Barbies vs Action Figures

Being the Mother of 2 boys is sometimes a challenge when it comes to playing "guys" or action figures. I have brothers, but I also have sisters and we grew up playing barbies and dolls and house and anything else that was super girlie. Don't get me wrong we could hang with the boys, but we really loved our barbies. We played night and day and had hundreds of story lines. That was then and this in now. Now I have sons and no daughters, I am not complaining, I am just saying. :) I find it hard to relate to the way boys play with their action figures. There is no dialog (not anything we ever heard our barbies say) and all the action figures do is fight. I find myself playing with JJ and asking him if he wants to go the store or the park or dinner or something to get a story going. I look over at my husband as if to ask him if I am playing right, looking for some sort of reassurance. Most of the time I get a lowering of the head and a head nod of no try again. Darn it! In case I think my husband might be wrong, JJ lets me know that they don't want to do any of that, they just want to FIGHT.
Oh dear, I should have paid more attention to my brothers playing style and studied it hard when we were kids. It would really help with the current male to female ratio around our house.

Sports Fan Care Package by Gourmet Gift Baskets Review and Giveaway

When the Sports Fan package arrived at our house there were a few wows and yummy being shouted as we went through the box. I divided up the goodies between a pile of "thats mine" and anyone can have it. Well my pile was huge lol.

Some of my favorite treats were in the box including Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, David Sunflower Seeds, and TGIF Potato Skins. My little guy had some of the Rice Crispy Treat, Welch's Fruit Snacks and Famous Amos Cookies (dont worry not all in one day and in very tiny pieces!)  My husband loves nuts and pretzels so those were his.

We had some of our snacks while we watched Golf a the last 2 weekends. My son claps when the gallery does and that makes me laugh so much! Nothing like a nice day hanging out with my two favorite boys, watching my favorite sport and enjoying my favorite snacks!

I loved the idea of a "Care Package" type of gift. Some people want the goodies and say forget the basket lol, such as my husband and probably most men! Gourmet Gift Baskets has many awesome Care Packages. There are ones for kids that have games, arts and crafts, and summer camp. What kid would not be the cool kid and feel so special to get a box of treats at camp! The Exam Cram would be great for college students, even if your kid lives at home with you. Order it then let them know they have mail. They will adore you and have the snacks it takes to charge up for a study session. Of course there are healthier Care Packs too! Overall I think this is a really great idea to send goodies and fun stuff to someone you care about!

I might be a big kid but I still get excited to see the prize in Cracker Jack boxes!

I thought it would be a great idea to send a care pack to a family or friends house if you plan on going on a vacation or stay with them. They will get some goodies to share with everyone just as you arrive! Or if it is allowed for the place you are going to vacation at like a hotel mail a pack to yourself and your family can pack more essentials in your suitcases. No more paying for snacks and toys to be in your luggage with all those bag fees! Plus snacks at a vending machines or hotel lobby store can be expensive!

I would to have any of the gift baskets at Gourmet Gift Baskets as a gift.

The Handi-Snack Pack made me smile, I loved those as a kid!

GIVEAWAY:

Gourmet Gift Baskets has generously offered one of our lucky readers the chance to win a Sports Fan Care Package.

To Enter This Giveaway:

Mandatory entry is to Like Gourmet Gift Baskets on Facebook.

 *Leave a comment telling me your a facebook fan 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   

-Follow Gourmet Gift Baskets on Twitter +2
-Visit Gourmet Gift Baskets website and post on their facebook wall your favorite basket +3

-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 5, 2011 and ends on May 15, 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 car package mentioned in this post for this review. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.

The Best of Clean Eating Book Review

The Best Of Clean Eating, Improving Your Life One Meal at a Time
From The Editors Of Clean Eating Magazine

This book's recipes come from the popular magazine Clean Eating. The editors of the magazine have put together a wonderful book that can help inspire us all to eat healthier and smarter. The large and beautiful color pictures are a feast in themselves. Bold, bright, and mouth watering, one feels like rushing into the kitchen to start cooking. There are ten chapters in the book, each based on a different topic such as Quick and Easy Meals, Five Ingredient Meals, Seasonal Foods, and Summer Barbecue. The recipes are healthy, delicious and creative. Clean eating isn't about depriving yourself of the foods you love, it's about finding a way to make those foods better and healthier for you.

Chapter Eight is all about delicious and low-fat desserts. Who can resist orange chocolate ricotta cheesecake or almond butter chocolate chip cookies? There is also a lot of nutritional information and great tips throughout the book. Four weeks of meal plans and shopping lists are included to make your cooking life easier and more organized. I highly recommend this book to every cook out there. It really does make eating healthier and better a real joy. Good food brings together family and friends to enjoy it. This is a great book filled with recipes that will inspire you to do just that.

If you would like to purchase a copy of The Best of Clean Eating you can find it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble stores.

Speed Cleaning

Yesterday I felt lazy! I did not clean the day before and had a mile long to do list! I was going to work on it but thought I better catch up on blogging. A knock at the door, I thought Yippy one of y reviews is being delivered. I was wrong lol it was my father in law who lives in a different state on a surprise visit. This has happened before, last year the day before my first Mother's Day! I was somewhat mad and sad that it happened and this time I thought, well at least its not Mother's Day just yet.
To make along story short I have never cleaned the whole house, bathed and dress the baby then jump in the shower myself so fast in my life! Thankfully the house is now spotless and they stayed in a hotel for the night!

Do you have a Speed Cleaning story?

Thanks for welcoming all of us to the Frugal Family Tree!

A few weeks Liz introduced me (Sam) and our Mom (Nana) to everyone. We have really been jumping up and down over being involved in the Frugal Family Tree, after all as a family we love to do everything together! There is a special relationship between a Mother and her Daughter(s) and we are happy to share that here, with you. Thanks for the warm welcome :)

Like Liz said, I am a new SAHM with 2 little boys. You may remember my post about leaving the work force? Well I am now 3 months out and loving every minute of it (well that is a lie somedays are just rough) but we make it to then next. JJ is 4 years old and full of personality. You will see me telling a lot of stories about him or what he says because boy oh boy does he crack me up! Baby L is 9 months old now and starting to get quite a fiesty personality, I think that is pretty common in the second child. He wants to do everything that JJ does and just as well, it is a daily battle I tell you. Baby L can stand his own though, we are sure that one day he will be beating up his big brother. :)

Liz and I are about 2 years apart, I am the big sister and it showed growing up. I was bossy and mean and if there was only one of something left, it was mine. I am not proud of that but it was just the way it was. Little sisters always get the raw end of the deal right? Liz has a great memory and remembers way more about our childhood then I do so I can just imagine the stories she has! As time goes on we will share those memories and stories, good and bad.

Well now that we are older and are mothers, we get along great and I think that Liz has forgiven me for most of it (I hope). We are learning together what it is like to have to worry constantly about another human being, that life is hard but if you have a sister or a best friend to talk to and share things with it is a whole lot easier. Liz and are a lot alike in our parenting skills but our personalities couldn't be any more different. I am more of a "shoot straight from the hip" kind of gal and she is more reserved. I tend to talk a lot and Liz is a great listener. She is sweet and I can be sour or the reverse if the situation calls for it :) We can be pretty tough cookies when we have to be! When it comes to socializing we are also pretty alike. We both love talking and getting to know new people! We grew up in such a large family that we always had someone to talk to or someone to play with. We also moved around a lot so making new friends was also a must.

We have a great Mother that only wanted and wants the best for us, she was and is the best role model and Mother that a gal could ask for. Our boys call her Nana and she is the best! She has always promoted reading to all of her children (there are 5 of us you know) and it is carrying on to her grandsons. She is very proud of that and we love her for it :)

The 3 of us together are a great team. We enjoy eachothers company, we laugh, we talk and we really are enjoying this experience that Blogging has offered us. What a way to grow and learn about eachother, we are very lucky. Thanks for reading and we look forward to growing relationships with all of you!!