100 Days of Sizzle Gorton's Seafood Grilled Sweepstakes and Blog Giveaway

Gorton's Seafood 100 Days of Sizzle Grilled Giveaway

Every day between May 31st and September 7th Gorton's Seafood is giving away FREE Gorton's Grilled, and 3 lucky winners will win our Sizzling Beach Bag Grand Prize!

1 Grand Prize Winner Each Month! A custom Gorton's beach bag made from recycled sails by Gloucester's own Second Wind Sails! Each bag comes filled with summer beach essentials - an Amazon Kindle 3G, an Amazon Gift Card, and a Fisherman's Beach Towel ($400 value)!
10 Daily Winners of Gorton's Grilled Seafood! Gorton's will be drawing 10 winners every day for 100 days - each will win a FREE product coupon for 1 Gorton's Grilled Seafood item!



You can enter the Sweepstakes hosted by Gorton's Seafood on their website or on Facebook.

We are huge Gorton's Seafood fans in my house. So far I have gotten my son, my mother in law, my mom and Sam all to try Gorton's Seafood. It delicious! I love the variety they offer. My son loves the fish sticks and I love that they taste so good. My favorite is the Tilapia fish sticks. My mother in law loves the Butterfly Shrimp but I cannot eat those. Sadly I am allergic to shellfish but oh my do they smell soooo good!

For the 100 Days of Sizzle Grilled Giveaway hosted by Gorton's we celebrated by trying some of the Grilled products. Thankfully they make them since our grill is no longer working, not good for the summertime!  We tried the Salmon Classic Grilled fillets. We paired it with Jasmine rice and fresh green beans for a tasty summertime dinner with out having to fire up the grill! On days where its 100 plus degrees no one wants to go stand near hot grill to cook.

Pic from the site but basically what we had just not as picture perfect!

Another great thing about Gorton's is the resealable bags! I love this feature. Since my son usually has his own designated bag of fish sticks it makes it much easier to grab a few toss them in the oven then seal up the bag for next time. One of the recipes we have tried form the Gortons Seafood website is the Fish Sticks Pizza. My son loved it and I used regular sliced bread since I did not have English muffins.


GIVEAWAY on this Blog:


Enter to win 2 FREE Product Coupons by mail. There will be 3 winners!

To Enter This Giveaway:

What is your favorite seafood?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if not in GFC profile*

 

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. 

-Go to http://www.gortons.com and sign up for the e-newsletter +1
-What Gorton’s Seafood recipe is your favorite? +1
-Tell Gorton's Frugal Family Tree sent you with a Facebook Wall comment +2

-Enter the 100 Days of Sizzle Grilled Giveaway +1 

-Like on Gorton's Seafood Facebook +1
-Follow Gorton's Seafood on Twitter +1

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC ( right hand side) +3

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

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

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 30, 2011 and ends on August 11, 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 provide the item in this review for free by the company or PR firm representing them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others

August is National Peach Month

I would consider myself a fruit a holic. I eat it all the time. The summer time always means to me more FRUIT! Of course melons are at the forefront of summer seasonal fruits and some of favorites to eat. But I did not know August is National Peach Month. I have always LOVED peaches! They are so sweet and great to mix with any type of dessert or smoothie. Imagine my surprise that my son hates peaches!

He does not like them in the baby food jars, not fresh and diced or even soft ones from a can. I am hoping its just a phase so we can one day enjoy peach cobbler together! He does love bananas, watermelon, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries and oranges. Thankfully he will eat any veggie I give him too. I was so happy he did not inherit my picky eating habits.

Eating Banana and Kiwi but no peaches.

What is your kids favorite fruit?

Toddler Bedding Express Organic Crib Sheet Review

I love a nice cozy bed for myself so I figure my boys deserve the same. When looking for crib sheets for Baby L's room I wanted something soft, sweet and preferably organic. In my search for great sheets I came across Toddler Bedding Express. They carry a variety of soft breathable organic cotton and muslin sheets for boys or girls. We selected the Jungle Red and Teal sheet for the review.

Baby L in his bed with his Jungle Red and Teal Organic Sheet

Too cute in his bed right? I do have to say that the sheet is very soft and looks breathable and my son is sleeping well on it but the one thing that I would have liked is if it was a deeper fit on the mattress. When I put it on the mattress it seems to come up a bit when I tuck it into the bumper. Overall a good product and we are very happy with our crib sheet :)

Not only did Toddler Bedding Express have sheets that I like but there are many other things we would love to have. They have organic changing table pads, organic cotton mattress pad protectors, organic cotton wash cloths and a very cute Night Owls swaddling blanket.

I like that many of their products are organic. We have been trying to find more organic options that are better for our family and the environment. Here is what the site says about their bedding:

"Our main focus is safe Organic Bedding, Natural health and comfort for your whole family.  All Baby Crib Bedding and Toddler Bedding is Chemical Free and made in the USA.  We are always adding new Natural and Organic Bedding products that meet high standards of quality workmanship and reasonable price.  Satisfaction Guaranteed."




*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free the products mentioned in this post for my review.

TerraCycle Garden Products Review and Giveaway

For our Moms Who Mow event Terra Cycle wanted to share their recycled products that are great for gardening. I love the products from Terra Cycle we even have a back pack made of recycled billboard! The idea of recycling old packaging and stuff to make new things is awesome and so very frugal!

We had the chance to review some of the Gardening products made by TerraCycle for the event. We reviewed the Recycled Plastic Hanging Planter and the StonyField Farms Children's Vegetable Grow Kit.

The Hanging Planter and Veggie Grow Kit

 
My plan was to plant the veggie seeds in the hanging planter so the cats that live near by would not mess with the planter. It worked too! The tomatoes seeds have not yet made a stalk but I know they are on their way.

The planter was easy to set up and hang by our front door. The vegetable grow kit was a fun thing to do with my son. He could only watch but he sat in his outdoor chair and I explained to him what we were doing. He smiled away eating his snacks as he watched me. The grow kit is simple to use. You just tear off pieces of the packaging that contain the seeds in it and plant into the yogurt cups filled with soil and worm compost. How cool is that!

Filled the hanging planter with the packaging that contains seeds.

We planted seeds in the yogurt cups too

I take my son outside to water the plant daily and he smiles as I explain to him that we give it water to make it grow. He says juice sometimes when we use the water which makes me laugh since all liquids other than milk in a bottle are juice to him. I can't wait until we see the plant start to grow and then eat the tomatoes from the plant. I find growing plants that provide food so rewarding.

Hanging by the front door waiting to grow

They also have a really cool Recycled Plastic Hexagonal Picnic table that looks great! Its on my wish list!

GIVEAWAY

Win a Recycled Plastic 8 Inch Pot and a bottle of All Purpose Fertilizer


 To Enter This Giveaway:

What is your favorite plant or flower to grow?

 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if not in GFC profile*

 

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. 

-Like on TerraCycle Facebook +1
-Follow TerraCycle on Twitter +1

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC ( right hand side) +3

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

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

-Vote for us on the Were On the Fence  +2 (left hand side just click it

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 28, 2011 and ends on August 11, 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 provide the item in this review for free by the company or PR firm representing them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others

We Attended the Every Little Bottom Huggies Diaper Drive in Seattle

On Sunday July 24th Nana and I took my sons to the Huggies "Stuff the Bus" 2011 Kick off in West Seattle. Huggies Every Little Bottom promotion teams up to have diaper drives in local areas and we were lucky enough to have one in the Seattle area. Sunday the 24th of July in West Seattle we were able to attend the "Stuff the Bus"event and donate diapers for babies and toddlers in need.

Stuff the Bus in Seattle

I had never attended an event for Huggies before and I have to say that it was really well put together. The volunteers were all so enthusiastic and ready to help unload any donation that you brought. The coolest thing to JJ was that he got to climb up in the bus and honk the horn after making our donation! It is reported that 62 Diaper Drives took place all over King County to support "Stuff the Bus" WOW pretty cool.

JJ with his donation to #ELB

We really enjoyed seeing everyone in action and knowing that the Seattle Area has been so involved in this has really made me proud to be a part of this community.

JJ honking the horn of the bus!

There is always a need for Diapers for Little Bottoms in need so please join us in donating to Huggies. You can see if there is a diaper drive near you to attend here. You can donate your Enjoy the Rides Reward points to help purchase diapers for the cause. You can also start your own Diaper Drive in your local area.

Sacramento Area Moms: IKEA Event for Moms Like Me Back To School Aug 11

ATTENTION Sacramento Area Moms!

Mark your calendars for:

                       

Thursday, August 11 at 6 p.m. for our next Moms Night Out!

The theme is Back to School Organization. The pros at West Sacramento's IKEA will give us great tips on how to start the schoolyear on the right foot with a place for everything and everything in its place!

We'll have treats and prizes! And the event is FREE!

Kids 10 and up are welcome to attend as well!

Sign up now!

Volunteer Opp from Stonyfield for Music Concerts

 

I received an email today from Stonyfield Yogurt that I wanted to share with everyone. These volunteer opportunities are from August through October all over the USA. Here is what the email said:

Love music — and the planet?
You could get a Reverb volunteer spot on one of the Maroon 5 / Train or Honda Civic concert tours.  Our partner Reverb works with the music industry to reduce tours' environmental impact, and volunteers help run greening programs on each tour.

The concert tours run from August into October.  A few lucky Stonyfield fans will be chosen to help out at shows across the country, so visit Reverb to find the closest show and try your luck.  Volunteers receive a t-shirt and show pass but most importantly, the amazing experience of helping out at a great concert event.

Learn more & apply now

Happiness is a Blue Blankie

Snuggling his favorite Blue Blankie!

Before my son was born my Mom (Nana) bought my son the sweetest blue blanket. It says "Thank Heaven for Little Boys" I love this blanket! My son carries it around, hugs it, snuggles it and cannot sleep without it. When I tell him its bed time or time for a nap he grabs his blue blankie and stuffed giraffe. After he wakes up from sleeping we must bring his blankie with him. If we forget to grab it he will run back to his room and point and babble until we get it out for him. Its the sweetest thing ever!

It reminded me of how Linus from Peanuts loves his blankie. When I saw there was a movie called "Happiness is a Warm Blanket" I knew we had to see it. I did not have the chance to review one, so I purchased it with Walmart credit I earned from MyPoints.

The movie was really cute and about how Linus is forced to get rid of his blankie when he is told his Grandma is coming for a visit to take his blue blankie. I won't spoil the ended and tell you what happens to the sweet blue blankie but I will say I won't ever force my little guy to give up his blankie and neither would his Nana!

Does your child have a blankie they love?

Bee Friendly Friday

It is almost Friday and that means its getting closer and closer to my 30th Bday. I have a sense of panic intertwined with happiness. Panic being the greater of the two lol.

I thought Friday would be a great day to meet some new online friends. After all you can never have too many bloggy pals!

Welcome to mine, my sister and moms small part of this big world! We welcome you to be our friend, enter our giveaways and laugh along with us as we share our adventures as we branch out in life.

What did you do with your time before kids?

The other day I sold a smaller memory card I had in my camera on Ebay. I thought oh I better make sure there is nothing on there before I ship this. Sure enough there were pictures from about 3 years ago on it. It was so weird to see the pictures. I told my husband these are before Bubba (our son) was born. We looked at them and thought to our selves what on earth did we do with our time before he was born. The obvious of work and stuff but like our spare time we wondered about, especially now that there is no "spare" time.

Other than the pictures of us on the memory card there were ones of my old hobby nature photography. There were over 50 pics of trees, flowers, clouds and animals. One time when my husbands grandmother came to visit a few years ago she asked if I had any friends since I only had pics of nature. Of course she was messing with me she is a hilarious lady but at the time I thought nothing of it. Now as a mom I realize how much fuller my life is having my sweet guy. I no longer have a zillion pictures of nature but I do now have a gazillion pictures of the greatest little creation of nature in my eyes.

What was a hobby you had before your kids were born? Did you give it up or find a way to incorporate it into your life as a parent?

Ella's Kitchen Organic Fruit Pouches Review and Giveaway

I am a huge fan of fruit in a pouch. It makes it a million times easier to get my son to eat fruit. Often times he thinks its hilarious to throw his bananas, blueberries or orange slices across the kitchen. He claps when he sees them splatter onto the floor. But when I give him Ella's Kitchen pouches he thinks they are something special. He won't throw them at all, heck he won't even let me take it once its empty! I am happy to see him love the flavors since they not only have fruit but they also have veggies in them.

Ella's Kitchen is 100% organic and they taste really great. My son enjoyed all the flavors they sent us.  I knew he would love the Apples and Bananas since anything with banana in it he goes, well bananas for! I was surprised how much he enjoyed the Broccoli, Pears & Peas pouch. Normally he will not eat broccoli but he does love peas so I think the two flavors with the sweetness of the pears made it perfect for him. As a picky eater myself as a kid I love the idea of products like Ella's that hide the veggies in with the sweet fruit. I think any way I can get more veggies especially organic ones for him to eat is wonderful!

Strawberries in this one, most times strawberries end up throw across the room!

 One of the products I did not know Ella's Kitchen made was the Smoothie Fruits. I took a taste too it was hard to resist the flavor combos. My son enjoyed them both I loved the Green One. I am sure these would be great in any diaper bag or lunch box for the new school year. Its easy to eat and so good!

An awesome way to get him to eat broccoli!

There are two more flavors I really want my son to try. The Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin, Blueberries & Apple flavor and the Spinach, Apples & Rutabaga flavor. They sound so tasty I would even like to try them. You can buy Ella's Kitchen products at most Target stores, Babies R Us and Toys R Us.

GIVEAWAY

Win a box with Ella's Kitchen Pouches like the one I received.

 

To Enter This Giveaway: 

What is the fruit or veggie your kids or grandkids will not eat?

 *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. 

-Like on Ella's Kitchen Facebook +1
-Follow Ella's Kitchen on Twitter +1

-Follow Frugal Family Tree on GFC ( right hand side) +3

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1

-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1

-Share this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +2 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

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

-Vote for us on the Were On the Fence  +2 (left hand side just click it)

 

*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts July 19, 2011 and ends on July 31, 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 provide the item in this review for free by the company or PR firm representing them. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others.

Are you near the Sacramento Ca Area? Mel Rapton Honda Kids Day 7/31

If you live near the Sacramento CA area Mel Rapton Honda will be hosting a Day of Play on July 31st from 11am to 3pm. The event will be held at the Mel Rapton Honda location at 3630 Fulton Ave. The event will have bounce houses & slides, face painting, carnival games, balloon animals and more! The mobile Video Game Bus with the PS3, XBOX360 and Wii playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band will be there. Dance performance by Fancy Feet Dance Academy at 11:30 and the Radio Disney Road Crew performs from 12:00 to 1:30. You can also see a fire truck from the Sacramento Metro Fire Department and have your car seat safety check by the CHP. Special prices on BBQ lunches with the proceeds benefiting the Children's Receiving Home of Sacramento. You can also purchase raffle tickets to win River Cats tickets, a bedroom set from Goore's Furniture and more. This will be a fun event for a good cause that all kids are welcome to attend and have fun. You can read more about the event on the Mel Rapton website.

New Flavors Create New Faces

I adore the faces my son makes. He is so comical and you can see every emotion on his face. We have been trying new flavors of food and having fun doing so. Last night we had combo pizza that has red and green bell peppers on it. He made the most annoyed look on his face! He loves the olives but the bell peppers not so much.

 

Ice Cream is his new favorite treat. For a hot summer day its a perfect way to cool off after being at the park. Previously he had only tried Strawberry and Vanilla ice cream and Chocolate was a new flavor for him. I wasn't sure if he was sharing it or trying to give it back to me lol.

When I find a new product he enjoys its awesome! Smiles all around when we recently tried Fruit Simple juice. I liked it too so its a win win!  Although he did make a silly face when we tried Acai Cherry, I was laughing to hard to take a pic of that funny expression. Tart will be something we will save for later for now we will keep his treats sweet just like him!

What foods do your kids eat that  make them have a silly expression?

Movie Review: Rio coming to Blu-Ray & DVD August 2nd

When I first saw the previews for Rio when it was in the theaters I knew we had to see it. The bright colors and music were the hook for me. I could picture my son dancing to the music and when we had the chance to review the movie he danced so much he fell over! Back in May my sister Sam her husband and son JJ went to see Rio in theaters thanks to Chiquita banana you can read about their review here.

I have now watched the Rio DVD close to 20 times! Each time I sing along more and more. It is a sweet movie that has the classic parts of all good movies, excitement, adversity, friendship, love and a happy ending. I LOVE how colorful, vibrant and vivid the movie is, it makes me wanna go to Rio! The characters are great. Its something kids can relate to and adults can too. The line where the Toucan character Rafael says "These kids are giving me gray feathers" when referring to his bird babies made me laugh out loud.

From the opening scene in the rain forest my son began to dance. Everyone knows by now hes a dancing machine and this movie had lots of great music. There is even a dancing game with the characters that kids can play at the Rio the Movie website. The only part of the movie I did not care for was when the mean bird Nigel sang the song about why he is so mean. I know its meant to make everyone not like him since he is the antagonist of the story but some of the words he used I thought were not good for a kids movie.

I liked that Blu (the main character) over comes his fear of flying to save someone he loves. We all have fears in life that make us feel like we cannot do what we are meant to do and when we overcome them a world of possibilities opens up. I thought it was a great lesson for kids to learn.

Watching Rio on DVD

The other day my son was watching Rio and fell asleep. After I put him in his crib I left the movie on so I could finish watching it while I blogged. I knew then it must be a great movie since most of the movies he watches I will turn off if he falls asleep or goes in his room to play. He can even say "Bird" when he watches it. So cute!

He loves Rio so much he can't even take his eyes off the screen to drink his juice!

Rio Activity Sheet

Movie Summary:
"As summer heats up, spread your wings and celebrate with the funniest birds in town! The all-new comedy-adventure RIO comes to Blu-ray and DVD from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. RIO brings together vivid characters and colorful backdrops amidst energizing Latin and contemporary tunes, creating the ultimate family-friendly music and dance experience for audiences of all ages. In addition to more than one hour of special bonus features and materials, consumers will have access to all-new exclusive levels of the smash video game hit Angry Birds Rio® that showcase your favorite characters from the film!

Captured as a young bird from the wild, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network) is a domesticated Spix Macaw living thousands of miles away from his homeland, Brazil. When his human owner Linda (Leslie Mann, 17 Again) discovers that he is the last male of his kind, they head south to Rio de Janeiro to meet the only other female. But it's far from love at first sight between the socially-awkward, flight-challenged Blu and the fiercely independent, high-flying female, Jewel (Anne Hathaway, The Princess Diaries). Shortly after Blu's arrival, the two rare birds are captured by greedy animal smugglers and find themselves lost in the Brazilian rainforest. Unexpectedly thrown together, they embark on a hilarious and clumsy adventure where they learn about friendship, love, courage and spreading one's wings to fly."

The Bonus DVD was full of fun activities for the whole family. We played a fact game that shared info about Rio and of course there was music and dancing. You can get the DVD and bonus material when you buy the 2 disc DVD set. There is also a Party 3 disc set available on August 2, 2011.

 

*I was not paid or compensated for this post. The opinions in this post are 100% mine and may vary from other opinions. I was provided for free a copy of the Rio DVD  for my review.