3 Tips for a Cheerful Holiday and ONE amazing gift the entire family will love!

'Tis the season to be jolly... at least that's what they say. However, for most, 'tis the season to go crazy and broke (or just crazy broke)! That's why I'm sharing three tips that may not keep you from going broke, but at least keep you from going crazy broke and keep you somewhat sane at the same time.

1. Don't Try To Do It All. - Really, don't even attempt it! If your hosting a get-together whether it be with family or friends, don't be afraid to assign a task. I have found that people usually enjoy helping out with the food, especially around the holidays when the food takes center stage. We've all got that signature holiday dish, or cocktail in my case, we wanna share. However, for the Martha Stewart's of the world, keep doin' what your doin' and more power to ya (you probably wouldn't like my dish anyways)!

2. Christmas Lists Aren't Just For Kids - They're not just for Christmas gifts either. Not only do I make a list of everyone I need to by gifts for, but I also make a list for holiday travel. Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year and definitely not a good time to leave anything behind, though I have contemplated leaving the kids. I make a list of everything, down to how many pairs of socks and chonies we need to pack. Don't forget to check your list twice (Santa was on to something with this one) and you'll be on your way, knowing you've got everything you need to make your trip as smooth as possible.

3. Eggnog - Did somebody say Holiday Cheers? *wink, wink* Need I say more? Nothing spreads more holiday cheer then a glass of eggnog (except maybe Bailey's). Just remember to drink responsibly. :D

In the spirit of making the holidays easier, I have got a great gift idea for any little builder in your life. You can add this to your list. Hasbro's New KRE-O Building Sets are sure to be among the top gifts for kids age 6 and up this year. My son just received two of these great building kits for his birthday a few weeks ago and he just loves them. I love them too! We are talking about hours of entertainment here. Of course, feel free to jump in and help them build. We put together the BUMBLEBEE Construction Set one evening together and to my surprise, it was really a lot of fun!

Why We Love KRE-O Building Sets

• With KRE-O building sets your not only building, your playing! I was amazed at how well the sets stayed together when my son was done building. He drove his BUMBLEBEE sports car around for a week before transforming BUMBLEBEE into robot mode. They even come with KREON figures that fit inside the sports car for added fun!

• Not only are KRE-O building sets affordable (they start at a mere $7.99), but you get double the bang for your buck! Each set comes with two buiding options. Kids can create their Transformer into either vehicle mode or robot mode. With a deal like that you may even want to add one of their "basic" construction sets to your holiday packing list if your spending the holidays away from home this year. I know my sons OPTIMUS PRIME basic 90pc construction set will be coming with us. It's a small set that's easy to pack yet loads of fun!

• Maybe the best thing about KRE-O building sets is that they are compatible with other leading brand construction bricks so you can just add them to any collection your kids already own.

Get your KRE-O Transformer building sets in the construction isle of most major toy retailers nationwide or on HasbroToyShop.com and get building!


“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hasbro blogging program, for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points and a KRE-O gift. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of SocialMoms or Hasbro. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Tax Breaks for Restricted Diets?

We all know avoiding certain foods can be very expensive. Most allergen free brands tend to be specialty brands and can cost significantly more then big brand or store brand products. There can also be shipping fee's included for items that require online orders. Now, I had no idea, but apparently you can claim gluten free foods on your tax returns. Check out this post from Gluten Free Society, How To Get a Tax Break With Gluten Free Foods. This leaves me to wonder if this works for other allergy safe foods? This could be very helpful to a lot of families dealing with food allergies. It would be nice to catch a break somewhere. After all, allergen free foods are just a small portion of the high cost of food allergies. I would love to know if any of you have tried this before or have any further information on this.

Real Moms Love To Eat... and boy do I know it!

As a real (notice the emphasis on real) housewife and mother I can honestly tell you, I love food! Really, who doesn't? Hell, even the real housewives on Bravo have to eat sometime right?... Though maybe not as much as the rest of us me. Luckily, there is a new book coming out this winter, written by certified health counselor Beth Aldrich called Real Moms Love To Eat; How to Conduct a Love Affair with Food, Lose Weight, and Feel Fabulous. Just in time for my New Years resolution, the title of this book says it all.

In Beth's book you'll learn a lot about the food you eat and how it impacts your body all while continuing your love affair with food. What really sets this book apart from other healthy lifestyle books, is that it was written with busy moms like me in mind. With an easy-to-follow 10 part plan, meal suggestions, recipes and tips you will finally be able to to gradually make the life-style changes needed to look and feel your best.

You can Pre-order your copy of Real Moms Love To Eat and be eligible to win some amazing prizes.

Also, check out the Food Affairiate program and register to receive a digital copy of Real Moms Love To Eat for review AND be entered to win even more amazing prizes including a Top of the Line Kitchen Blender.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Beth Aldrich - Real Moms Love to Eat blogging program, for a chance to get 3,000 My SocialMoms Rewards points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Voila! Limoncello.

Finally! I finished my limoncello this past weekend and cant wait to make another batch. Yes, it was that good!

After steeping for 40 days, you can read about that process here, I stirred together 1 3/4 Cups of water and 1 1/4 Cups of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolved. After cooling completely, I then pored the sugar syrup over my vodka mixture and let stand over night at room temperature.

The following day, I strained the limoncello through a coffee filter and discarded the lemon peels. Then it was finally ready to chill! I placed the bottle of limoncello in the freezer along with a couple of tall shot glasses (the closest thing to cordial glasses I had) and chilled for a couple hours.

Voila! Limoncello.

Well worth the wait!

Nerdy Sugar Cookies

That's right, Nerdy sugar cookies! I had a bunch of left over candy nerds from our movie night and thought it would be fun to use them in cookies. Positive this had to of been done before, I searched for a recipe only to find that nerds aren't exactly ideal for baking with. Turns out they melt in the process and create more of a rainbow mess then anything else. However, I was determined to make it work. I wanted nerd cookies damn it! So nerdy cookies is what I got.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup butter

3 egg yolks

1 tsp brandy (cause that's how I roll) or vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp vinegar or fresh lemon juice

additional sugar for rolling cookies

candy nerds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cream sugar and butter together then beat in egg yolks and brandy

3. Stir in flour, baking soda and vinegar or lemon juice

4. Form dough into balls and roll in sugar

5. Place 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Do not flatten.

6. Now there are two ways you can add the nerds -

If you dont want the sourness of the nerds in your cookies then (1) add the nerds before placing them into the oven. Lightly press 5-6 nerds on top of the dough balls being carefull not to flatten them. Otherwise, if you want to keep the sourness of the nerds, you can (2) add the nerds the same way during the last 2-3 minutes of baking. This keeps them from completely melting down.

7. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until tops are cracked and edges begain to brown.

8. ENJOY!

Too much protein is known to cause some chronic health issues, but food allergies?

Its no secret that food allergies have been on the rise for the last decade, but still no one seems to really know why. There are some theories, which I have discussed in earlier posts, however, none have yet to be proven causes. In fact, most of these theories have been widely debated by both medical professionals, scientist and the general public.

So, for whatever reason, I was thinking about these suspected theories the other night and it dawned on me, over the last 10 years our diets have drastically changed. People have been increasingly jumping on the high protein, low carb diet bandwagon over this time period. Could this have anything to do with the increase in food allergies?

My husband has been one of the millions to take on this new way of eating. This includes the use of protein bars and shakes throughout the day to complement work outs. I have always been skeptical of these bars and shakes loaded with extra protein as I am a firm believer in diets high in fruits and vegetables to achieve over all health and weight management. This would mean no processed foods right? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a commercial protein bar considered to be a highly refined, processed food?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a sucker for a good filet mignon, but were we even created, or should I say designed as not to open a whole different debate, to eat meat period? Look at our teeth for example. For the most part, our teeth consist of incisors and molars. Then there are our four blunt, unsharpened canine teeth. Not exactly ideal for tearing through meat like those of  a carnivore, which can be defined as a flesh eating mammal comprising the cats, dogs, bears, seals and weasels.  Now Obviously, meat is just one example of protein, hence my issue with the additional proteins found in supplement bars and shakes. Actually, all foods grown in nature contain protein. So where am I going with all this?

If our bodies aren't set out for eating meat, then how could they be contrived for all that additional protein consumption? I should just say that I understand protein is an essential part of our diet and our bodies do depend on small amounts of dietary protein in order to survive. However, could this excessive intake of proteins be changing the make up of our bodies and the way they process foods all together? After all, too much protein can not only cause our cell's to become toxic, but it may also disrupt the osmotic balance of cells. Too much protein can also lead to kidney problems, low calcium, cancer, gout and other chronic health issues. So why not food allergies?

I am by no means an expert, but rather throwing the idea out there. Feel free to comment below and share your opinions and knowledge. Like I said, I am all for a good steak dinner so by all means, prove me wrong!

Related posts:
Do You Know What's Causing Your Childs Food Allergies?
The link between Food Allergies and Migraines
Food Allergies: Health and Healing Book Review

10 tips for de-cluttering and organizing your kids toys

As your searching aimlessly through the playroom for that missing game piece or the yellow hotwheel that your son is insisting he needs now or his world is going to come crashing down, you step on a pile of little green army men. Certain that one of them has pierced through the bottom of your foot and your pretty sure you'll never be able to walk again, or at least for the next five minutes while you cringe in pain, you think to yourself that's it! Something has to be done about this mess. Well let me tell you, Ive been there. My kids playroom was so unorganized that the kids didn't even play in it, which meant more toys scattered throughout the rest of the house. So together we took on, Mission: Playroom Clean-up.

Now that summer is over and your kids are bound to be spending more time in the house, it is the perfect time to de-clutter and organize those toys. Here are ten tips to get you started:

1. Out with the old to make way for the new.
We try and keep to the rule that for every new toy we get, an old toy has to go. This will not  only limit the number of toys your kids have, but it also teaches them the value of their toys. They will think twice about asking for a new toy when they understand that they have to choose an old one to get rid of in its place.

2. Get your kids involved.
Let your kids help, it is technically their space. They will take pride in the finished project knowing they had a say in it. Besides your kids love spending time with you and feeling needed.

3. Take advantage of the Holiday Season and Birthdays.
These is in my opinion are the best and easiest times of the year for clearing out old toys both for you and your kids. Make room for all the new gifts kids will receive during these times by allowing them to help determine what toys they no longer play with and have them accompany you to donate them. My kids are more then willing to get rid of old toys during these times knowing that we are making room for newer ones. Explain why and where you will be donating their old unused toys and take advantage of this great opportunity to teach your kids to appreciate what they have.

4. Storage is key.
Forget the big toy box and invest in a great shelving system. I love to use cubbies. My favorite is the expedit bookcase from Ikea. We use ours on it's side so that it doubles as a TV console as well. Its really a great and affordable bookcase that leads to my next tip:

5. Baskets, Bins and Buckets.
By using cubbies such as those in the Expedit bookcase you are able to use baskets, bins, and even buckets to store smaller toys. By storing toys in smaller compartments like these rather then in one big toy chest, it prevents your kids from emptying every toy they own out onto the floor at one time.

6. Divide, Conquer, and Label.
Divide toys into separate categories for each storage compartment you are using. For instance, we keep superheros and action figures in one basket and cars, planes and trains in another. This makes it so much easier when searching for a specific toy and eliminates having to empty every basket. Labeling each container will help your kids determine what goes where. Pictures can be used as a way of labeling if your child is too young to read.

7. Put those stuffed animals to use.
I hate stuffed animals! I'm just putting it out there. If your not careful, these things will take over your home. I have one small basket designated for stuffed animals and the rest go up in a stuffed animal hammock, but I recently discovered the coolest storage idea for all those stuffed animals. Behold the Animal Bag. This clever take on the traditional bean bag is pure genius!

8. Up, up, and away.
Some things just need to be put up, high up, and out of reach. I keep games, puzzles, and anything with multiple pieces up in the closet. These are the things that require permission to be played with. Of course permission to use these means all other toys must be put away where they belong first.

9. Display your kids art.
Eliminate piles of your kids art work by displaying their portraits in frames. Easily rotate their artwork using the Lil Davinci Art Gallery. Way cool!

10. Decorate with Fun!
Let the kids choose a theme for the room or even a color scheme. We have a Toy Story shelf where the kids place all their Toy Story figurines so that they double as decor for the room. A fun rug with roads for their cars or a hopscotch design are also fun ways of decorating while encouraging play.

Last but not least, be sure to set some ground rules and set up a routine for picking up toys in order to keep your new space organized and ready for play.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here