

Or comment everywhere…just because it would make my day;)

As I said before, I am in love with doing all things “mom” and one of those things is being a Lunch Packer.  We do keep the school menu on the fridge and every morning I announce what they are serving.  They end up picking the cafeteria, maybe once a week (usually pizza day!) and the rest of the week, I pack.

I have done a variety of things including pasta, different sandwiches, yummy bagels and a fave…Lunchables!  When I got the email from Mom Central asking if I would review the new Oscar Mayer Lunchables Lunch Combinations, I jumped on it.  We are big fans of Lunchables.  It’s easy for me to pack which gets a big thumbs up. I could pack the SAME thing in a mom made version and get no comments but that yellow Lunchables box gets them so excited, they love Lunchables!

Most days I like to pack a little this and that and I usually save the Lunchables for a day when I am in a hurry.  Just grab it and go.  Previously, I would buy the smaller Lunchables and usually have to add a drink and one more food item to the mix.  But with the new Lunch Combinations, it’s ALL in one. Like seriously takes 10 seconds to pop it in the lunch bag! Love that!

I had my 10 year old try it out, she did a little squeal when she saw it because “that’s the one with the water and the drink packet”…I guess they were the talk of the lunch table before.

(fits perfectly in the lunch bag!)

We got the Ham & American Sub Sandwich Lunch Combination.  It comes with a whole grain bread, lean ham, Kraft 2%  American cheese, Sugar Free Jello-O, Chips Ahoy! cookies (yum!), a bottle of water and Tropical Punch Kool-Aid singles.

She loved her lunch and wants me to get more! Sounds like a success to me!

Super easy peasy lunch for mom to pack + Happy kid = A+ for Lunchables!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central on behalf of Oscar Mayer Lunchables and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

With meal planning, I only have to think once a week! Aww, saved brain cells…bonus for sure! I look through my cupboards, freezer and fridge and decide what we are going to eat. Once I have the plan down I can look and see what we will need from the store.  I shop ONCE a week on Monday mornings and I am D-O-N-E! So easy!

This week, I am only giving myself $20 for grocery money because it’s just one of those weeks…so this is all basically pulled together from stuff we have in the house now.

Here is the plan:

Sunday night: 7 pound Turkey Breast in crock pot with mashed potatoes (REAL!), stuffing, gravy and green beans

Monday night:  Turkey Tettrazini frozen corn and pineapple

Tuesday night: (Back to school night)  Chicken Tortilla Soup

Wednesday night: Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie and salad

Thursday night: Chicken Teriyaki with stir fry veggies and rice

Friday night: Tacos, black beans and rice

Saturday and Sunday…not sure yet but I do know I will have this sweet girl for the weekend… (oh, and YES, that’s a new tee for the website! Woohoo…coming this week??)