Wednesday, August 21, 2013

SPAM Across America

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

SPAM is one of those items that everyone has heard of. I know that there are many that have childhood memories of eating SPAM. Did you know that SPAM has been around for over 75 years? No wonder it is a brand that many are familiar with.

This past weekend, I introduced my kids to SPAM. We kept our meal very simple, serving the SPAM like I would serve ham. I simply sliced the SPAM, cooked it in my skillet and served with eggs over easy and toast.
The kids really enjoyed it. My daughter had the leftovers with her lunch the next day and told me that I should make it more often.

For a brand that has been a well-known food icon for the past 76 years, it’s amazing how many people have never tried SPAM®! After so many years, SPAM® still provides the same tasty experience in a variety of flavors and sizes to SPAM® lovers worldwide today. Have you ever tried SPAM®? What about your readers?

More recently, chefs across the United States have been finding ways to work the unique flavors of SPAM® into authentic and unique recipes, making SPAM® a delicacy that everyone can enjoy.

The below map can act as a guide as you begin your quest to try as many SPAM® recipes as your stomach can handle. Summer is perfect road-trip time; so why not try something a little bit different this year? The highlight of your trip? The magnificent SPAM® Museum in Austin, Minnesota has 16,500 square feet of tastefully presented SPAM®-filled history. There’s a little something for everyone in your family:

* Educational: See the World War II exhibit, SPAM® history timeline and interactive SPAM™ Game Show quiz
* Entertaining: Great exhibits for the Monty Python fans out there
* Interactive: Visitors are encouraged to try their hand at canning SPAM® along a mock assembly line and participate in SPAM-related trivia
* Full of Goodies: Explore a whole store filled with SPAM® collectibles and tasty treats
* Free!: Open seven days a week Monday through Saturday 10 am – 5 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.


Have you ever had SPAM? What's your favorite way to enjoy SPAM?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Making Kid Friendly Chopsticks

This post is courtesy of my son. We went to lunch Tuesday at a Thai restaurant, his first visit to a Thai restaurant. When I requested chopsticks, he wanted to be able to use them too. He is not yet comfortable using chopsticks in a traditional way, but he had previously used special kid chopsticks at another restaurant. As a result, he knew what he needed to make a set of kid friendly chopsticks out of a standard set of restaurant chopsticks. He headed up to the hostess stand and asked for a rubber band. We made up a set and he used it to enjoy his lunch.

After we were done eating, he wanted to take a video of me making the chopsticks. So, based on his request, here is a picture of the three supplies that you will need - a rubber band, a set of chopsticks and their wrapper:

Here is the video that he shot of me making the chopsticks:

As you can see, you simply roll up the paper that the chopsticks come in and place that between the chopsticks on the non-eating end of the sticks, leaving just enough room to attach the rubber band. Attach the rubber band securely above the wrapper, and Voila!, chopsticks that a child can easily master and use to enjoy their meal...just like mom.

(I guess this is my first Vlog...does it matter that I didn't say a thing? He certainly had what feels like an odd angle and I feel like I look a mess, when he moved the video to show me - but all in all, I can now say that I have Vlogged.)

This post shared at Works For Me Wednesday.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

CVS Deals - 8/19

My daughter has been asking about getting a toothbrush that plays music, so when I saw that it was on a deal this week, I decided that I would head to CVS to pick one up. The deal got even better when I saw that there was a coupon in the paper.

2 - Arm & Hammer Tooth Tunes

-$1 Arm & Hammer Tooth Tunes mfg coupon
-$1 Arm & Hammer Tooth Tunes mfg coupon

Paid with $8.50 in ECB and $1.48 + $.46 tax OOP, earned $4 ECBs. I'm not sure what they cost at other stores, but compared to the over $10 that they are each regularly at my CVS, this was a good deal and made my little girl very happy...plus, now she wants to brush her teeth longer than 22 seconds. Win-Win!

Crayola Summer Gift Pack Winner!

Congratulations to the winner of the Crayola Summer Gift Pack:

Natalie!

An e-mail has been sent to the winner.

Be sure to check out the other giveaways and enter to win. Also, remember that my Cookin Planit 12-pc T-fal giveaway will be starting soon!

Monday, August 19, 2013

Menu Plan Monday

Where has summer gone? This week officially marks back to school for my kids. I can't believe that we are already back to school. Of course, along with back to school marks the return to youth sports. Thankfully, we have one less sport in the spring than the fall...only because there isn't a softball league for my daughter's age group. So, we will still have events each day likely, but there will be less conflict. Menu planning will once again become a challenge for us (meaning me).

Sunday
BLTs (with fresh tomatoes from the garden) and corn on the cob

Monday
French Bread Pizza (use French bread sliced in half instead of dough)

Tuesday
Penne Rustica

Wednesday
Buffalo Chicken Sliders and homemade slaw

Thursday
Birthday meal of choice for my son

Friday
dinner at our local Mexican restaurant

Saturday
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs on the grill

Shared at Menu Plan Monday.

Cooking Planit T-fal Giveaway #CookingPlanit

50 BLOGGERS ARE GIVING AWAY 50 SETS OF T-FAL COOKWARE OVER THE NEXT 30 DAYS!

I am excited to share this giveaway with all of my readers. I am partnering with Cooking Planit and joining 49 other bloggers in giving away a 12-piece set of T-fal Cookware. You can watch for my giveaway to go live on September 10th, but in the meantime, you really should check out all of the participating blogs and enter for a chance to win. You can only win once, but your odds will certainly be better the more that you enter. That's 50 chances to win.

Here is the matrix of participating blogs and information on when they go live:

THE COOKING PLANIT AND T-FAL 2013 GIVEAWAY

Start End Flight 1 Flight 2
8/19/13 8/25/13 Baby Boomster Mrs. Schwartz’s Kitchen
8/20/13 8/26/13 CopyKat Recipes Daily Dish Recipes
8/21/13 8/27/13 Lisa Cooking Lark’s Country Heart
8/22/13 8/28/13 ME Redone Hot Eats and Cool Reads
8/23/13 8/29/13 Mother Would Know The Two Bite Club
8/24/13 8/30/13 Sophistishe Citron Limette
8/25/13 8/31/13 Kitchen Concoctions Cupcakes and Kale Chips
8/26/13 9/1/13 I Can Cook That Leave a Happy Plate
8/27/13 9/2/13 Peaches & Cake i love my disorganized life
8/28/13 9/3/13 Diddles & Dumplings Yates Yummies
8/29/13 9/4/13 basilmomma Cooking With Libby
8/30/13 9/5/13 Persnickety Plates Creole Contessa
8/31/13 9/6/13 Ancestral Chef Bite Sized Blog
9/1/13 9/7/13 The Staten Island Family Mamal Diane
9/2/13 9/8/13 Food Fash Recipes For My Boys
9/3/13 9/9/13 The Wicked Noodle Hungry Little Girl
9/4/13 9/10/13 Unorganized Mommy of 3 The Tasty Fork
9/5/13 9/11/13 Yi Reservation Dixie Chik Cooks
9/6/13 9/12/13 Chicago Foodie Sisters The Fountain Avenue Kitchen
9/7/13 9/13/13 Cooking from a SAHM FoodThoughtsOfaChefWannabe
9/8/13 9/14/13 Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen Rants from My Crazy Kitchen
9/9/13 9/15/13 What Jew Wanna Eat Sumptuous Spoonfuls
9/10/13 9/16/13 The Mama Report A Busy Mom of Two
9/11/13 9/17/13 Culicurious Huppie Mama
9/12/13 9/18/13 Three Diets. One Dinner. Spice’s Bites

Stay tuned for further details on how to enter and to learn more about my experience using the T-fal cookware set and the CookingPlanit app. The app is a really neat recipe and meal planning tool that you can test online and/or download the free version HERE. Or you may go to the Apple store and simply search “Cooking Planit.”

DETAILS: Contests open to US only. Limit one-winner per household/per family from the 50 blogs participating in the promotion. If an individual is the winner of more than one giveaway, they will receive only one set of cookware and an alternate winner will be chosen for the other set(s).

No compensation was received for this post. As a participant in the Cooking Planit T-fal Giveaway, I was provided with a set of pans to use and share my experience with my readers. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

The Winnowing Season by Cindy Woodsmall

No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary review copy was provided to me as a participant in Blogging for Books. All opinions are my own or that of my family.

There is something very intriguing about the Amish lifestyle to me. It all started back when I was in high school. Our neighbors and good friends moved to north central Indiana, right near several Amish communities. I had always been a big fan of Little House on the Prairie and here was a modern day group that was living like it was still the late 1800s. My husband likes to tease me about my enjoyment of books with an Amish backdrop and what he thinks they might be about.

The Winnowing Season by Cindy Woodsmall is just one such book. As the story opens, we find the Kings and Bylers have recently decided to go into business together but those plans were disrupted by a tornado that destroyed the orchard, so now they are on their way to Maine to revitalize an orchard there and establish a new community. This book is the second in the Amish Vines and Orchards series, but I don't feel like I lost anything in not reading the first book. The author did a good job providing background information to help the new reader understand and to remind those that might have read the first book.

The book is told primarily from the perspective of Rhoda and her business partner Samuel and they are perhaps the better developed characters in the story, but there are parts of the story that shed more light onto Rhoda's boyfriend Jacob and his sister Leah. I really like the love stories that run through the book and how even the good relationships seem so complicated. There is a mix of known loves that are shared with the world and others that are tucked away and kept private by the individual or even the couple. Samuel is in love with Rhoda, but because his brother is courting her, he tries to hide it, but makes her upset when this makes he seems removed. Leah seems to have a connection with Landon, but how much is him and how much is his ability to help her experience the English world. Jacob is courting Rhoda, but how strong can their relationship be when he is hiding so much of her past from her.

Cindy Woodsmall does a good job writing about the interaction between the Amish and English world. She illustrates well the challenges faced by the Amish, with their naive understanding of English world. She also shows the way that the Amish rely on their English neighbors and partners, but equally so are reluctant to be dependent on them for fear that they will lose their independence.

Much of the book is about the faith of the characters and how it drives their actions (or inactions in some cases). They put their trust in and have faith in God's will and believe that everything will turn out okay. This was especially true when Rhoda came under investigation later in the book (can't tell you more - that would ruin the story). It shows how there are different paths for all of us. It provides a reminder that God has His plan for us and we can't always control what those paths or plans are.

I really enjoyed the book, but felt a little disappointed at the end of the book when there were things left unresolved...things that had come up repeatedly along the course of the book but were left unanswered. I do like a cliffhanger as much as the next person, but I prefer a book that leaves me wanting more...not feeling like I missed something. I look forward to the next book in the series, so that I can get some resolution on the unresolved issues from this book.


The tornado that devastated Kings’ Orchard pushed Rhoda, Samuel, and Jacob to make a new start in Maine. Are they strong enough to withstand the challenges of establishing an Amish community—and brave enough to face the secrets that move with them?

On the eve of their departure to begin a new Old Order Amish community outside of Unity, Maine, Rhoda Byler is shocked to discover that choices made by her business partner and friend, Samuel King, have placed her and her unusual gifts directly into the path of her district’s bishop and preachers. She is furious with Samuel and is fearful that the Kings will be influenced by the way her leaders see her, and not what they know to be true—that Rhoda’s intuition is a gift from God.

Jacob King won’t be swayed by community speculation. He loves Rhoda, believes in her, and wants to build a future with her in Maine. But when the ghosts of his past come calling and require him to fulfill a great debt, can he shake their hold before it destroys what he has with Rhoda? Samuel has a secret of his own—one he’ll go to great lengths to keep hidden, even if it means alienating those closest to him. Throwing himself into rehabilitating the once-abandoned orchard, Samuel turns to a surprising new ally.

Book 2 of the Amish Vines and Orchards series asks: can the three faithfully follow God’s leading and build a new home and orchard in Maine? Or will this new beginning lead to more ruin and heartbreak?

You can find this book both in a physical copy and as an eBook, through your favorite retailers.

Please take a moment and rank my review:


No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary review copy was provided to me as a participant in Blogging for Books. All opinions are my own or that of my family.

CVS Deals - 8/17

As planned, I headed out to CVS yesterday and was able to pick up the candy that I wanted (but certainly, not that I needed).


2 Twix Candy Bars

-$.74 Twix CRT
-$.50 $.50/2 Twix IP (coupons.com)

Total $.74 OOP.

Of course, they are in my freezer now, just waiting to be eaten. Yum!!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Kalahari Summer Splash Celebration giveaway winner!

Congratulations to the reader that won the Kalahari Summer Splash Celebration!

The winner is:
Jennifer

An e-mail has been sent to the winner.

Thank you everyone for entering and be sure to check out the other giveaways that are still going on here at A Busy Mom of Two.

Skwooshi Prize Pack Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of the Skwooshi Prize Pack.

An e-mail has been sent to the winners.

Crystal
Angie
Angie
Laurie
Madeline

Thanks everyone for entering and be sure to enter the other giveaways going on now and watch for more to come.

Friday, August 16, 2013

CVS Deals - 8/16

After seeing a post this morning that the CVS coupon for Speedstick was live again (honestly didn't know it hadn't been live, but always looking for a Speedstick deal), I decided to print my coupons and make a stop today.

Transaction #1
1 - Irish Spring Body Wash
1 - Soft Soap Body Wash
4 - Speedstick Deodorants

-$.75 Irish Spring Body Wash mfg coupon
-$.75 Soft Soap Body Wash mfg coupon
-$4 4x$1 Speedstick CVS coupon
-$.75 Speedstick mfg coupon
-$.75 Speedstick mfg coupon

Total $8 plus tax ($8.94 OOP), earned $6 ECBs (all was part of spend $10, earn $3 or spend $15, earn $6 offer).

Not too shabby, 4 deodorants and 2 body wash for a net cost of under $3, even with tax.

I plan to go back for the candy deal...I didn't have my $.50 on 2 Twix coupon and two of my favorite candy bars for just $.74 or $.37 each is a good deal.

Zact Mobile Services

I participated in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Zact. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating in this campaign. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.
When I was a kid, there was not as much technology for my parents to worry about. Like most kids, at one point I got a record player that allowed me to play the records for the read along books (remember those? - we did find them with CDs for my kids). Then, I was upgraded to a stereo and eventually had a Walkman. When I was a teenager, I asked to have a phone in my room, which I got...of course, it wasn't my own line, just my own extension so I could talk for hours with friends (we didn't have call waiting or anything fancy back then, wonder how many people tried to call the house and got a busy signal while I was on the phone).

Now, as a parent, we are faced with so much more technology. I want to be able to allow my kids to experience technology, but I want for it to be on my terms and in my control. The kids have a laptop, that sits in the family room. There is a family iPad, that is also kept in the family room. They each have an iPod, but we load the music and have to log in to allow them to download even the free apps.

The iPods have been nice, because they have given them access to e-mail, iMessage and FaceTime, which they use to reach out to grandparents and friends. It also is a nice way to check in on them when either of us is not home or when they are spending the night at a friend's house. I can send a quick iMessage and see how they are doing. Of course, they are reliant on having WiFi access to use them, so they don't work everywhere.

As my son enters Intermediate School this year, the question that seems to be looming out there, is when do we get him a phone? This would allow him the ability to call us or send us a text to check in...whether he is at a friend's house, sports or elsewhere without us. It would also allow him the flexibility to be able to text with those friends that have phones but not an iDevice.

As a parent, I have concerns with a phone. I have no precedent to say what is the right age for a cell phone. I have heard horror stories from other parents who suddenly had huge cell phone bills because their children racked up hundreds, or even thousands, of text messages in a month - far exceeding the confines of their plans. I have concerns with them having web-enabled devices and finding the wrong content by mistake (hopefully not on purpose). I worry about them using the phones at all hours. I worry about the spam/telemarketers and others that will try to contact them. I worry about them losing a phone.


As you can see in the infographic above, Zact mobile services conducted a survey that found 73% of U.S. parents are concerned about the lack of parental control of a child’s activities on mobile devices.
One of the things that I like about Zact is that the phone service can grow with your child. When the kids are younger, if you want you can limit them to a select group of contacts and make it only available for calls. With time, you can add in texting and/or open up the group of contacts. You can limit apps and web access. You can restrict access at certain times of day - bedtime, dinnertime, homework time, or whatever time you want to restrict.

You can make all changes from your own phone. Zact uses the Sprint Nationwide Network and requires no contracts. You can share minutes fully between all the phones on your plan, with just a $4.99 / month line maintenance per device.

Some other features:
Never Overpay Guarantee

If you don’t use all of your monthly plan, we’ll credit you back to the plan that fits you best and automatically lower your next bill.

Customize

With Zact, you can build your own mix of talk, text and data and adjust it anytime, right from your phone.

Parental controls

Set curfews, usage caps and app/contact list restrictions right from your device.

You can check out more about parental controls and the services on their website, www.Zact.com.

We haven't yet decided when we will get him a phone, but I am certainly intrigued by the services that Zact offers and will continue to explore the option. They offer some 'packages' which are essentially recommendations or you can choose to 'Zact-Size' your plan. I really think that we can do as well, or better with a Zact plan, than if we add him to our plan. It would cost us $20 / month to add him to our plan, on Zact even with the $4.99 fee, we could get him 100 talking minutes, 500 text messages and 250MB of data. I think that the data might be high, since he would still use WiFi at home.

What do you think? Does your child have a phone? How do you monitor their usage?

No compensation was received for this post. I participated in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Zact. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating in this campaign. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Color Me Rad 5K - winner!

Congratulations to Kristie! Her entry was selected as the winner of the 2 FREE entries to the Color Me Rad 5K in Akron.

Thanks everyone for entering.

Back Seat Organization

As the kids have gotten older, one of the things that we always struggled with was keeping the back seat of the car organized when we take trips (even the short ones where we don't go but an hour from home!) I wanted to make sure that they have a variety of activities at their fingertips, but don't want the stuff to be floating everywhere and getting stepped on.

A couple of years ago, as we were preparing to head out for a 16 hour drive to Walt Disney World, I knew that I had to find a solution. I decided that the best thing would be some of box that could work like a file box. It took me a while, but I found the perfect file box that fit between the two back seats and best of all, it had a lid! It is made at Sterlite and I found it at an office store.
The file box has been a great solution for us. We are able to keep a variety of coloring books, activity books, spiral notebooks, Sudoku books, dry erase boards, a box for pens and pencils, a box of crayons and dry erase crayons and more in the box. The kids will set their remotes or headphones on top of the box when they aren't in use.
And, I can easily clip the lid back on and move it out of the way.

It isn't fancy, but it works for us!

This post shared at Works for Me Wednesday.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Busy Bag DIY

Recently, I saw a pin of this really cute busy bag and decided that it would be perfect for my daughter. She is always one to enjoy coloring and writing on the go, but it always seems like she is losing her crayons or dropping her pencils and when we go to clean out the van, we find them all. Plus, it is portable and we can easily take it in if I have to take her to a meeting or a book club, where she needs to entertain herself.

It is a really straight-forward project, you don't need much from an 'equipment' perspective, a tape measure, scissors, an iron and a sewing machine.

We were able to pick up all of our supplies at Walmart. We bought 1/2 yard each of two fabrics, you could probably use less if you went with one fabric, but she wanted two. We got 1/4 yard of fusible fleece, because we could only find it on the bolt. If you can find a package, just make sure that it is at least 8" x 19". We also got 21" of webbing - they had a lot of colors according to their shelf tags, but we got white because it was the only one that they had in stock. We already had Velcro at home, but you will need 2" x 1/2" piece. You will also want 4 - 6 Quart size bags. I would recommend not using the one with the slide, in case that would break. We went with 4 bags for our busy bag.

1/2 yard of two coordinating fabrics
1/4 yard of fusible fleece
21" webbing
2" Velcro (1/2" wide)
4-6 Quart size zipper bags

Cut out a piece from your outside fabric that is 8 1/2" x 20" and two pieces that are 8 1/2" by 10 1/4" from your inside fabric. Cut your fusible fleece to 8" x 19". Cut your webbing into three pieces - 2 that are 9" and 1 that is 3".


Using an iron, adhered the fusible fleece to the wrong side of your fabric according to the directions on the fleece.

Fuse one end of your 3" webbing with a lighter to seal it. The other end will be inside the project and does not need to be fused. Sew one side of your Velcro to the 3" piece of webbing.

On your outside fabric with the right side up, measure in 2" from the side and pin the end of your webbing handle to align with the edge of the fabric. Do this four times. Pin your 3" strap in the middle on one of the ends. On the other end, pin the other side of the Velcro to the fabric. Using a 1/4" allowance, baste all five connections and sew around the Velcro.


Sandwich the quart bags between the inside fabric, with the right side of the fabric towards the bags. Using a 3/8" seam allowance, sew the fabric and bags together.

With right sides together, align the inside and the outside fabric pieces, pinning in place. Sew most of the way around, leaving yourself a small opening to flip the bag right side out. Sew the opening shut.

I only sewed the 2" opening I had left, but for a consistent finish, you could sew a 1/4" seam around the entire bag.

The finished project:

The bag stocked for use:

My daughter was pretty excited to see the fabrics she chose turned into a bag that she can use on the go to tote her crayons, pencils, tablets and more.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

CVS Deals - 8/3

I was out and about yesterday and decided to stop by CVS to pick up the Starbuck's Iced Coffee deal. I had printed the coupon earlier in the week, but didn't have it with me when I stopped by. It was hard not to stop since they were going to pay me to take it home.


1 - Starbucks Iced Coffee

-$1 Starbucks IP (coupons.com)

Total $.50 OOP, earned $1.50 ECBs.

I also got a coupon for $10 off of $50 on my receipt. It has been a while since I have had a good $/$$ coupon, I hope that there are some good deals in the coming week's ad.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Minted - #giveaway *

No compensation was received for this post. Minted provided a credit to me for this post, as well as one for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.
According to the statement on their site, at Minted:
"Our purpose in life is to uncover exceptional design from all over the world and bring this to savvy consumers who won't accept anything else."

Whether you are looking for birth announcements, holiday cards, journals invitations or art prints, you can find them at Minted. They offer a variety of designs on paper for every occasion. Have an idea? Right now (through August 5th) you can enter their design challenge - create fresh stationery designs that will be great gifts for all personalities.

Minted makes it easy to find the design that is right for you. On each category page, there are several filter options to help you narrow down to just what you are looking for. I also really like their 'find it fast' feature, where you can upload your picture and view it on hundreds of cards...that way, you can choose the right combination to start and don't have to worry about whether or how your picture will fit the cards you like.

I really like their journals. They come with 40 pages of your choice of lined, unlined or graph paper - so you can use it like a sketch pad or a notebook, whatever suits your style. I think that I might have to pick one up with a picture of each kid or a picture of one of their art creations on the front and use them for the next Mommy & Me journal - where we write back and forth, like pen pals. How fun would it be to have a favorite picture on the front of a journal.

They also offer free recipient addressing on qualified purchases. You order your item, import your addresses or add them one at a time, you can even request them by e-mail if you don't know someone's address, and they ship them to you addressed and ready for you to add postage and mail. Talk about a time saver.

Looking for inspiration or want to inspire others? Check out their inspiration boards or create one of your own.

Giveaway!
Courtesy of Minted, I have the opportunity to have one A Busy Mom of Two reader win a $50 Credit to Minted.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through August 29th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winners will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. Minted provided a credit to me for this post, as well as one for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.

CVS Deals - 7/31

There really wasn't anything in the ad this week that drew me to CVS, until I got a $3 ECB in my inbox. I decided that I couldn't let it go to waste, it was afterall free money! So, I headed to CVS without a plan, other than to spend $3.

1 - A&W Rootbeer
1 - Gillette Venus Razor

-$.30 A&W Rootbeer CRT
-$5 Gillette mfg coupon

Paid with $3 ECB and $.42 OOP ($.34 was tax). Earned $2 ECBs.

What deals did you get this week?

I just got a 30% off coupon, which I hope will help me out next week.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Zipzicles - review and giveaway

We are a big fan of frozen treats in our house, especially in summer time. We have made our own popsicles at home for years, but now there is a new way to enjoy homemade frozen treats: Zipzicle. With Zipzicle you can create your own Ice Pops in your favorite flavors. No need to worry about sticks or taking your treats on the go. Simply use a small funnel or baster to fill the tube to the fill line, seal the zip closure and freeze. Once frozen, run the zipper closure under a bit of warm water to make it easier to open.

We first tried ours out using Silk Protein Milk for one and cherry cola for the other.


The kids really enjoyed the pops and thought it was great to be able to make their own favorite flavor. After making the cherry cola one, I read that it is not recommended to use carbonated beverages for the Zipzicles. My son really enjoyed the flavor, so we might try again and just not fill the tube as full. My daughter, who always seems to be done before her treat is gone, loved that she could zip it back up and enjoy it later. I liked not having to throw away half of a freezer pop.

We have decided that Zipzicle is a great way to pack away that bit of leftover smoothie for enjoyment later. We used to simply pour them into a cup and set them in the freezer, but they were always too hard to enjoy. With Zipzicle, it is easy to squeeze it out and enjoy it as a frozen treat. Who knows, maybe we will make smoothies just to enjoy as Zipzicles!

You can use the Zipzicles just once, or you can wash them with a bit of soapy water, rinse, and refill. We decided that if we have friends over, we would keep them single use, but for the kids, I have labeled theirs and we can use them a couple of times at least.

The Zipzicle site is full of recipes, tips and more. You can purchase direct from ZipZicle or find them on Amazon.

Giveaway!
Courtesy of Zipzicle, three (3) A Busy Mom of Two readers will each win a free pack of ZipZicles to try them out for yourself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through August 28th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winners will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. I received a complimentary package of Zipzicles for my review and they are providing the three packages for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.