A Walk Down Memory Lane With Joey

I used to have a blog called Raising Joey. Unfortunately  I let the domain name expire and when that happened, I lost ALL of the posts I had written for over 5 years, my pregnancy with Joey up until Aiden was born. I have a lot of it backed up onto my computer but can't get it to download onto my new blog. Someday I'll figure it out, LOL!

Anyways, today I remembered the site that I had downloaded all of the old videos and slide shows I had made in the past, especially about Joey! I've been sitting here (almost in tears) watching them all.

 "The 21 Reasons Why I Chose Life:"

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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And this one "I Can Change The World"

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When Joey first started walking (a HUGE milestone I must add!!)

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And it was love at first sight for Joey and Leah

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www.onetruemedia.com

Crock-pot Chili

We woke up this morning to about 6 inches of snow on the ground, so I knew today is the PERFECT day for chili!! Growing up, one of my favorite dinners that my mom made was chili! My mom always added sliced carrots, and celery to her chili as well and sometimes corn. I would have added the carrots to mine but to my disappointment, I'm out.


Over the past few years, I've tweaked her recipe a bit, but still reminds me of my mom's. And she always did hers on the stove, LOL!

And to make this meal even better, it freezes very well! I typically take the majority of the leftovers and make myself single serving sized microwavable bowls to freeze for future lunches!!

Crock-pot Chili:

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey, browned
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced in garlic press
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (more if you like a sweeter chili)
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can  Ro*tel® Diced Tomatoes 
• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can kidney beans

1. Cook ground beef on stove until browned. 
2. Drain and rinse kidney beans.
3. Mince garlic and chop up onion.
4. Combine all ingredients and let cook in crock-pot until ready. (I usually do mine on low all day)

Googly eyed monsters

There's nothing better than project to help move a snow day along, LOL!! I had some googly eyes in my craft closet and thought making some monsters was an excellent idea after Joey watched Monsters Inc. last night! 

I just glued the eyes on paper, gave the kiddos markers and let their imaginations go wild (except I had to help Aiden and Joey a little...)!   

(Leah insisted on taking a picture of me, LOL!!)

 

DIY Taco Seasoning

Lately I've been all about making things from scratch even our seasonings. I have been backing away from store bought seasoning packages, my husband and Joey are both on gluten free diets so you never know when there might be gluten used as a anti-caking ingredient or even color. Also because of all the added sodium!

A while back, I found a recipe for taco seasoning, tried it and LOVED it! It tastes so much better than the ones you buy in the store! Not to mention, in the long run, it's A LOT cheaper!

Just mix together:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

I also saved an empty spice jar and store it in there until I'm ready to use it :)

*I usually triple my batches to have extra for the next few taco nights

Couponing Tips & Tricks: Check clearance racks!

One of the best ways to score free or extremely cheap makeup, hair dye and other personal care items with coupons at Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid is to check out their clearance racks!!

At these stores you can use a coupons on a clearance items and many times get them for free or for very close to it!!

Whenever a  manufacture changes the design of one of their labels, the item with the old label gets put onto clearance!!

I haven't paid for hair dye for about 1 1/2 years due to this trick!!

I've also scored TONS of free makeup especially at Target! In addition to using manufacture coupons there, you can stack them with Target coupons you can print from Target's website.

Check back soon for even more couponing tips & tricks!!

CVS: FREE Stayfree Maxi Pads this week!

OMG! How did I miss this one on Sunday?! In many of last Sundays (1/6/13) Smart Source coupon inserts there was a coupon for Buy 1, Get 1 free Stayfree Maxi Pads coupon and this week CVS has them on sale for Buy 1, Get 1 free, which mean TOTALLY FREE MAXI PADS!!!

Guess where I'm going first thing in the morning, LOL???

I remember this same sale with this same coupon last year at CVS, I stocked up!! I haven't bought maxi pads in over 1 year, they've all been for free!!

The Bzzzzzzzzz about Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream

I was chosen to try Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream through BzzAgent. I was skeptical since I suffer from SEVERE dry skin due to eczema that flares up pretty bad during the winter months. But to my surprise, it actually cleared up a very bad patch on my hand in less than 2 days!! That's just as good as the prescription strength hand cream I use from my dermatologist!! And it only takes a little bit since it's a concentrated formula!

I give Norwegian Formula® Hand Cream a 5 star rating! Totally awesome!

If you're interested in signing up with BzzAgent, give it a try! But first, you'll first want to get signed up with MyPoints, that way you can earn credit for the surveys you'll take through BzzAgent. So, sign up first with MyPoints then BzzAgent.