StrongMoms® Empowment #StrongMomsEmpower

#StrongMomsEmpower  
It is such a challenge to be a mom today. Working, staying at home, juggling it all either way you do it.  We all have a different story, but it is the same story.  We try our best to make the decisions we hope work the best for our family.  There are a million judges out there all waiting to tell us we are wrong, we are not smart enough, we don't know the right thing to do.

I say you do what you think is right for your family and you.  For me, this means squeezing in 3-4 times a week at night and Saturday monring at the gym in between work and family. My hubby squeezes in his Ultimate Frisbee games/practices in season as well and maybe a gym day or two. Does my child do a few less activities than some of the other kids? Sure. Are we happier and healthier as a family?  Yes 200%. Do I feel guilty sometimes?  Sure. Do we eat at McDonalds and Burger King?  Never. Do we cook healthy meals almost 7 nights a week from scratch?  Absolutely.  Do I buy organic meat, veggies, fruits, wild salmon and tuna and canned items that are organic BPA free whenever possible?  Definitely. Everyone chooses what feels good to you.  It is weird to some parents but it makes us happy and I hope will help us live longer and healthier lives.  

Check out some of these parenting stories like this one "Dear Mom on the iPhone" and  tell me what you think. Lord it is hard to be a parent today.


Don't forget to go to  strongmomsempower.com and take the pledge yourself to do the best you can and make your own best choices.  

Disclosure: I am participating in a blog campaign with One2One Network. I have not received any payment. All opinions are my own.

Healthy Homemade Mini Meatballs

I decided to cook up a big batch of healthy meatballs this weekend. I always like to make a big tray and freeze the extras in smaller batches for busy weeknight meals.  We have two meat eaters and one vegetarian so this makes my life easier.  We all thought this recipe turned out super delicious--one of my best ever creations. Let me know what your think!

 Yummy Healthy Homemade Mini Meatballs

1 lb organic ground beef or turkey or chicken (dealers choice!)
1/2 cup Baby or regular carrots chopped up finely (food process is easiest)
1/2 cup fresh parsley bunch chopped finely
1 small to medium sweet or Vidalia type onion chopped finely
Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese grated  or chopped 1/2 cup
1/3 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup ground oat bran
1/3 cup Panko
2 eggs or eggbeaters
1 tsp dried oregano or more to taste
1 tsp dried basil or more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste


*(If you like you can throw the carrots, parsley, cheese, onion and flax seed all in the food processor together for speediness!)

Mix all ingredients together (clean hands do it the fastest!) if too dry add a bit more chopped vegetables if too mushy add more Panko. Form into one inch balls by rolling with hands.

 Put them on a big tray. I like to use parchment paper underneath to make cleanup easier. I  bake my meatballs first, rotating them on the pan halfway through cooking. After I place them in my sauce and cook them for a few more minutes to flavor the sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees rotating after 15 minutes.

Add them to your choice of homemade or jarred sauce and enjoy with spaghetti or on a grinder roll.  Enjoy!!

Combat Ant Killing Bait Strips Giveaway and $1,000 Sweepstakes Opportunity

 

Well, it is the spring. Lordy knows I do love the warmer weather.  Unfortunately, so do the ants. They seem to spring right up as soon as the warm weather hits. Yucky, yucky, yucky.  I don't like ants in my home.   I dread setting up all those obvious ant houses to get rid of them though.  I was so happy to receive something new from Combat this week through my relationship with Purex Insiders.  Combat Ant & Roach Killing Bait Strips look totally discreet but still are very effective in killing ants. Yay!!! No giant white ant houses.

Combat Killing Baits Strips are super easy to use....and discreet.  Combat gets it.  You just stick the small little strip in the area where the ants are..then the ants find and eat the bait strips. They carry the bait back to the colony and expose the insecticide to the rest of the ants.   It gets the whole colony destroyed.  Perfect. 

You can buy Combat Killing Baits Strips at all major stores including Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and ShopRite.  There are 5 to a package. 

COMBAT GIVEAWAY

Combat® Ant & Roach Killing Bait Strips also just launched a $1,000 Giveaway featuring NEW Combat® Ant & Roach Killing Bait Strips!  You can enter to win up to $1,000!

Don't forget to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway to win your own Combat Killing Baits Strips for Ants below!a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: I received a free sample of Combat Ant Killing Baits Strips in order to review them. As always, my opinions are my own.

Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care Giveaway, Sweeps & Review #4-in-1ToiletCare

Maybe you are ofa very different mind than Glamamama so I don't know but I really hate cleaning toilets.  It is just so yucky.  On the other hand, I am a really clean person so I do it more than I like.  There are a million toilet cleaners but most of them involve work on my part. I really do love any kind of product that makes things easier for this busy, working mama though and that goes double for any kind of cleaning products. C'mon, that's right, make it easy for me. I will be polite and say a huge "thank you" too. Soft Scrub recently launched a great new product called Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care.  I love it because Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care does it all and saves me time.  Minimal work involved with the toilet care.  Who isn't always looking for a good toilet bowl cleaner?  Well, here it is.  Take a peek:

• Cleans Toilets
• Prevents Future Buildup
• Fights Toilet Ring
• Freshens up to 4 weeks

Check out the package here. It comes in two different scents for your personal needs. 

• Alpine fresh with bleach

• Sapphire waters without bleach

I don't know but toilet bowl rings are so gross to me. Who wants to look in the toilet and see some yucky toilet bowl stain?  Not me sister!  Whatever I can do the prevent toilet ring...I will do it. I don't like to clean the toilet but I really like a clean toilet bowl.  See how easy it is with NEW Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Cleaner and let me know.  You can connect up with Soft Scrub on Twitter.

You can win big in the Soft Scrub 4-in1 Brighter Bowl Sweepstakes too by going here.  Sweepstakes grand prize is $1,000 plus 250 additional winners get a free coupon.

You can win a coupon for FREE Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care through my Rafflecopter giveaway below and see for yourself. U.S.A only. a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer:  I received a free sample of Soft Scrub 4-in-1 Toilet Care as a member of the Purex Insiders Program in order to evaluate it for myself. As always, all opinions are my own.