How I Deal With Kid's Sensitive Skin at Laundry Time

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FreeToBe #CollectiveBias

When you have kids, you can expect that doing their laundry will become a big part of your life. While I was raising my five children, it seemed that the piles of dirty clothes never ended, and as soon as one load was done, at least three or four more were still waiting to be put into the machine.

But one thing I was grateful for was that my kids never had any skin sensitivities or allergic reactions to the laundry detergents I used for washing their clothes.

Unfortunately, my three grandchildren are not as lucky. They all have extra sensitive skin, and can break out in rashes, or have a flare-up of mild eczema. So we have to be extra careful about the laundry products we buy and use for all of them.

That's why we choose to use all® free clear detergent, which is the #1 detergent recommended by Dermatologists, Allergists, and Pediatricians for Sensitive Skin.

And all® free clear detergent was awarded the Seal of Acceptance by the National Eczema Association for having no dyes, perfumes, certain chemicals, and irritating residues, which helps give us peace of mind when using it on the kid's clothes.



When my oldest grandson Jayden was a baby, he had severe skin rashes that were really terrible, and he was diagnosed with eczema. It's gotten a lot better as he's gotten older, thank goodness. My other two grandchildren Liam, and Ashley have the rashes as well.

So staying with all® free clear detergent is the best course of action to keep these guys feeling their best, and free of painful skin problems.

They are really loving their summer vacation so far, and it's really wonderful to see them having fun with each other. We've been to the beach, gone to concerts in the park, had lots of play dates, and had fun at the water park.

It's a real relief to see them happy and able to enjoy themselves outside because I remember how much pain my grandson Jayden was in because of his skin issues. It feels good knowing that we are doing all we can to protect them with a product we trust.

As important as it is to use a detergent with the kid's sensitive skin issues in mind, I also want a detergent that is going to get our clothes clean.

These kiddos know how to get their clothes dirty, and grass and food stains are a common occurrence at our house. I love clean laundry, so I really like how all® free clear detergent fights tough stains, whitens whites, and brightens colors.

I'm a big fan of liquid detergent and so that's what I use, but when I saw the all® free clear mighty pacs®, I decided to give them a try. They really are so easy to use, and a great back-up when I find myself low on the all® free clear liquid and don't have time to go to the store.

Since our summer weather doesn't always cooperate when we want it to, the kids and I enjoy doing things like making our own play dough when we have to stay inside for the day.

My daughter and I have always bought the kids lots of play dough, but they seem to like the homemade kind the best. This recipe is simple and very inexpensive to make. My granddaughter Ashley is four, and loves to help cook and bake, so she's always eager to help make this.

Recipe for Homemade Play Dough

Ingredients:

1 cup cold water
1 cup salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
food coloring
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons corn starch


Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the water, salt, oil, and 6-8 drops of food coloring. Gradually add in the flour and corn starch and mix with a spoon.

At this point, the mixture may need you to pick it and knead it with your hands until it resembles bread dough. It's ready to be played with. Store in an air tight container.

If you or someone you love has sensitive skin or allergies, then you'll be glad to know that washing with all® free clear helps remove three of the top everyday allergens, dust mite matter, cat and dog dander, as well as certain fragrances. It also removes 99% of everyday and seasonal allergens.

(Disclaimer - including cat and dog dander, dust mite matter, ragweed, grass, and tree pollen. all® free clear is not intended to treat or prevent allergies)

I shopped at Target and picked up all® free clear liquid detergent and all® free clear mighty pacs®. I was super excited to find them both on sale in the laundry detergent aisle.

Do you or your loved ones suffer from sensitive skin? Have you tried all® free clear liquid detergent?

Please let me know how you like it if you've tried it. And be sure to join in on the conversation with the all® free clear community and connecting with parents and caregivers just like you!


-Post written by Patricia  

Enter The Oroweat® Bread 2016 America's Better Sandwich Contest and A Giveaway

The coupons for product redemption, information, and gift card have been provided by Oroweat® Bread for this post. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Oroweat® Bread. #Ad

 My family and I love sandwiches, and I bet I made thousands of them while my five kids were growing up. Whether for lunch or dinner, everyone enjoys a great tasting sandwich, and egg salad is definitely a favorite in my house.

Of course what you put inside the sandwich is important, but so is the bread. For me, the bread has to be fresh and delicious. That's why Oroweat® Bread has been a staple in my house for decades. I can count on Oroweat® to be great tasting, offer plenty of variety to choose from, and nutritious.

Now that I'm a grandmother of four fabulous grandchildren, I find I'm still making sandwiches for this next generation. We do have a couple of picky eaters, but luckily they all love sandwiches and it's a simple thing to make them whenever we get hungry.

For these egg salad sandwiches, I used the Oroweat® Honey Wheat Bread. It's actually a delicious bread that I also use for toast and French toast, and it has a tang of sweetness to it because of the honey in it.

Since what we eat becomes more and more important to me, I feel good about choosing a bread that meets what I feel is a standard of quality. And I like that there are so many kinds to choose from, each with the goodness and great taste that I've come to expect.

Oroweat® Whole Grains Sliced Breads and Oroweat® Sandwich Thin Rolls contain 2 to 5 grams of fiber per slice or thin, have zero grams of trans fat, and are cholesterol free. They also contain no high fructose corn syrup, something which we always try to avoid.

Making these egg salad sandwiches are super easy, and even the kids will eat them with the tomatoes and spinach. I always offer veggies whenever possible to my grandkids, and try to set a good example by eating them myself. And it often works!

Here's how I make my version of egg salad sandwiches. Feel free to add or subtract the chopped pickles if you like. This recipe will make 6 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

1 dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled
1 cup mayonnaise ( or add or subtract amount to your liking)
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 sweet pickles, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tomatoes, sliced
spinach
12 slices Oroweat® Honey Wheat Bread

Mash the peeled eggs in a medium bowl. Add mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, and salt to eggs. Mix together well. Layer the tomatoes and spinach on one side of the bread.
Spread the egg salad on the other piece of bread and put together.

Oroweat® Bread is hosting their 2016 America's Better Sandwich Contest and you can enter to win a $5,000 prize.

This year's contest includes 5 exciting sandwich categories including, Open Faced Artistry, Breakfast In Bed, Creative Classics, Fueling Good, and State Favorites.

The recipe in each sandwich category with the highest score will receive a $5000 category prize.

Before entering an original better sandwich, entrants should make sure their recipes include any of the Oroweat® Sliced Breads, including any of the Oroweat® Sandwich Thins® Rolls varieties.

Entries will be accepted June 15^th - August 21^st, online consumer voting will take place September 26^th - October 23^rd, and the winners will be announced on National Sandwich Day- November 3^rd.

For more information on the Oroweat® Bread 2016 America's Better Sandwich Contest go here.

Frugal Family Tree is hosing a giveaway which includes the following:

-Six coupons, each valid for $5.00 off the purchase of any Oroweat® Whole Grain Sliced Bread of choice.

-Six coupons, each valid for $4.00 off the purchase of any Oroweat® Sandwich Thins® Rolls of choice.

-$25 Visa Gift Card to use towards ingredients for your favorite sandwiches.

Frugal Family Tree is responsible for this giveaway and Oroweat® Bread will provide the prize to one winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you a sandwich lover like me? Leave me a comment below and let me know what your favorite kind of sandwich is, I'd love to know!!

*Giveaway limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 21, 2016 and ends on July 27, 2016 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 24 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

Enjoy A Delicious Cup Of Morning Coffee With International Delight Simply Pure Coffee Creamer

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #IDSimplyPure #CollectiveBias

I'm definitely a morning person, and so glad I am. I love getting an early start to my day and feeling like I have plenty of time to accomplish what I need to do, and enjoy a little quiet time for myself before the rest of my family wakes up.

I start every morning with a big cup of coffee. I honestly feel like my brain can't function without that first cup. For years I used milk and sugar in my coffee, which was totally fine. But kind of boring.

I'm happy to say that now I get to enjoy a really great tasting cup of coffee because I recently found International Delight Simply Pure Coffee Creamers.

They come in three delicious flavors, Vanilla, Caramel, and Hazelnut. Simply Pure is the perfect everyday creamer, and made with only 5 simple ingredients.

Besides my coffee, another thing that is important to me in the early morning is to look at my vision board. A lot of my friends and family keep saying that they would like to make one, but just never get around to it. I feel like it's definitely worth the time to make one because mine have inspired me to work hard to make my dreams become reality.

I love making vision boards for whatever you want to have happen in your life, whether it's a new job, a new home, or even something like being more in touch with your own feelings.

When I'm fully awake and onto my second cup of coffee, I usually have a little something to eat, sometimes fruit or toast, or even a slice of one of my favorite coffee cakes that I like baking.

Since everyone in my family are coffee lovers, I bought all three flavors of Simply Pure Coffee Creamers at Walmart. Honestly, all of the flavors are yummy, but the Caramel just might be my favorite.

I like that when you use Simply Pure, you don't have to use extra creamer to get great flavor in your coffee. And it's made with real milk, cream, and sugar. Yum!

Have you ever made a vision board? It's super easy, and fun to do.

Start out with some of your favorite magazines, they can be old or new. I like to go to my local library to buy them for only a quarter. The magazines can be of general interest, or more of a theme, like mine are.

Since what I would love to have is a new home, I picked out decorating magazines to cut out pictures and words that have meaning for me.

You just need magazines, a poster board, a glue stick, and scissors. And the ability to let your imagination come out and play.

Just start out cutting pictures that you like or that appeal to you. I had fun finding pictures of pretty rooms and houses. And words like Cottage, Vintage, and Family really spoke to me.

When you have found enough pictures and words, start arranging them on the poster in whatever way looks most appealing to you.

Now glue everything down. Don't worry if things are a little messy, or it's not perfect. Your vision board is only for you, to inspire you and help you dream your dreams.

This is my finished vision board. I was a little surprised that I picked out the picture of the yellow kitchen cabinets because I really thought I only liked white cabinets.

And my board is a little more country-like that I thought it would be. I must like informal country decorating more than I thought. And that's one of the great things about doing a vision board is to bring out your inner thoughts and desires that you normally might not pay much attention to.

If you're like me and love a delicious tasting cup of coffee to get your morning started, Simply Pure Coffee Creamers are for you.

And they're great too for that afternoon cup of coffee that can give a real pickup when the day is long and tiring. For me, coffee is something I always welcome no matter what time of day it is.

Be sure to look for all three flavors of International Delight Simply Pure Coffee Creamers at your local Walmart in the dairy section.

You can also find more Simply Pure inspiration by going here.

Have you ever created a vision board? What would you make your theme or idea for it be? I'd really love to know, so leave me a comment please.


-Post written by Patricia

Birthday Celebration and Recipe For Birthday Cake

It was my birthday at the end of June, and I had a great day celebrating with my family. We had a delicious barbeque dinner out on the deck, and then enjoyed this three-layer yellow cake with classic buttercream frosting.

My granddaughter Ashley and I made my birthday cake. Maybe it's odd to make your own cake, but since I love baking, it was the perfect opportunity to try out a recipe I've been wanting to make for awhile now.

The recipe comes from the cookbook Homemade Decadence, by blogger Joy The Baker. It's perfect for a birthday cake, and I've never baked a cake that got more compliments.

It's just so moist and delicious, and has a tender, buttery flavor. And the buttercream frosting, which I tinted pink, is pure heaven.

It's hard to get a picture with these little monkeys where everyone is smiling, and looking at the camera at the same time. They were being silly, and I loved it, of course.

One of the things I am more and more grateful for as each birthday passes is my children and grandchildren. I love being a mom and grandmother, and my family is at the center of my world.



I almost didn't put the sprinkles on the cake but it was a unanimous vote by the grandkids that they go on, and that they put them on themselves!!

They did a great job, and I love how the cake turned out. Since it was three layers, the cake was big enough that we had some leftover, and I ate a big piece for breakfast the next morning. It's my birthday so I had fun indulging myself, yum!!

This cake really is the perfect birthday cake, and whoever is lucky enough to have one baked for them will be extremely happy.

Recipe for Basic Three-Layer Yellow Cake from Homemade Decadence

Ingredients:

For cake:

4 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2 cups buttermilk

For buttercream frosting:

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 to 6 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

About 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Put oven racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9-inch round baking pans.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition.

Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add half of the flour mixture, and beat well. Add the buttermilk in a slow stream and beat well. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

4. Bake until golden brown on top and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 20 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

5. If you're not using right away, double-wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 7 days. When ready to frost, remove from the freezer, unwrap, and frost frozen.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, the salt, and the vanilla. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated. Add another 2 cups sugar and the cream. Add remaining 2 cups of sugar as needed to thicken the frosting. Beat on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Frost and put together layers of cake, sprinkle with colored sprinkles if desired.

Makes one 3-layer 9-inch cake.

-Post written by Patricia 

Mushroom and Tomato Pasta with European Olive Oil #MomsMeet

 *I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own.

I have always loved using EVOO in my cooking. It adds flavor in a way that compares to no other type of oils or butters. I feel like its a must when I make Italian inspired dinners too, it goes together in my book. Trying different olive oils in my recipes leads to new flavor combos and new favorites. Depending on the region and variety of the olives it changes the whole experience of the olive oil. When I had the opportunity to try European Olive Oil from Moms Meet I was happy to try it on one of my simply go to pasta dishes.

In the summer it can get very hot here in Northern CA and I like to make light dinners on those days. I like to use veggies I have in the fridge or ones I have freshly picked to saute in olive oil and toss with pasta. Its an easy meal and can be served with some good bread and savory cheeses.

My recipe is very simple. Chop up any veggies you enjoy, add European Olive Oil, saute until veggies are soft. Add cooked pasta to veggies and toss with a little EVOO, serve and enjoy.

Why choose European Olive Oil?

• The olive tree has been revered in Europe since Antiquity. Over thousands of years farmers have evolved hundreds of varieties of olive trees (cultivars) and optimized them for different environment conditions and terrains to produce the most delicious yields.
• The result of this centuries old bond between the people and the land is the finest extra virgin olive in the world.
• The greatest impact on taste is the type of olive tree (cultivar), region (which affects climate and soil) and time of harvest. Europe offers a vast array of flavor profiles, so keep a variety of oils in your pantry for different occasions.
• Olives harvested early in the season, late August (varies by region), are under-ripe and produce oils that are greener, more bitter and pungent.
• Olives harvested at the end of the season, late November into December, are over-ripe and tend to taste mild and buttery.
• Spanish oil is typically golden yellow with a fruity, nutty flavor.
• Italian olive oil is often dark green and has an herbal aroma and a grassy flavor.
• Greek olive oil packs a strong flavor and aroma and tends to be green.
• French oil is typically pale in color and has a mild flavor

If you are looking for recipe ideas for your cooking you can check out the twitter and facebook of the Flavor Your Life campaign,


-Post by Laura