30 Days of Thanks

Day 4- A favorite snack

Honeycrisp Apple, even though I need to bake them before I eat one, because of fruit allergy, they are still so juicy and the best apple!

30 Days of Thanks

Since we are in the month of November, my friend and fellow blogger Lindsay at Designer Wife had a great idea of sharing for 30 days what she is thankful for.

She's inviting any blogger who wants to participate to do so!

Check out her blog for the prompts and details!

So I need to play catch up here, so here are my first 3 thankful things!

1. A Person- My amazing husband of course!

Without him, I wouldn't have such an amazing life, with an awesome little one year old and another one of the way!

2. An Animal

Puggie, my 9 year old pug. She's my BFF. Love her to pieces.

3. A cozy place in your home

This one I don't have one particular picture for, our whole house is cozy and I simply couldn't post every single picture of our home!

Betty Crocker-Fun Da Middles

Have you seen Betty Crocker's newest cupcake line? FUN da-Middles are so cute! Not to mention they are so easy to make. They are cupcakes with a filling inside. You just make the batter, then squeeze some of the filling on top and that's it! So easy!

Check out this cute video:

BrillKids Little Reader

As a member of the BrillKids Blog Team, I was recently given the opportunity to review their Little Readers Program. I was able to review the online program of Little Readers.

So what is Little Reader? It is a program that teaches your child to read at an early age.

At first I was a little hesitant that I could get my 1 year old daughter to sit down for about 10 minutes at a time to go over the lessons. The first day I was able to get her attention for about 5 minutes, but the next day and everyday after she sits down for the whole lesson. We do one lesson a day. Little Reader keeps the child engaged because it's constantly changing to a different word or picture. It also makes sounds, for instance if the word is dog, a dog may bark. After 3 days Kiley was repeating the word dog and was barking like a dog and now does it all the time. As a former educator, I really like this product a lot. It's very user friendly, the lessons are short, but very informative. You can even customize the pictures in the lesson to your child's face, or even you own pets.

My favorite part of the lesson is that every time the child is taught a word, he or she not only sees the word in a different color or font, but she also sees a dog and hears a different voice and sees a different picture. I like this because she isn't looking at the same picture over, and over, or hearing the same voice over and over. I feel it really helps keep her into the program.

The program comes with a 12 month lesson plan. You can also use the BrillKids forum and download more content to your lesson plans. There are two different programs you can purchase from BrillKids. The first version retails for $250.00 and includes the Little Reader software, pattern phonics flash cards, 1 year program of the English Curriculum program, starter flap card kit, The Little Reader storybook series, which includes 25 books, weekly lesson plans, Teaching Your Baby To Read Booklet, 6,000 Loyalty Bonus Points, Teaching with Little Reader booklet, sticker labels for playing the labeling game. Little Reader Basic retails for $149 and includes, The Little Reader software, 1 year program of the English Curriculum, Teaching Your Baby To Read booklet, and the Teaching With Little Reader Booklet.

You can also do a 14 day free trial of the program, which I highly suggest downloading and seeing how much this program can really help your child to read.

You can start the Little Reader program in between 3-6 months or you can wait till your child is 1 or 2. So why teach your child to read so young? Well there are many benefits.

One of them is that children who teach reading before formal schooling starts are seen to have higher self-esteem and confidence levels, than those who had parents who didn't encourage early reading. Children are also more likely to be more successful in school activities and want to learn more eagerly.

Remember keep your lessons fun and exciting and it will keep your child engaged! Kiley likes this program so much that every time she sees the computer she waits for me to turn Little Reader on!

I was provided this product in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. I was not paid for the review, nor required to write a positive review.

For Our Doggie Friends

Did you know that one in three pets will get lost in their lifetime? Of those, 90% never return home to their owners if they don't have proper ID. Microchip identification is helping reverse this scary statistic and as a valuable Pssst... member, we want to make this service more accessible and affordable for you and your pet-loving friends!

Banfield Pet Hospital, the world's largest veterinary practice, is making it easier to give pets permanent identification to make sure they get home safely.

From Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, participating Banfield hospitals are offering 50% off the regular cost ($35) of True Paws® microchip system powered by HomeAgain®. Visit the Banfield website to check out 780 locations nationwide and contact the Banfield Pet Hospital nearest you!

Microchipping is the only permanent pet identification that can't fall off when a pet is lost or be removed if a pet is stolen. With the American Kennel Club observing a 32% increase in pet theft in the past year, microchipping can help safeguard against this growing problem.

The True Paws® microchip system is a safe and quick identification solution for pets and their owners. In the event that your precious pooch or furry feline becomes lost, the small chip can be easily scanned to bring up the owner's contact information.

Be sure to take advantage of this 50% coupon by printing it here! Feel free to pass it on to your pet-loving friends and family so they too can rest easy about their pets. For more information about Banfield Pet Hospital and the True Paws® microchip system, visit www.banfield.com.

Brought to you by Pssst.

Just In Case You Missed It

That's right, Kiley's going to be a big sister!! A very unexpected big sister, but a big sister!! We are super excited. Baby K #2 is due April 7, 2012.

Yoplait Light

Did you know that small changes can lead to big differences in helping you maintain your weight?

On Yoplait's Facebook page( www.Facebook.com/Yoplait?)they have an awesome application that you can use to swap out foods you are currently eating for healthier choices, including Yoplait Light Yogurts.

Read and try the recipes on the swap page!

Biggest Loser host and busy mom Alison Sweeney is working with the brand to share advice for how she maintains her weight by making daily substitutions in her diet and routine, all while navigating her hectic schedule. I’m all about easy solutions, and making simple swaps in my diet helps me lead a healthy lifestyle while juggling everything else,” said Sweeney, mom of two. “That’s why the Yoplait Light Swap is a no-brainer – just swapping a slice of my favorite red velvet cake after dinner for a cup of Red Velvet Cake Yoplait Light can save me almost 300 calories, without even thinking about it.”


Check out the swap page!