Joplin Missouri Aid Support

One of my favorite places to get a gift basket, Gourmet Gift Basket has created a giant gift basket of snacks with more than 200 small food items to donate to the Joplin Missouri Relief. They sell many of the snacks that would make you feel better if only for a moment and I am sure the people in Joplin will need it. I hope even more of my favorite companies do something similar. I am sure they need diapers and formula as well.

Oddly the day of the tornado I took my son to a park I only visit every so often. I was sitting on a park bench while my husband was taking our son on the slides and a slightly frazzled woman sat down next to me. She kept dialing on her cell phone over and over. She looked at me and I smiled at her and said hello. I could tell she needed someone to share her stress with, that's what a community is for. To just listen when someone needs to talk. She began to tell me about a frantic phone call she received a little over an hour ago from her family in Missouri, Joplin to be exact. All the way out here in California, Missouri seems a world away to me.

She told me her family called telling her they loved her and there was a huge tornado coming. Then she heard  nothing from them in over an hour. She told me about how she wished they would move here but its cheaper to live there and about how they were all having a BBQ that day at her parents house with her whole family.

She continued to keep dialing as we chatted, I don't blame her I would have been too if it was family. Finally she jumped up as I could hear someone on the phone say hello. She walked away to have her phone call and when she got back she told me they were all ok since they had been at her parents house the tornado missed them but had destroyed her sisters home. She said she was so grateful her sister and her family were not home.

I did not know how scary the situation was until I got home and watched the news. The devastation was horrible. Its baffling that nature can create such beautiful things and also be destructive. As I watched the news I wondered if any of the people being interviewed was a family memeber to the woman I spoke with at the park. As I watched the news though I did think its someones sister or mother or daughter I was seeing. I can't imagine the feeling of fear wondering if someone you love is ok .

I did not get her name, I dont know if I will ever see her again but I do know for a moment we were friends. I am greatful that I was there and was able to be a person she could talk to when she really needed it.

Here are some ways to help that you can help:

Food Bank Donations - http://www.ozarksfoodharvest.org/

American Red Cross - https://american.redcross.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=ntld_corpmicrosite&s_company=stateofmissouri-pub

Volunteering - http://www.211missouri.org/GiveHelp.aspx 

Kidlandia Kreechur Contest

Name that Pirate!

Enter the Kidlandia Pirate Kreechur Contest in Honor of National Pirate Month and Win Big

Recently we hosted a review of the Kidlandia company of their personalized items. They are having a contest to name one of the Pirate Kreechurs for a $250 reward to spend on their site. They have cute stuff and you could get a lot of great gifts, plus you get the honor of saying you named a Pirate! 

 Kidlandia “Name That Pirate Kreechur” contest This exciting contest coincides with the new Pirates of The Caribbean movie and debut of the new sepia toned Kidlandia Pirate Kingdom line featuring maps, puzzles and growth charts.  This amazing contest promotes creativity while acknowledging everyone’s favorite bad boys, Pirates!

Kidlandia® invites kids of all ages (with parental consent if under 18) to enter the Name that Kidlandia Pirate Kreechur contest.  Kids will win great prizes and the winning entries Pirate name will be designated to a Kidlandia Pirate Kreechur forever.

It’s easy to enter, just view all of the Kidlandia Pirate Kreechurs, pick one, and think of the most creative name possible. Entries must be 50 words or less, state why you selected that name, along with your favorite thing about Kidlandia Kreechurs.  All entries must be received by July 31, 2011. No purchase is required.  Go to the site to enter:  www.kidlandia.com/piratekreechurs

We needed a Date Night...

When you become a parent you forget what your life was like before you had children. You cannot imagine how you filled your time when you weren't changing diapers or rocking a baby to sleep. After you come out of the fog you realize you did do things, just different things.

My husband and I were married for 6 years before our 1st son was born. We went out on dates, watched a whole movie all the way through without interruption, went out to dinner, and I shopped to my hearts content whenever I wanted all by myself. Don't get me wrong we do most of those things still, just in a very different way. I would not change a thing about having children and we love to spend time doing "kid friendly" things but sometimes grown ups need to do grown up things.

We were way overdue for a date night so last weekend Nana was kind enough to come over and watch the boys while the hubby and I went out on what I call a "hot date". We went to a casino for dinner and gambled a bit. We talked and laughed and there was very little mention of the kids. Dinner was awesome. Dessert was amazing. I even ended up winning some money so the whole night was free! I love date night.

It is so important to reconnect with each other and remember that it starts and ends with the two of you. No matter what you decide to do for your date night just remember to enjoy the time because in a few hours you have to go home and be Mom and Dad again.

When was the last time you were on a "hot date" and where did you go?

OMG NKOTB

Can you believe New Kids on the Block are back together again and have joined forces with the Back Street Boys? NKOTBSB!!! When Liz and I were growing up we worshiped NKOTB. I mean it was an obsession and a sickness, like every other girl out there we LOVED them! We each had our favorite, she loved Jordan and I loved Joey. We had everything NKOTB from the fannie packs, to the giant buttons for your clothing(I can't believe that we wore those so proudly), t-shirts, any Teen Beat magazine that had a picture or an article about them, dolls, posters and much much more. I even scored a signed and framed picture of Joey! Our walls were covered with posters of NKOTB, we lived and breathed for them.

When I heard that they were making a comeback I was so excited. I thought Oh My God I love those guys! I need to see them in concert, then I heard that they even had an NKOTB cruise that I missed and I was bummed. lol Then the more I thought about it I realized that I loved them in the 90's. Don't get me wrong if someone paid for me to go on the cruise today I would go in a heartbeat, but I have to remember that I am not 13 anymore and I have other things to pay for. Sure they are still the guys we loved, just a little older. Danny, Donny, Jordan, Jonathan, and Joey will always hold a special place in my youth, and if you asked me today I would probably brush it off like they were no big deal. But the truth is I am secretly jealous of anyone who has recently seen them in concert or were lucky enough to cruise with them ;) NKOTB FOREVER!

We Need Neon Shoes!

I never understood why they made such brightly colored shoes. They are a bit too much for me, although I had my share of neon as a kid of the 80s lol. I now know why they need to make more neon shoes for kids! I always buy my son earth tones for shoes. I love brown, crazy I know but its oddly my favorite color. Maybe its the connection to chocolate!

We were at the park the other day having a great time running in the grass and picking dandelions. He was wearing his Old Navy sandals that I adore. Thankfully he has now let me put shoes on him. We had quiet the battle with shoes and socks the last few months. He likes theses ones so I try my best not to let him lose them.

He was running around by the trees when he stopped and showed his Daddy his foot. He did not have his sandal on and his foot was dirty. I gasped since I have no clue at what point the sandal came off he had been running from one end of the park to the other with my husband.

Can you see it?

I began my search looking for a brown sandal in an area full of grass with brown patches of dirt showing through. It took me about 20 minutes but I finally found it. I declared in that moment my son needs a pair of neon shoes!

It was hiding!

Lovable Labels Review and Giveaway

It seems with 2 boys they are always fighting over who's toy is who's. More with the 4 year old but I know that it is coming soon with the baby. Lovable Labels are going to solve many fights in the future around here. We got the opportunity to review their product Book Worms , they are cute personalized labels for books.




When JJ started to fight over a book with Baby L, I simply showed JJ that it was Baby L's name in the book and not his. When he realized this he gave the book back to Baby L, no questions asked. Now I know that it will not solve every "mine" situation we have over here, but that was a small milestone and I will take it! Lovable Labels has so many different products to choose from and for a ton of different things. They have address labels, clothing labels, bag tags, toddler toes and much more! For a little background information on Lovable Labels- they are waterproof, dishwasher and microwave safe, washer and dryer safe, sun safe, bleach safe, sunscreen safe and temperature safe. They have won multiple awards and continue to create more and more products as time goes on. Check them out you can even become a Sales Agent for Lovable Labels!


Very fun and cute way to personalize your things and my son loves to see his name in print, thanks Lovable Labels!

GIVEAWAY:
To Enter:  Go to the Lovable Labels website and leave us a comment (one per day only, please) telling us which one of their amazing product is your fav! Once you’ve entered by leaving a comment, you can gain additional entries:

    - Follow @mylovablelabels and @FrugalFamTree on Twitter and tweet " WIN Book Worm Label Pack from @mylovablelabels @FrugalFamTree  http://www.frugalfamilytree.com/ "  leave us the link for extra daily entries +1 per day

    - ‘Like’ Lovable Labels on Facebook for one extra entry and write below that you are a new fan. +1

    - ‘Like’ Frugal Family Tree on Facebook for one extra entry and write below that you are a new fan.

    - Mention this giveaway on your blog and leave us the link for one extra entry.

*This giveaway starts 5/24 and ends just in time for the little book worm in your family at 12 pm PST on 6/3  The winner will be selected by random draw and will have 2 days to respond to our notification email before another winner is selected.  This giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only. I was not paid or compensated for this post. I was provided one set of labels for this review.

What I Love About Spring

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. It really lifts my mood from the rainy gloomy days of winter. It is right before the 100 degree plus summers we have too! Its the few months I can relax outside and enjoy nature with out getting wet or fainting from the heat. We try to get in the trips to the lake and river to fish, play with the dog, and have picnics before its too hot. It means its time for festivals too. We recently went to a Strawberry Fest that was so fun!

Strawberry Festival

I love taking my camera every where we go. Before my son was born I would take nature shots and pics of the dog. Now that I have my sweet little guy I take a million pictures of him. Even on a simple evening at the park I take a bunch of pics. This Spring I want to make one of those cute Photo Books I have seen other moms have. That way I can have all the sunshine fun filled days in a book for many years to come. For those days when its so hot there’s no way we can go outside I can reminisce about the Spring time.

Sping time also means Father's Day is right around the corner! As a kid it was fun to make my Dad stuff and I cant wait until our son is big enough to draw a picture or make make a macaroni picture. We would make homemade cards which of course are adorable to Dads but I want to make one of those picture Father's Day cards for my husband. One with the cutest pic I can find of him and our son. I want to include one from last year and a recent one so he can see how much our boy has grown.! This year Father's Day is going to be special. 

Last year was my husbands first and has its own special memories linked to it but this year our son is big enough to run around and take part in the festivities. Last year I purchased my husband a Personalized Gift of a mug with a picture of him holding our son on it. He has his coffee in it every morning. My son points to the picture and says Bubba or Dada. Its sooooo sweet! This year I want to get him another one. I want the one where I can put multiple pictures on it. You can never have too many pics of your sweet little ones on a mug! Until our little guy is big enough to shop for him self and have an opinion of what he wants to get his Daddy I will do the shopping for him! So even though I have seasonal allergies that make my eyes water and sneeze like crazy I have to say the Spring time is my favorite season! Nothing compares to sunshine, the beauty of nature and the positive attitude it brings.

Using a stick to poke a tree on a nice Spring day!

What is your favorite thing about Spring? 

Do you have your own blog? You can sign up for a chance for a free photo book from Shutterfly here.

 *Sponsored by Shutterfly. For this post Shutterfly will be sending me a product for free.

Inspiration For A Lifetime Book Review and Giveaway

Inspiration For A Lifetime by Allen Klein is a great little book to open for words of encouragement at whatever point you find yourself in life. Filled with quotes to fit almost any possible situation or challenge, here we can find comfort, a laugh, or deep wisdom. From marriage to divorce, success to failure, money or aging, there is something to give us a larger or different perspective than our own. There is a wide variety of thoughts and insights on life, from the popular author Wayne Dyer, the Buddha, Miss Piggy and many more.

Everyone knows that words have the power to heal, to wound, or to stop us dead in our tracks. The author clearly understands that when they are spoken with wisdom or kindness, they can also give us hope in an often hopeless world. This book would make a lovely gift for any occasion and certainly for anyone who is facing a new or difficult situation.

My favorite quote was from the Life and Living section. Will Rodgers said "Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip". How many of us would change our behavior if we knew our lives were going to be made public? This thought provoking book does indeed give us inspiration.

You can buy this book on Amazon along with other funny and inspiring books by Allen Klein.

GIVEAWAY:

Win your own copy of Inspiration For A Lifetime.

To Enter This Giveaway:

 What is your favorite quote or saying?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry.
If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +3
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2 

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (top left hand side) 

-Vote for us for "Were on the Fence" (left hand side of the blog, just click the button) +3

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 20, 2011 and ends on June 3, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the book mentioned  for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

The Lazy Gourmet Book Review and Giveaway

Have you ever wanted to have a fabulous dinner party, invite your boss over to impress, or show your snotty cousin Gweneth that you can make a delicious chocolate mousse, too? But perhaps you think you're not really that great of a cook. Well then, The Lazy Gourmet is your guide to fixing fabulous meals for any occasion. You don't need any previous cooking experience to be able to follow these simple yet sophisticated recipes. The easiest way to cook like a gourmet chef is to have a well stocked pantry. Chapter One is devoted to helping us have on hand everything we need from oils and vinegars to pasta, rice and other staples.

There are chapters on main dishes, soups, sides, salads, desserts and more. Easy explanations on cooking techniques, and great tips and suggestions are all here to give us confidence and increase our skills in the kitchen. Everyday family meals can be elevated to a new standard just by incorporating some of these easy but elegant recipes into your daily life. As much as I liked this book, I have to say that I was disappointed that there are no pictures included. I love seeing the finished dish and what it's supposed to look like. Even without pictures, if you want to learn to make meals that will be delicious and impressive, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Lazy Gourmet.

GIVEAWAY:

Win your own copy of The Lazy Gourmet.

 

To Enter This Giveaway:

 What is the one meal you would love to try to make but just don't feel like attempting it?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address*

 

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry.
If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on. 

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC (top right hand corner) +2

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +3
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +2 

-Add our button to your blog and leave a link of where it is located +5 (top left hand side) 

-Vote for us for "Were on the Fence" (left hand side of the blog, just click the button) +3

-Enter other current giveaways on our blog +1 for each entered

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 20, 2011 and ends on June 3, 2011 at midnight PST.  Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided for free the book mentioned  for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Kidlandia Personalized Products Review

When we select stuff to decorate our sons room with we want it to be fun and have some learning with it (gotta sneak in the learning where I can). When I found the Kidlandia website I thought they were so cute! It has all sorts of maps, growth charts, family trees, placemats and puzzles that can all be personalized. I am huge on personalized stuff. I think its adorable and fun. I had a hard time picking what to review simply because there was is much stuff I liked. There is all the cool characters from Toy Story, Disney Cars, Dora, Winnie the Pooh, Veggie Tales and more. You can see them all here.

Sample picture from the website. Looks cool in this room!

We selected the more traditional looking Maps. They have many to select from that you can add your own names for cities, oceans, towns and you can even add characters they provide. You can select a world map, a USA map and even a map of Manhattan NY. After you decide which map you want you can select between a poster, fine art print, canvas scroll, gallery wrapped canvas, or a vinyl wall cling. We selected a World Map Poster. I loved how it came out. My husband laughed a bit when he saw our names for the oceans instead of the real ones. We also ordered a Placemat Map of the USA. We had a ton of fun looking at it seeing all the states. I had a few oh that's over there moments, I guess I need to look at maps more! For now I hung even the placemat on the wall in my sons room. He got a little wild with it when I tried to feed him his lunch on it. He was so busy looking at it he wouldn't eat his PB&J. And when I tried to take it away so he would eat he got super mad! lol. So I put it in his room on the wall so he could look at it. Its really cute its a patchwork style of all the states.

I would recommend these as a special gift. They are cute and have a bit of learning along with it. I wish I would have gotten our Poster in the USA map too since I thought it was sooo cute! But either way I am still super happy on how it came out. The world map one is cute and even has his birthday on it as a national holiday and says hes the president!

You can find more info and contests for Kidlandia on their facebook page and twitter. Next week on the facebook page they will be having a Kidlandia Kreechur Pirate Contest that looks like it will be fun!

Did you want to order one? I cant get you a 20% off and free shipping. Leave a comment here and I will get it to you!