I LOVE Burt's Bees!

I have only used a few of the Burt’s Bees products, but the ones that I have used, I LOVE! 

The very first experience I had with Burt’s Bees was the Hand Salve.  I was working in a print shop in Stephenville and I had made it a few weeks without a paper cut.  When I finally got my first one, it was a bad one and it hurt!  The sweet lady that I worked for gave me some of the Burt’s Bees Hand Salve to spread over the cut.  It not only sealed the cut so that I wouldn’t keep re-opening it, it also helped it to start healing.  It was wonderful!

Its featured ingredient is Olive Oil.  It has been used by Mediterranean people for centuries both as a food and as a treatment for damaged, dry hair. This oil soothes, heals and lubricates the skin and is used in many face creams as an emollient with superior penetrating power.  (Taken from Burt’s Bees website)

At my baby shower for Kinnley, my mom got me the Baby Bee Getting Started Kit.  I put it in the top drawer of her dresser with all the other extra bath/diaper stuff and nearly forgot about it.  Poor Kinnley had the hardest time with diaper rashes.  She was a week old with a horrible diaper rash to the point of raw spots on her toosh.  We tried different creams and found A&D Cream ointment to be our favorite until I remembered the Burt’s Bees starter kit.  In the starter kit we got the Baby Bee Diaper Ointment and it was wonderful!  It not only helped give her some relief from the pain, it also helped heal the raw spots.  I would keep using it after her diaper rash was gone to try to prevent another one.

Its featured ingredient is Sweet Almond Oil.  Sweet almond oil is rich in proteins and Vitamin D, and it’s excellent for your skin and nails.  It is an outstanding emollient known for its ability to soften and re-condition skin and help balance skin's moisture loss and absorption.  It soothes dry skin and irritated areas and is extremely nourishing, particularly when used regularly. (Taken from Burt’s Bees website)

The one item that I make sure to have with me, in my purse or the diaper bag, at all times is the Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil.  I absolutely LOVE LOVE this lip balm.  It will keep my lips moisturized, and when my lips do get chapped, this is the balm that will heal them the fastest.  It was listed as one of Women’s Health top 10 beauty all stars!  It is definitely one of my few must haves at all times.

Its featured ingredient is Pomegranate Oil.  Pomegranate fruit oil, from the tree Punica granatum, contains several polyphenols and anthocyanidins (pigment that gives certain fruits their dark red colors), which are high in antioxidants, helping to protect hair and skin from environmental stress.  (Taken from Burt’s Bees website)

While shopping for my birthday a couple years ago, we went into a hair/beauty store in Weatherford.  While looking around I found their Burt’s Bees display.  I grabbed another tube of the lip balm I love (you can never have too many since my dear husband has decided he likes it & steals mine!) and happened to see their Lip Shimmer.  I cannot wear lipstick.  Well, cannot may not be the right term for me to use.  I haven’t found the right shade, so I think I look rather dorky with lipstick on.  I like lip glosses, but they tend to leave my lips feeling sticky, slimy, or greasy.  So, when I found the lip shimmer I was intrigued.  According to the Burt’s Bees website, the Lip Shimmer ‘conditions, smoothes & highlights your lips with our wonderful selection of seven shimmering shades. Luminescent earth pigments add a hint of colour to our natural beeswax lip balm to give your lips the lift they need. Nourish, moisturise and soothe your lips with natural ingredients like vitamin E and coconut and sunflower oils.’  It’s their wonderful lip balm, but with color!!!!  All of the shades tend to be more earth tone colors, which is exactly what I like.  The Lip Shimmer is something that will give my lips color, but not make me look like a clown.

Its featured ingredient is Sunflower Oil.  This oil is an excellent nutritious food for the skin, hair and lips. Sunflower oil is a light, non-greasy oil that is easily absorbed and won't leave skin feeling greasy (see perfect for me!). (Taken from Burt’s Bees website)

Because I love these products so much, I am looking forward to trying some of their other products.  They have anything from lip balms, to moisturizers for your face, to shampoo and toothpaste!  I know that you can get the lip balm and lip shimmer at local drug stores, etc.  As far as the other products, I am not sure.  The prices on the website are pretty close to what you pay in the stores.  They are showing right now that if you spend $40 or more you get free ground shipping!!!  So, go check out Burt’s Bees and see if you can find anything you might like.

We are just a few people away from reaching 25 followers and having our first ever That Kind of Mommy giveaway!!!  I gave the hint of…buzzzzzz…for what will be the prize.  If you haven’t figured it out, then let me share with you.  Because I love these products, I will be giving away the Burt’s Bees Head to Toe Kit and the Lip Shimmer in Peony.  The Head to Toe Kit includes the following:

• Soap Bark and Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream
• Hand Salve
• Naturally Nourishing Milk & Honey Lotion
• Fabulously Fresh Peppermint & Rosemary Body Wash
• Coconut Foot Cream
• Beeswax Lip Balm

I think I may need to order one of these for myself!  So, tell your friends, family, co-workers, babysitters, neighbors, etc to start following That Kind of Mommy!  I can’t wait to send this to somebody so they can see how wonderful these products are!

Enjoy!

Caramie



When I'm stuck.

I love to cook, but there are times that I feel like I'm in a rut cooking the same old thing again and again.  If it were up to Kinnley, we'd have 'hamboogers' or spaghetti every day.  I get a lot of my recipes from one particular website, Kraft Foods.  It has so many options on how to look up recipes.  You can search by meal, recipe categories (healthy, budget friendly, etc.), holidays & entertaining, kids, etc.  My favorite search is what ingredients you have on hand.  You put in up to three ingredients you have and it will give you all the recipes that uses those three ingredients.  If I search for recipes using chicken, cream of mushroom, and rice for main dishes, I get 5 different recipes with one being a 20 minute recipe!  Take out the rice and I get 43 different recipes.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Holiday Cheese Truffles
Chicken Parmesean Bundles
One-Pan Roast Pork with Parmesan Fries

I haven't been on in a while and I see they have gotten some new recipes that I haven't seen before.  Looks like I will be trying some new stuff next week!  Definately go check it out.

On a side note, we are only 10 people away from the giveaway!!!  I will give you a hint as to what it is that will be given away....buzzzzzz.  Good luck and look for my first review of Burt's Bees coming in the next day or two.  I hope everybody is having a great Monday.  Mine is almost done!! Well, the work part anyways.

Have a great week & enjoy!
Caramie

I have an idea...

I think you can learn alot from different people, you just have to be willing to listen.  With that in mind, and reading other blogs and comments others make to those, I came up with an idea.  I haven't been worried about how many 'followers' I have, but I think that I not only can give people ideas through my blog, but get ideas from others that might comment on my blog.  So, here's my idea.  When I reach 25 followers I will do my first giveaway!!!  I have an idea of what I will give away, it will have to do with a review blog that I will post later, but you'll have to wait and see!  The basic of the giveaway is that when I reach 25 followers, one follower will be chosen by random to recieve something that everybody can use, no matter if you're male or female.  So, suggest That Kind of Mommy to all your friends, family, co-workers, etc!

Since before McKinnley was born, I will go to different websites to read the reviews of an item or toy I am thinking about purchasing.  This has helped me decide what kind of  bouncer, carseat, toys, etc to buy for the kids.  I think that while everybody has differing opinions, it's nice to have some kind of an idea what others think about different products.  So, I will periodically be reviewing different products that I have used, or decide to use to give you an idea if it is something you might be interested in.  If you have wondered about an item, product, or service, but can't find any good reviews, let me know and I will try it out and give you a unbiased review.  My first review to come in the next couple of days....Burt's Bees!

It is a little chilly here and I'm hoping poor Easton doesn't have a tummy bug and is just having a bad reflux day.  Kinnley is going 90 to nothing playing, singing, and getting ready for dress-up, as usual.

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Kinnley wanted a try at blogging this morning, so enjoy!

 

Have a great Sunday!

Caramie

It's been a while.

It seems like it's been forever since I have posted.  This last week was an easy week at work, but for some reason I was extra tired this week.  So, since it's been a while, let me update you on what we have been up to!

We have started baby food with Easton.  He's been eating oatmeal for the last month and a half or longer, so we decided to start with some of the veggies.  He decided that the squash and carrots were better on us than in his mouth, but he LOVED the sweet potatoes!

 Easton is starting to pay more and more attention to Kinnley and what she is doing.  He will laugh and smile at his sister, as long as she's not in his face.  He's definately a big fan of her.

I have been ordering ribbon from The Ribbon Retreat for years.  They have all kinds and sizes of ribbons, headbands, hats, etc.  Everything is priced great.  I absolutely love them.  Along with the ribbon, you can also buy fabric, and instructions on how to make different types of bows.  I bought the TOTT package from them a few years ago and it came with a full instruction 'manuel' on how to make different types of bows.  So, for St. Patrick's day I decided to make Kinnley a bow to wear.  While it's not the best, I was pretty proud of it and she loved it.  So, that made it even better.  I am practicing some different types of bows so hopefully mine will look more professional.

I wanted a sewing machine for my birthday year last year and I got one!  I haven't done anything with it after I took it out of the box and put it in its case.  So, after a year, I got it out of the closest and started getting it ready to sew.  Unfortunately, I am stuck at one point and haven't had the time to sit back down and work with it some more.  Mom, I will probably need your help. Thanks in advance!

In the mean time, I got three 'spit diapers' ready to sew material and ribbon on to make them cute.  Since Easton has reflux, we go through plenty of these a day, so I thought I would make a few cute and different than just white. 

I am wanting to perfect making bows and sewing some things because my middle sister just found out she is pregnant.  We're hoping for a girl and if it is a girl, I have so many ideas of stuff to make for her.  Stay tuned...we should know what she's having by the end of this summer.

Special tip of the day: When using a baking sheet in the oven, cover it first with foil for easy clean up.  After you done, you just take the foil off and you're done.  Nothing is baked on.  I do this when I bake fish, chicken nuggets, garlic bread, etc.

Easy side dish:  Roasted asparagus! Wash your asparagus, snap off the ends, coat with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.  Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-30 minutes, depending on crispy/tender you want it.  You can top it with shredded Parmesan cheese after you take it out, if you want.

Enjoy!

Caramie

Bunco!!

Tonight I am hosting Bunco at my house.  We tried last month (twice) and between schedules and my sick kiddo, we put it off until this month.  This is my one night a month to hang out with other mommies and girls.  We get together, eat, and play Bunco! Fun, Fun!!  Not knowing what my day was going to be like today, I wanted to fix something for dinner that I could do ahead and finish it without worry tonight.  So, here is another recipe that I love that is quick, easy, and cheap.  We were at our very good friends' house for dinner one night a few years back and she made this.  Since then I have made it the same way, and also changed it up a bit.  Thanks Hayley!

Stuffed Shells

1 Box Jumbo Shells
1-2 lbs Ground Beef
1-2 jars Spaghetti Sauce
1 small - medium bag of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Bring a pot of water to boil for your noodles.  While waiting on the water to start boiling, cook your ground beef, seasoned with salt, pepper, & Italian seasoning, if you like, until no longer pink.  Drop your noodles into your boiling water (to make the whole box, you will need 2 lbs of ground beef & 2 jars of sauce, but if you make less, you can get away with only 1 lbs and 1 jar.)  Drain the meat and the noodles.  In a bowl, mix the meat, half of the sauce, and half of the cheese together.  Spread some sauce on the bottom of your baking dish and place each stuffed shell on top of the sauce.  Once all shells are stuffed and in the dish, cover with the remaining sauce.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Bake at 375 degrees until the cheese is melted and everything is heated thru.  I usually bake for 30-40 minutes.  If you want to make it ahead of time, just cover with foil, place in refridgerator until desired day. 

You can play with the stuffing and the sauce.  I like to take Ricotta cheese, steamed spinach (thawed and drained), parmesan cheese, and ground beef, mix together and stuff the shells.  I use a Vodka sauce with this stuffing combination.  You could use sausage, panchetta, ground turkey, or any other type of Italina meat instead of ground beef.  I hope you enjoy!

This weekend I am hoping to do some projects around the house, so hopefully I will have something to share with you next week!

Caramie

Sloppy Jo's

Sloppy Jo's...there is just something about them that reminds me of being a little kid with absolutely no worries in the world.  Well, except for maybe not letting any of it get on my clothes.  For our wedding shower, we asked all of our friends and family to bring some of their favorite recipes to share with us.  I got some AWESOME recipes that I still pull out to use along with any new ones I find.  My sister, Stacy, gave me a recipe for Sloppy Jo's and it was an instant favorite with Ben.

I hadn't fixed it in a while, so last night we had Sloppy Jo's!  Kinnley has never really eaten it, unless we make her, but last night she ate all of her sandwich that we put on her plate without having to be told.  Progress????  I think so!  Here is the Sloppy Jo recipe I use....I hope you like it!

Sloppy Jo's

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 can tomato sauce (small)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (While it calls for 1/2 cup, I usually only use 1/4 cup because it's too sweet for
                                             us otherwise.)
2 tsp. mustard

Cook ground beef and onion till beef is cooked thru, then drain.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer together for about 15 minutes.

How easy is that?  I love recipes like this.  They have few ingredients, are quick and easy!  After Ben ate 3 Sloppy Jo's last night I had to put the leftovers up so he wouldn't eat another!  He told me that if I would start making nastier food then he wouldn't have the problem of eating too much.  Guess I'm not that bad of a cook after all!

Have a great day!
Caramie

To-Do List

We have been in our house for nearly 9 months now.  We finished renovating the bathroom pretty much before we moved in, but since then, we haven't done anything else to it.  We have painted the living room, my office, both of the kids' rooms and that's about it.  I am ready to get the dining room, hallway, and our bedroom started and finished.  I have so many ideas of what I want to do, but have the hardest time finding the time to get everything done.

We traded twin beds with some friends of ours, so I now have that added to my endless list of things I want to get done.  The bed is for Kinnley and I really can't wait to get it all fixed the way I want it.  I just hope it turns out as cute as it is in my mind.  I am ready to have her room all fixed up and finished.  Easton's room is pretty much all done except for a few things here and there that I really need to get taken care of.

As for the rest of the house, I have found so many super cute decorating ideas at Shanty to Chic.  It's two sisters that are so crafty and really make some of the cutest stuff that cost very little.  They are in love with Hobby Lobby just like I am!

Right now we have a dining room table that seats 8 and it's beautiful, but we both really would like something different.  So, thanks to the Shanty sisters, I found another wonderful website.  Ana White takes furniture and creates building plans to build knock-off look alikes.  We have decided that we want to build this table for our dining room.

Definately take a look at both of these sites.  I will share my finished projets as I complete them!  Have a great week everybody!!

3 Months!

Easton Wayne is 3 months old today!  Where in the world has the time gone?  It still feels like it was just yesterday that we were in the hospital waiting for it to be time to go back to the operating room.  Now he is mommy's big, sweet boy.

Easton has been rolling over for the last couple of weeks and has earned the nickname Sir Droolsalot.  Our reflux seems to be under control with the help of our medicine.  I am ready to be done with the medicine though because it is causing issues in the poopy diaper department (I will spare you the details).  He has found his hands and feet.  He is constantly shoving one or both fists into his mouth to chew on.  He loves his oatmeal that he gets every night before bedtime.

Easton has an elephant 'blankie' that he seems to like.  He still uses his paci, but isn't as fond of it as his sister was when she was his age.  He LOVES his swing.

He is spending more time being happy and less time being fussy.  We still haven't figured out how to get him to nap in his bed or playpen longer than 20 or 30 minutes.  He will take wonderful naps while he is in his swing, but we really need to try to break that habit.  He is starting to pay attention to his big sister and will actually smile at her, as long as she's not in his face.  He screams at her and she tells him to stop yelling in her ear.  I find it absolutely adorable now...ask me again in a few years and I may feel differently.

My little man still has red hair, well it's redish blonde.  It's so thick and is starting to get longer.  He has the cutest dimples when he smiles.  We have heard him laugh a few times, but can't wait until it comes more frequently.

Kinnley is an amazing big sister.  She helps me without complaining and wants to be where brother is most of the time.  We have to keep reminding her to stay out of his face and to not be so rough with him, but she's wonderful.  I can't believe she's going to already be old enough to start Pre-K this August!

Over the last two months, I have realized how precious life is and how blessed I am to have two beautiful, healthy, happy children.  I pray for those who have lost a child to find comfort in the arms of God and know that He is with you every day, all day long.

Dinner Results

I have been meaning to post pictures of our Saturday night dinner of Chicken, potatoes & squash because it turned out awesome!

All I did was put the chicken leg quarters (4 total) in a gallon size Ziploc baggie, then I added Zesty Italian dressing, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper & shredded Parmesan cheese.  Close the baggie, rotate to coat the chicken and let sit until you are ready to put it on the grill.  I cut my red new potatoes into wedges, trying to keep them all about the same size.   I washed and cut my squash into round pieces, all about the same size and spread them out on a baking sheet with the potatoes.  I like to cover my baking sheet with foil to make it an easier clean up.  I mixed the potatoes and squash with the dressing, seasoning, salt, pepper & Parmesan cheese also.  I baked them at 350 until the potatoes were fork tender.  It was quick, easy & so yummy!

I am so excited for spring and summer to be able to cook out on the grill.  I am hoping to plant our first garden this year so we will have fresh veggies to grill and eat all summer long!  Now to go enjoy one of the leftover Apple Dumplings!