Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Cherry lands in the U.S. and she's on a mission to find out about your bum!

I shared the first video in this hilarious Cottonelle FreshCare wipes series with you last week, and now it's time to check in with Cherry to see what is happening in the U.S.! She did not even leave the airport before asking her hot and "dirty" questions...



Everyone must wipe, right? So let's talk about our bums! Have you ever used a bidet? I have seen them, but never tried. How do you get dry? It seems like wipes would be a much easier way to clean!


What do you think about this product? Would you use it? Or maybe you do already?  Let me know! Let's talk. Bring the conversation over to Facebook to chat with Cottonelle:  Facebook.com/Cottonelle


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I am a Cottonelle sponsored blogger and am being compensated for my time. However, all opinions are 100% mine.


Monday, August 26, 2013

Mommy & Me Monday: Zoo Atlanta

I think everyone knows what an awful summer we had in the Atlanta area this year - rain, rain, rain! Instead of a once-a-week swimming day, we went to the pool maybe four times total. A week or so ago, we just couldn't take it anymore and decided to go to the zoo. We packed our umbrellas and went on our way.

We got lucky! No rain for the first hour and only very light sprinkles for the second hour. And absolutely no crowds! We parked literally steps from the front gate.

Rainy weekend with Mommy and Daddy at Zoo Atlanta:



Zoo Atlanta news:  Staff at the zoo celebrated two exciting births recently - twin baby pandas and, just the day before we visited, a baby black rhino!  Also, in early July, the zoo opened a brand new splash pad area in the children's zone. Lots of fun to be had!


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Linked up to Mommy and Me Monday from Serious Krystyn 

Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Friday, August 23, 2013

Easy! Chocolate Banana bites #healthysnack

Do all kids come home from school starving? Mine surely does! She eats snack after snack in the afternoon, and then (of course) she does not want dinner. I am trying my best to come up with yummy snacks that she can get excited about, but that will also fill her up so she can wait a couple hours until dinner.

Bananas are a fantastic snack because they are sweet and high in potassium, plus bananas release energy slowly. Amelia thinks bananas are only for breakfast, however, so getting her to eat one after school is a challenge.

Insert chocolate here. Chocolate makes everything better, right?! 

Chocolate covered bananas are delicious, but I do not want the mess and time required to melt and dip. Do you know what works pretty well? Magic Shell! Not the healthiest chocolate treat in the world, but in moderation I have no issue with it.

Slice bananas, arrange on a plate
Pour Magic Shell over the bananas to coat the tops. 
Optional: add some sprinkles for color and crunch.
Place plate in freezer for 5-6 minutes.


 That's it! Cold, refreshing, filling, and tasty chocolate banana bites without any mess or cooking.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A new school year starts here! #KmartBackToSchool

This is a sponsored post. I am a Kmart blogger, though all opinions are my own.
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It is no secret that my family stepped into the world of "big kid" school just a few weeks ago. It has been a whirlwind! And for the record, I am not a fan of the extremely early start time (7:50 am!). It makes for a very long day for all of us.

I know that each year is going to bring even more activities and new adventures. Amelia begins soccer tonight, even before we are used to our 5-day-a-week school schedule. Now we add Wednesday practices and Saturday games to the calendar!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Kindergarten lesson: It is OK to not know everything

Kindergarten. It is a new world of learning and adventure. Amelia has attended her new public school kindergarten for ten days now, and she is not the only one learning. I am fascinated by the subjects they are discussing and the extremely well-rounded curriculum. Science lab, Career, Fitness, STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), art, music, reading, writing.... she seems so much more grown up already.

I also learned that my child has a difficult time when she doesn't ace everything. Last Friday was a bit of a jolt to her image of herself. Until then, academics came somewhat easy to her. She had tremendous pride in her abilities with beginning reading, writing, and problem solving. However, on Friday, she learned that she must print her letters starting at the top. (Apparently most kids start letters initially at the bottom, and have to re-learn how to print them the proper way).

My child came home in tears because she "did something wrong". All of a sudden, her world changed. She did not know everything! She was going to have to work and practice at something to get it right. Unfortunately, she took this news very personally and turned the blame on herself.

Monday, August 19, 2013

I'm gonna be kind to my behind with Cottonelle


I was selected, along with several other bloggers, as a brand new Cottonelle Ambassador. I will bring you a series of posts over the next few weeks, where we can chat about ways to "be kind to our behinds".

Let's face it, moms are rarely together in the same room without eventually discussing poop.

"Baby hasn't pooped in days!"
"What does green poop mean; should I be worried?"
"You should have seen the diaper explosion we had the other day!"

Ha - you get the idea. But do you know what we don't often talk about? Our own adult potty needs. I have always known Cottonelle to be a super soft, high quality toilet paper brand, and I very often purchase it for the family. But what about wipes? We don't use dry paper on our little ones' bums, why is it that we don't treat our own posteriors as kindly?

Funny lady Cherry Healy asked the same thing - and she's on a mission to find out more!


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I was selected as a paid Cottonelle Ambassador, however, all opinions are 100% mine. 

Saturday, August 17, 2013

You deserve one more: Back-To-School #Giveaway week! Chad's Carolina Corn

So, I can't resist celebrating back-to-school one more time with a fun and yummy giveaway. Five bags of "all natural, all the time" Chad's Carolina Corn - any favors you choose! Savory and sweet options available  Just too fun not to share with you.

Enter on the Rafflecopter form below - good luck!


Giveaway for 5 bags of Chad's Carolina Corn! You get to choose the flavors and there are 11 to choose from!  Read The Blegen Bunch's review of Chad's Popcorn. / Also visit Chad's site for more info.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This is a group giveaway. BalancingMama is not responsible for the fulfillment of the prize. Visit the other BalancingMama posts this week for a Zipz shoes giveaway and $30 to Frecklebox gifts for kids!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Kindergarten science: cleaning dirty pennies with salt and vinegar

Amelia has been anxiously awaiting science lab day in kindergarten. Thursday was finally the day! It took her all of 2 minutes after climbing in my car to excitedly chatter about the day's fun experiment.

CLEANING DIRTY PENNIES

Needed:
--dirty pennies (the dirtier, the better)
--about 1/2 cup vinegar
--2 teaspoons of salt



Amelia explained to me that they first gently stirred salt into vinegar - carefully, not to splash, "or they would all smell like pickles!"

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Second back-to-school #giveaway: $30 Frecklebox e-gift card!

On Monday, I brought you a link to the Zipz shoes giveaway to add a little fun to Mom's style (or you can share with your teen... if you must). Today is giveaway #2 to celebrate back-to-school, and the prize is for the smaller loves in our lives: a $30 e-gift card for Frecklebox, personalized gifts for kids. Super cute stuff!


Sponsored by Frecklebox

Hosted  by NYSavingSpecials


Co-Hosted by:

One lucky winner will win a

$30 Electronic Gift Card

Details:
Dates  August 15  to September 5

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

#WW: Fly away, be free

Butterfly; butterfly fly away,
teach me how to be as free as free can be.

Butterfly; butterfly I see you there,
its beautiful the way your wings caress the air.

Butterfly; butterfly go as high as you can go,
show me the things that I don't yet know.

            -- Excerpt from Butterfly, by Ashley Landry


Monday, August 12, 2013

Back-to-school #giveaway: Zipz shoes for mom or teen!

Back-to-school time is in full swing at my house! Amelia is off for her first full week of Kindergarten, and already I see a long week ahead. She was exhausted after her 3-day experience last week! I am officially a real public school mom, including 6 a.m. wake up times and rushed mornings.

To celebrate (or sympathize) with everyone else in the back-to-school mode this month, I joined in two great giveaways so YOU can have a chance to win! Today's giveaway is for a pair of Zipz interchangeable shoes for mom. Funky and fun! (Stay tuned for the next giveaway on Thursday!)


Sponsored by Zipz Shoes
Hosted by NYSavingSpecials

Co-Hosted by:

Saturday, August 10, 2013

MMM-azing meal: Gouda, Bacon, Garlic Grilled Ham and Cheese #Delish!

Woah, a food post? Am I in the right place?

It is a rare occurrence indeed.

I have an amazing warm, ooey, gooey sandwich recipe to share!  Perfect for Balancing Mamas, this is something semi-homemade, fast, and easy that also happens to be completely delicious.

Inspiration came from The Great Harvest Bread Company, in the form of a flavor I had not yet tried: Gouda Bacon Garlic bread! Like all Great Harvest breads, this was hearty and flavorful. Unlike other Great Harvest breads, it was also embedded with real swirls of Gouda cheese plus BACON.


Friday, August 9, 2013

New teaser trailer! #MuppetsMostWanted

Muppets!
The new teaser trailer for Disney's MUPPETS MOST WANTED premiered earlier this week on Disney.com:



Constantine-the World's Number One Criminal is a dead ringer for Kermit- and his dastardly sidekick Dominic aka Number Two, is portrayed by Ricky Gervais. The film also stars Tina Fey as Nadya, a feisty prison guard, and Ty Burrell as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon.

Courtesy of and (C) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures


Like The Muppets on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Muppets

Follow The Muppets on Twitter:@MuppetsStudio

Follow Miss Piggy on Twitter: @RealMissPiggy

MUPPETS MOST WANTED opens in theaters on March 21, 2014!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

A few more 'back to school' photos #kindergarten!

I am so proud of my big girl!  She was up in a flash at 6:30 this morning. She was thrilled to have breakfast with Daddy; he has always been gone before we rolled out of bed - now we are up with him! She happily ate all of her muffins and milk, and smiled for the camera as we captured some special moments. Then she urged us to "hurry up" so we could get to school - she was really excited!

Walking into school, I was touched by her sweetness. Each of her hands was in one of ours, and our family of three entered her new big kid adventure together. I know one day, she will be embarrassed to have me walk into school. She will be mortified if I reach for her hand. So I will savor today's special touch. She is growing up, but she's still my little one for a while longer!


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

#WW: Pinterest-Inspired Back to School

This is why I do not often attempt the fabulous things I see on Pinterest. Original pins that inspired my attempt can be found HERE and HERE (theirs are MUCH better than mine!)

I loved the Kindergarten chalk photos and tried to recreate. Some things I learned:

  • Much better if you use HUGE letters and only the darkest colors 
  • Would work best on black pavement vs. white concrete
  • Tire marks show on white concrete
  • Kids squint when told to look up and the sun is out

Some of these are still pretty cute! I took these Tuesday night, since the first day of school is going to be quite early and a mad rush.

I'll post a few less-involved first day photos soon! You know, holding a paper sign that I wrote on with markers - a better match to my level of talent.





Tax-free weekend in GA & TX #backtoschool

Several states had a tax-free weekend last week, with savings on back-to-school necessities. This weekend, August 9-10, Georgia and Texas will follow suit. It is a perfect time to grab the new things your kids need while saving some money in the process!

The Texas weekend was originally scheduled one week later, but it has been moved to this coming weekend. Clothing, backpacks, and school supplies are on the list of tax-exempt items. The Texas exemption runs an extra day, through Sunday, August 11.

In Georgia, parents can save on clothing, including outerwear, dresses, sleepwear, and casual attire. Some athletic gear as well. Clothing and athletic items must be under $100 each to qualify. In addition, computers, printers, and related equipment are tax-free as long as each item is priced under $1,000.

School supplies have savings too! Any school supply item under $20 is exempt from state sales tax also. Now is a great time to stock up on all those things we need while saving some money.

For more details on the Georgia exemptions, click through to the Fact Sheet.

What will you look for on tax-free weekend?

Monday, August 5, 2013

A post about... nothing?

I don't know what it is lately, but I just feel bored. I have plenty going on - pregnancy, kindergarten in a couple days, new house - but I do not feel motivated to post or share much. Nothing seems very interesting!

What do you do when you are stuck in a rut?



I must need a vacation. Dreaming of ocean blues and puffy clouds, somewhere tropical. Wishing for fun activities for Amelia so I can lounge and breathe in the happiness of a getaway. No such plan in the near future, I fear... but one can dream!

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