Momaholic: Crazy Confessions of a Helicopter Parent Book Review

This review has been moved. You can now view it HERE.

Half Off a Teethe Me Subscrption from Plum District

     I just wanted to let you all know about a deal I just got at Plum District. It is for a new box subscription site called Teethe Me, which sends a surprise box of baby products for a monthly subscription of $24 dollars. You enter your child's birth date (ages 0-3) and they send products based on your child's age. 

     The Plum District deal is for half off a one-month subscription. That's $12. These are supposed to be full-sized products. So that seemed like a pretty good deal to me. To see the type of products offered in the boxes, look here.
     If you have not signed up for Plum District, you may do so here. Type in the code MOM25 on your purchase and you should receive 25% off through 4/28. The Teethe Me offer ends in 4 days too, so hurry if you want to try it out!

Ways I Try to Save Electricity

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"Healthy" Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Ok, so last night I made these health(ier) chocolate chip cookies. I adapted from this recipe to make the cookies even healthier. But not necessarily low-fat, mind you. Everything in moderation. Here is the recipe I ended up with. 

Ingredients:

     3/4 cup rolled oats, ground up (I used my food processor)

     1/4 cup flax seed

     3/4 cup wheat flour

     1/2 teaspoon baking soda

     1/2 teaspoon salt

     1/4 cup butter, softened

     1/4 cup coconut oil

     1/3 cup palm sugar

     3 TBSP Truvia

     1 egg

     1 Tsp vanilla extract

     1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease cookie sheets. Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat together butter, coconut oil, palm sugar and Truvia. Add egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and chocolate chips. 

Drop heaping spoonfuls about an inch apart on cookie sheet and bake at 350°F 12-15 minutes, until brown on the edges. Cool on cooling rack. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen. 

Notes on the changes I made. 

   Flax seed has fiber and is good for digestion. 

   Coconut oil is supposed to be one of the healthiest oils for you and may help boost your metabolism. 

   Palm sugar is absorbed by the bloodstream more slowly than other sugars and also contains a lot of nutrients. 

   Truvia (a powder form of stevia) is a natural no calorie sweetener. It is sweeter than sugar, so less is required.

*An added benefit for breastfeeding mommies is these may promote lactation. Oatmeal and flax seed are supposed to increase milk supply and coconut oil is supposed to enrich supply. You could even add fenugreek if you want, though I don't know how that would affect taste. 

*The coconut oil taste is not as strong once the cookies are baked. I don't care for the taste of coconut oil, so I didn't like the batter, which tasted strongly of it. The taste was not nearly as strong once baked. At least that way I won't be so tempted to eat the cookie dough! :-P

Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock

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Potty Training Woes

     So...we have really been trying to work on Kay-kay to get potty trained, but she is being very stubborn about it. She can come tell me she needs a diaper change, take her diaper off and even ask for diaper cream. :-/ 

     More than once I have caught her running around with her diaper off only to find out too late that she already "gone" somewhere on the floor. I'm usually alerted to her doing this by her yelling out "she pee-peed!" Needless to say, it has been rather frustrating. 

     One day last week, after she had taken her diaper off sometime in the morning, we finally made her sit on the potty until she went. Meanwhile, my husband gave her one or two cups of warmish apple juice, thinking it would make her go. It took her about three and a half hours. If she had been wearing a diaper she would have definitely gone during that time frame.

     We've bought her a pack of princess "big girl panties," which she really wants to wear, but we keep telling her she can't wear them until she starts going on the potty. We're also trying the M&M system--you know, M&M's when they go potty. Next maybe I will try a sticker chart. If anyone out there has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

     Have you tried Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ potting mix?  Expand 'n Gro is a new kind of potting soil that expands to three times its size when combined with water, allowing the roots more room for growth. I, for one, can hardly wait to try it. You can mix it into your garden soil, or if you live in an apartment like me, just use it in your potted plants.

    Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ also holds more moisture than regular potting soil. I can tell you, since I live in a dry climate like west Texas, that extra capacity for holding moisture will come in really handy! My hubby misses his garden, since we've had to move out of state and into an apartment. The idea of a "container garden" has crossed his mind, but I believe he has been either too disheartened or too busy with other stuff to actually start one. I'm hoping that this Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix will give him the motivation he needs to gets started.

     I think the Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix will give us the best chance of success in the dry climate we live in, since it holds more moisture than other potting soils. And since it is concentrated, it doesn't require as much to get started. You can see the benefits of Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix in the video below.

     Ready to give it a try? Miracle-Gro® is offering a $3 off coupon at the following link. Expand ‘n Gro™

If you decide to try it out, I'd love to hear about your results! And I will be sure to share mine when I do get the chance to try it out. Until then, happy planting!

Children's/Infant's Advil

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Baby Love Wordless Wednesay

                          Wrestling with her new pillow pet.

     For rules on participating in this Baby Love Wordless Wednesday blog hop, go here. Make sure you like my post, or enter yourself! 

 *please note: you must enter the word "none" as a backlink as the required link was not entered correctly when the owner created the form. 

Inexpensive Ways To Decorate Easter Eggs

     Article from http://www.LivingOnADime.com

     OK, so the kids noticed on the calendar that Easter is approaching and they want to make a huge production of dying eggs. In the past, the little stickers you bought at the store sufficed, but now they want the real thing. Here are some old standards with a few new ideas for you from http://www.livingonadime.com/ .

     Before you decorate Easter eggs, cover the entire table with newspaper. Keep a huge roll of paper towels or rags handy for messes. Have each kid wear one of dad's old (now disposable) tee shirts. To make egg stands, cut toilet paper roll cores into one inch cylinders and use for egg stands. Decorate with stickers or paint.

     Decorating eggs: The traditional method.

Hard boil eggs. Fill several mugs with boiling water and add 1-2 tsp. vinegar. Place a few drops of desired food coloring in each mug. Place eggs in mugs for several minutes until the eggs reach the desired shades. Remove with a spoon. Place on a paper towel to dry. When dry, polish with a small amount of shortening on a paper towel. Buff until glossy.

     You can draw or write on the eggs with a light colored or white crayon before dipping. The drawing will remain white after the egg is dipped. To clean out the mugs, put a little bleach water in the cups and soak for a few minutes.

Glitter Eggs- Place 1 tablespoon each of glue and water in a cup. Stir the mixture and then paint the eggs with it. Sprinkle with glitter. This can also add sparkle to already dyed eggs!

Crepe Paper Eggs- Wet a white or dyed egg. Dab torn pieces of colored tissue paper or pieces of pretty colored napkins on the eggs. When the paper dries, the paper falls off and leaves the color behind on the egg.

Decoupaged Easter Eggs - Tear small pieces of wrapping paper, napkins, stickers, or clip art. Mix equal amounts of glue and water. Paint egg with glue mixture. Place paper on top and then cover with more glue mixture. Let dry.

Spotted Eggs- Place 1 tsp. of cooking oil in dye. Dip the egg. The oil will cause the dye to make an irregular pattern on the egg.

Waxed Eggs- Dip a portion of the eggs in melted paraffin or candle wax. Then dip them in the dye. Remove from dye. Dry and peel off the wax. The egg will be white on one half and colored on the other half. You can also dip in dye before waxing to get two colors.

Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper are frugal living experts and the authors of the Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Dining On A Dime will help you save money on groceries and get out of debt by cooking quick and simple homemade meals. For free tips & recipes visit http://www.LivingOnADime.com , sign up for our free Living On A Dime Newsletter and learn to save more!