Erin Condren {Giveaway} Winner!

I've been a little under the weather so sorry to keep you in suspense today!

The winner of the $50 Erin Condren Gift Certificate, populated from Random.org is:

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Congratulations to comment #7: lrouser06 said...

I posted on FB :) Hope you get good turn out for your giveaway Kel!

March 25, 2011 12:11 AM

Make sure you let us know what goodies you get with your gift certificate!

Thank you to all who participated and I hope to have another giveaway here soon!

Cheers,

Erin Condren {Giveaway}

I was going to wait until Friday for this giveaway, but so many of you seemed to fall in love with Erin Condren's work as much as I did, that I couldn't wait!

So here's what's up for grabs!

Today's giveaway is a $50 gift certificate so you can load up on some AWESOME Erin Condren goodies for yourself!

Entering is super easy...each step below will give you a chance to enter (each step is NOT mandatory, but will give you an extra chance to enter and win)!

1. Become a fan of Picking Lemons on Facebook by clicking here and "liking" us. If you're a new fan, be sure to say HI on my Facebook wall. Then come back here and let us know you did or already are by leaving a comment below.

2. Subscribe to Picking Lemons feeds by clicking here or click the subscribe button by scrolling up. Then come back here and let us know you did or already are by leaving a comment below.

 

3. If you post this giveaway on your Facebook page you may go ahead and post 2 extra entries. (Just copy the address bar and paste it as your status). Then come back and leave your blog or Facebook link in the comment selection below.

 

Each comment will count as an entry so you could have up to 4 chances to win! 

A winner will be randomly selected by Random.org at 11:59pm on March 25th. Your entry is your comment(s) left here. Be sure to leave your e-mail address with your comment so you can be reached if you are selected. Winner will be announced here on Monday March 28th! Good Luck!

Cheers,

A Girl and Her Planner

Oh my gosh...I was like like a little kid on Christmas morning when my order from Erin Condren arrived in the mail! Like I've said before, I love, love, love lists! I basically love anything that keeps me organized, in order, and sane! I was like a kid in a candy store when I came across Erin Condren's website and wanted to buy EVERYTHING! Her personalized and unique designs are a great way to stay organized and be unique all at the same time. You know we love pulling double duty around here!
I could hardly wait long enough to grab my camera before I broke into the box.

I seriously felt like I was opening a present!!  Soooo excited!

 I felt so special when I opened it up!

 YAY!!! How cute did my 2011 Life Planner & matching Personalized Note Pads turn out?!

This is the first page of the planner...so motivational!

 Love these!

These are included with the Life Planner...this is my new go-to gift wrapping solution!

 Here is one of the notepads on the back page...they have a sticky backing so they stick right on and come right off once finished (this is where my grocery lists go)!

 Love, love, love surprises!

Soooo cute and they have my name on it!!!!

I feel so organized and I love sitting down on Sunday afternoons to plan the upcoming week! There is a spot for everything! This has now eliminated my many, many, many different calendars I used to have! Even better news, Erin is offering 35% off all her 2011 Life Planners! Go here and take advantage and get organized! As an extra bonus, Erin has included 10% off your entire order by using offer code: 2011OFF...this code is good forever and is a one time use per customer! You know I love a good a deal...this is a GREAT deal...and it's so pretty!

Cheers,

Double Duty Celebration

Who doesn't love a party?! I love any opportunity to throw a party, get together, dinner, or anything to fill up a room with friends and family! This past weekend I had 2 reasons to pull together a little party; the hubs turning 29 and my brother's playoff hockey game! Since we couldn't travel to Massachusetts for the game we had a dual party for the hubs and watched little bro's hockey game.  So yes, we even had a party for some one that wasn't there...I told ya...ANY reason!

I decided to keep it simple and I ordered take out from our favorite BBQ joint, cake, balloons, drinks, and hockey! And with that, this is what you get:

They spelled Philip's name wrong, but it still tasted good!

 Ready to cheer on his uncle!

 Balloons just make everything fun!

 Happy Birthday to you...

 She gets so embarrassed when it comes time to sing

 Gotta love the blue frosting!

 Hockey balloons on one side, party balloons on the other, whole lotta good times in between!

I try to look at each party or get together as one way to make memories, and make something as simple as watching a game something to remember! What a fun way to celebrate and support the family you love!

Cheers,

What's For Dinner?

Wow! What a week it has been! Even though the week seemed to fly by without taking into consideration if I was OK with that, I still managed to to try out some new recipes from here, zoo field trip, pilates, played some fun tricks for St. Patty's, had some adult time for St. Patty's, celebrated my brother's birthday, found out I can't hang like I used to, took in a movie (On Demand counts), and many other things that some how managed to get accomplished in a busy week!

In preparation for what I'm sure will be JUST as busy of a week I've put together a week's worth of great meal ideas to help function through the chaos! This week I tried to find some recipes that reused a lot of the same ingredients to keep the grocery list to a minimum. I try to do chicken 1-2/week, a pasta, a beef, and definitely a slow cooker on our busiest night! I also try and make the meals that require a little bit more time when I have a little bit more time, and the quicker ones on our busier days. I'm still loving Real Simple's website and finding so many great recipes without feeling like we're repeating the same meal. Hope you and your family enjoys them as much as ours is!

Monday: Chicken Cutlets with Smashed Potatoes and Peas

Tuesday: Smoked Sausage with Green Bean Pasta Salad
I picked up a few packs of smoked sausage when it was on sale and ended up paying .55 for each pack! This is a great, easy go to dinner when time is short!

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken with Biscuits

Thursday: Grilled Steak Salad
Now my family won't eat half of the ingredients in this recipe, but no sweat, just switch out what veggies your fam will enjoy, toss with your fav vinaigrette, and VOILA dinner is served!

Friday: Multigrain Mac & Cheese
It's supposed to be back down in the 30s this week, so comfort food it is! It's OK, I sub out the whole milk with 2%, add a touch more flour, and no one is the wiser!

I foresee quite a few of these making it to my permanent go-to meal list! I love it when shopping, preparation, and preparing dinner is simple and easy. It makes getting the family to the table the priority so you'll actually have the time and energy to spend on what's really important!

Cheers,

What's For Dinner?!

Do you sometimes feel that your little munchkins could eat all day long if you'd let them? Or that the minute they're done with lunch they start asking, "What's for dinner?!" Boy sometimes I really dread that question, especially when it's 3:00 and I haven't even thought about dinner! I've started doing things a little bit different to help erase that fear and keep the week moving along as smoothly as it can.

I've begun every Sunday morning by sneaking out before the kiddos wake up, stopping to get my latte, and grab my Sunday papers (yes, I get multiple Sunday papers...more on that another day). I clip all my coupons, organize then in my binder, and then make my dinner plans for the week.  Mind you, I do all (or most) of my grocery shopping on Saturdays...so why do I make my dinner plans on Sunday? Well, what I've found is that if I make my dinner plans and then go grocery shopping I am then at the mercy at whatever the prices are for whatever ingredients my recipes will require. So since I do my grocery shopping based on what's on sale and what I have coupons for, I will base my meals off of what I already have stocked up. This has ended up saving me lots of money!

Ok, now on to the other tricky part! I often sit down to plan our dinners for the week and flip through my cookbook and never know what to make! I remember my mom always seemed to throw stuff together and always knew what would be for dinner...maybe I missed that part of Mommy 101! So my new plan is to cook at least 5 meals a week for a month and every time we find a family winner I'm going to write that one down on an index card complete with recipe and ingredient list so I can rotate our favs throughout the month. So where am I going to find these amazing 20-25 family friendly recipes you may ask?...enter Real Simple! If you have not checked out this website yet, take a break now and check it out here!

Did you check it out?! Did you love it?! I was in love from the tag line..."life made easier, every day"...Umm that's just about perfect don't you think?! That site and magazine has some amazing tips, ideas, and inspirations. I am most in love with their recipe section...love, love, love it!

Here's what we're eating this week...

Monday: Chicken with Parmesan, Garlic, and Herb Crust

Tuesday: Slow-Cooker Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna

Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Chipotle Beef Tacos

Thursday: Reubens and Wedge Salad

Friday: Mama's Got The Night Off

           BIRTHDAY PARTY!

The slow cooker recipes really save us in the middle of the week when we're all getting home around 5:00 and you mix in soccer, hockey, coaching, working out, etc. and who has time to cook?! Thank you crock pot! And remember, every mama needs a night off...even if that means frozen pizza or take-out!

Share with us some of your favorite, family approved recipes!

Cheers,

Some Things Band-Aids Can't Fix

Today I need to put on my serious hat to talk about something that has hit my heart and truly made me think about so much in life.

I know that I will be the first one to poke fun at the craziness and struggles of motherhood, but there is also the part of motherhood parenthood that we struggle with internally to shape and mold our little kiddos into the best well-rounded people they can be.  We always try and protect them and shield them from anything bad and harmful in this world, but despite our best efforts sometimes things are just out of our control.

In the blogging community you find blogs and people that you relate to and it can feel as though you become apart of their family and you are emotionally affected by things that happen.  This past week I have felt just that for these little kiddos who have been forced to grow up too fast and endure things that I don’t know how I myself would deal with.  They are amazing heroes in their own right and my heart and prayers go out to them and their strong parents.

Please take a moment to bring them into your world and hear their stories.

Madeline at The Maddie James Foundation

Kate at Kate's Crusade

I never want to scare my own little kiddos about the terrible things that other littles go through, but I do want to emphasize to them empathy and a caring heart.  I always want my kids to appreciate their health, happiness, family, and belongings and share what they have with others in all aspects of life.  Tonight we are going to color these printable pictures found here and send them off to Kate here.  When they ask why we are doing this and who are we sending them to, I will tell them the story of a little girl, their age, who is very sick and needs some beautiful pictures and our prayers to help her feel better.  Yes, it is a 5 year old explanation, but that’s OK.  I only strive for them to understand that we are doing what we can to help another person and that they feel good about doing so.

I know there are so many sick children, too many children that have to grow up quick and deal with grown up problems, and there is no good answer for why this happens.  But, tonight I will pray for those children, pray that they find peace and health, and I will squeeze my littles a little bit longer and pray that they stay safe.   

Cheers,

$5 Makeover

The problem…
    

I definitely reached my breaking point when I realized I had no idea what was under or behind anything in Kami’s room!
The $5 solution…

My local Dollar Tree has a wonderful storage/bin selection where I found these little cuties.  The pink ones were 4/$1! These would also make some adorable gift/favor basket alternatives!
The result…
 
The basket on top holds some off season accessories that I buy ahead on clearance. 

The basket and storage bin serves as a “keep” bin and a “take to resale shop/garage sale” basket.  This really helps me keep clothes that no longer fit easily organized and ready for their next destination. And even though Kami is my last child, I still save special occasion outfits or other items I may want to pull out, hold, and cry over when the baby urge creeps over me!
 
So yes we broke Kami of her pacifiers, but you never know when an emergency could arise…and then those little suckers are worth more than gold!

This will in no means help the hubs put a ponytail in her hair, but it’ll at least take away his excuse that he can’t find any of her bows! 
Since I am always buying ahead for the next season to score some really good deals, these little helpers work great to keep it all organized and see how much I have for the next size up.

I found these at Paisley Monkey when I was pregnant, but I’ve recently seen these little cuties at Closet Monkey. They would make a very unique and useful baby shower gift!

I love it when I find things that are organizational solutions as well as cost effective! I also couldn’t resist these other fun finds…Easter basket fillers, a basket to hold some goodies for my nephew on the way, and an adorable, functional reusable shopping bag! And for $1 each…love, love, love!

Saving money never looked so cute…and organized!
Cheers,

Kim Fordham Photography {Winner}

I would first like to thank Kim at Kim Fordham Photography for offering Picking Lemons this AWESOME giveaway and her AMAZING talent! Thanks so much Kim!

I would then also like to thank everyone who participated in the giveaway and who have become new friends to Picking Lemons and Kim Fordham Photography! I cannot wait to share more amazing giveaways as well as the daily sweetness of life!

Without further dealy....the WINNER is...

True Random Number Generator

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Result: 11

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Entry #11

Meghan said...

I subscribed to Picking Lemons feeds!

March 2, 2011 11:25 AM

Congrats Meghan!

Cheers,

Burning The Cabin Fever

It must have been between the 5th "no running in the house" and the 3rd "don't do that do the dog" that we ended up packed, loaded, and on our way to burn off some of this Spring fever energy!

There must be something programmed in these littles that is triggered once the snow begins to melt and the warm weather is in sight.  Holy cow has it been in full force!  OH!...and not to mention that in the last 2 weeks the boys have only had school 3 times!  So needless to say these kiddos were ready to burn some pent up energy...and we're talking the drive their mama crazy kind of energy!

We often try to utilize the attractions near us that are geared toward littles so it'll hold their attention and so there's nothing that they can hurt or destroy!  So in the still somewhat cold weather we have going on here, Imagination Station it was!

Digging for dinosaurs

 This is when playing with water is OK in my book!

 Getting blown away in the hurricane simulator!

 My turn!

 Hope he has his coupons!

 This took 5 Codys to build...

 ...and only 1 to bring down!

In order to make an outing with 3 kids 5 and under as stress free as possible (if that is not an oxymoron if I've ever heard one) we do try and do a little bit of planning before venturing out.

1. Give yourself plenty of time to get there, get in, enjoy, and account for anything everything unexpected that can and probably will come up.  What's the point in going if you're not able to spend the time and enjoy it.
2. FOOD! Bring snacks and drinks because you know the minute you walk in you WILL hear "I'm hungry!"  It's another one of those pre-programmed things.
3. Have a plan of NOT having a plan. Do a little bit of research and planning ahead of time so you know what areas will and will not be good for your littles, so when you get there you can enjoy and experience it with them. Having a minute to minute itinerary will make things way too stressful when the intent is to decrease the stress and have fun!

What made our outing even sweeter was we then used our BOGO Chipotle coupon found here and our BOGO Baskin Robbins coupon found here to end the day.  So after our adventures the littles were burnt out and mama didn't have to cook...mission accomplished!  Now that's havin' your lemon and eatin' drinkin' it too!

Cheers,