Summer Safety Shindig



Join me this summer as I showcase products to help keep kids safe all summer and year round. You won't want to miss it!
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Monday, August 30, 2010

Welcome to Trailing Tuesdays #17!



Trailing Tuesdays are hosted by Familylicious, Nine More Months, and Sugar Pop Ribbons! What is Trailing Tuesdays you ask? Well, it's a great way to advertise your blog and find new friends not only for your blog but for your Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Here are the rules:
1. Follow the first three bloggers (become a follower through google friend connect), as well as on Facebook (add as a friend or become a fan) and/or Twitter (become a follower) on the list.

2. After you do the first three at the top of the list, please follow the five links directly above you. When you enter your URL make sure it is to your HOMEPAGE. This is not a giveaway linky if the URL you enter is to a giveaway it will be deleted. Please enter your Giveaway Linkys on my Giveaway Linky Page you can find it above under the Linky Love tab.

3. Grab the Trailing Tuesdays button and make a post so that your new followers can comment and let you know they are stopping by. This will also help to attract more bloggers to this list which means more followers for you to! Make sure you Follow Back everyone who leaves you a comment.

Following the first 3 bloggers is mandatory to participate in our awesome Trailing Tuesdays. We ask that you follow at least five bloggers directly above you in addition to the mandatory 3 , but after that you can follow as many others as you like. This way everyone gets someone to follow them and no one is left out. We want this to be beneficial to everyone involved so please be honest and lets have fun not only getting more followers but also finding new blog friends and networking.

As an added bonus there will be extra entries in giveaways on the hosting blog sites for being involved. Please check Familylicious, Nine More Months , and Sugar Pop Ribbons sites for details.

Nine More Months Extra Entries Details:
To claim your extra entries, just comment on the giveaway of your choice, saying "I participated in Trailing Tuesdays this week." You get five extra entries per week and can use all of them on one giveaway or one each on five giveaways, or however you'd like to split them up.



And for more friends, head over to...




Tuesday Tag-Along


Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 11:30 PM 7 comments Links to this post
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Thursday, August 26, 2010

My Ideas for Flavorful Low-Sodium Family Meals

Since I started paying more attention to the foods that my family and I eat, I have become much more aware of the amount of sodium we consume. The American Heart Association recommends 1,000mg of sodium per 1,000 calories consumed, and no more than 3,000mg per day. The average American ingests 4,000mg each day, well over the suggested limit. Recently, the Center for Science in the Public Interest released a report saying that high-salt diets cause 150,000 premature deaths in the U.S. each year. Scary! But fortunately, this is one cause of death that is easily avoidable.

I used to think that adding salt and pepper during every stage of cooking was the best way to prepare deliciously flavorful food. While the food did taste great, every teaspoon of salt added another 1,000mg of salt to the dish. And while a little salt is actually good for your body, it's very easy to go overboard.

Most of the sodium in our diets actually come from processed foods, so the absolute easiest way to cut down on your sodium intake is to remove those types of food from your diet. Eating fresh and cooking at home is not easy for everyone, but I have a few tips to make it easy and healthy.

Foil is your friend. I don't think there is anything easier than cooking up dinner in a foil packet. It's a great way to limit portion sizes, the clean up is a breeze, and you can even get the whole family involved in making their own individual packets. Try this: On a heavy duty piece of foil, spread out a layer of sliced carrots and cauliflower and broccoli florets. Top with a tilapia filet, and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with some Salt-free Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend and close tightly. Pop in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or on a hot grill for about 10 minutes per side. Let the packet cool for about 10 minutes before opening and enjoying. You can make a variation of this recipe using all different kinds of meat, veggies and seasonings.

Crock pots are great for busy lives. I love my crock pot. When I am anticipating a busy afternoon, I make sure to put it to good use. If you're a fan of baked chicken but don't want to deal with the oven, try this: In the bottom of a 6qt crock pot, add a layer of small red or white potatoes. Then, place a whole chicken, with the insides removed, breast side up. Do not add any liquid, just a generous sprinkling of Salt-free Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend. Cook on low for 8 hours with the lid slightly ajar.

With these tips, you're well on your way to tasty heart-healthy family meals.

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Mrs. Dash and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 2:32 PM 5 comments Links to this post

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Summer Safety Shindig: Aqua-Leisure Review and Giveaway



Now that it's finally hot here in Southern California, we're doing a lot more swimming. We don't have an in-ground pool at home, but we have access to several community pools and have friends with pools.

I used to absolutely love lounging in the pool. It's so relaxing, especially during the dog days of summer. Then life changed and kids came along. Now, hitting the pool kind of stresses me out. There are two of them and one of me, and it's not easy to hang on to two kids at once.

Aqua Leisure was kind enough to send me a couple of products to try out.

First we tried the Baby and Me Combo.


(Sorry, no way are you going to get a picture of me trying this thing out.)


From the site, here are the features of the Baby and Me Combo:

* Baby seat with attached split ring for mom or dad
* Heavy-duty vinyl
* Colored rings and playballs entertain baby
* For ages 6-18 months

This is hands down my favorite baby float ever. I love the split ring feature because the distribution of weight allows me to be close to Jackson without worrying about tipping him over. He's a little on the older side, so the toys didn't really interest him much, but he is a little nervous in the water so he didn't want to play too much. Thankfully, the Baby and Me Combo lets me be as close as possible to comfort him without actually having him in my arms.

The second product we received was the Adjustable Sunshade Boat


Another beautiful model, still not me.


The Adjustable Sunshade Boat features an easy-to-adjust inflatable sunshade. It has a fun beach design and a handle that either baby or mommy (or daddy) can hold on to.

We used this float as well, but my nervous baby didn't enjoy it as much as the other one. I really love the way the sunshade easily fits into the float with no extra pieces to lose. It provides the perfect amount of shade for baby, so no more hanging out in the only small shady corner of the pool. You're free to go where you please!

Buy It!
Check out the Where to Buy page to find a retailer near you!

Win It!
One winner will get their choice of one of the products that I reviewed.

How to Enter
Become a fan of Aqua Leisure on Facebook, and then comment on their wall with your favorite product from their site. Don't forget to mention that Nine More Months sent you!

Want extra entries? (Leave a separate comment for each one!)
-Grab the *NEW* Summer Safety Shindig button from this post. (1 entry. If you grabbed before the event, 5 entries.)
-Be a fan of Nine More Months on Facebook! (1 entry.)
-Follow me on Twitter, follow My Precious Kid on Twitter, AND tweet this giveaway. "I want to win an Aqua Leisure pool toy in the Summer Safety Shindig @ninemoremonths http://bit.ly/dq4qKl #giveaways #childsafety" Comment with a link to your tweet. (You can do this once a day for 1 entry.)
-Be a follower or subscriber to my blog. (1 entry each.)
-Grab my button and tell me where it is. (1 entry.)
-Make a blog post linking to this giveaway and leave a comment with the link to it. (2 entries.)
-Enter another one of my giveaways. (1 entry each.)

Giveaway ends September 5th, 2010 @9PM PST. US entries only. Winner will be picked via Random.org and announced the following day. Please respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I received free products for review purposes. I did not receive any other form of compensation for this post. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 10:45 PM 9 comments Links to this post
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Welcome to Trailing Tuesdays #16!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, everything will be back to normal soon hopefully!



Trailing Tuesdays are hosted by Familylicious, Nine More Months, and Sugar Pop Ribbons! What is Trailing Tuesdays you ask? Well, it's a great way to advertise your blog and find new friends not only for your blog but for your Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Here are the rules:
1. Follow the first three bloggers (become a follower through google friend connect), as well as on Facebook (add as a friend or become a fan) and/or Twitter (become a follower) on the list.

2. After you do the first three at the top of the list, please follow the five links directly above you. When you enter your URL make sure it is to your HOMEPAGE. This is not a giveaway linky if the URL you enter is to a giveaway it will be deleted. Please enter your Giveaway Linkys on my Giveaway Linky Page you can find it above under the Linky Love tab.

3. Grab the Trailing Tuesdays button and make a post so that your new followers can comment and let you know they are stopping by. This will also help to attract more bloggers to this list which means more followers for you to! Make sure you Follow Back everyone who leaves you a comment.

Following the first 3 bloggers is mandatory to participate in our awesome Trailing Tuesdays. We ask that you follow at least five bloggers directly above you in addition to the mandatory 3 , but after that you can follow as many others as you like. This way everyone gets someone to follow them and no one is left out. We want this to be beneficial to everyone involved so please be honest and lets have fun not only getting more followers but also finding new blog friends and networking.

As an added bonus there will be extra entries in giveaways on the hosting blog sites for being involved. Please check Familylicious, Nine More Months , and Sugar Pop Ribbons sites for details.

Nine More Months Extra Entries Details:
To claim your extra entries, just comment on the giveaway of your choice, saying "I participated in Trailing Tuesdays this week." You get five extra entries per week and can use all of them on one giveaway or one each on five giveaways, or however you'd like to split them up.



And for more friends, head over to...




Tuesday Tag-Along
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 11:11 AM 1 comments Links to this post
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Friday, August 20, 2010

Travel Clean with Crayola Color Wonder

*THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED*



As a kid I remember taking road trips with my parents. Back then I had my books to read, or paper and crayons to draw with. I also remember getting scolded many times for leaving said crayons in the car. As moms, we all know that crayons plus a hot car equals a big mess.

Crayola Color Wonder products are the perfect solution for keeping kids busy while traveling. We received the following products to try:

* Crayola Color Wonder Lap Desk provides a large, hard-top surface for kids to create on the go. The sturdy desk has a built-in handle and a soft detachable pillow that can be used as a storage unit for Color Wonder markers and paper. The Lap Desk is equipped with 12 re-stickable pieces of Color Wonder paper to keep kids’ drawings in place and 5 Color Wonder mess-free mini markers in red, orange, yellow, green and blue.


* Crayola Color Wonder Fingerpaints & Paper make the once impossible possible – fingerpainting in the car! The set includes clear, fast-drying gels that feel just like traditional fingerpaint. The set comes with 5 mess-free colors (red, yellow, green, blue and orange) in a hand-shaped storage container, a built-in finger cleaning sponge and 12 extra-wide sheets of Color Wonder paper. When kids are finished painting, they simply snap the fingerprint lids closed and paint stays fresh and ready to use again!


* Crayola Color Wonder Markers and Paper includes 5 Color Wonder markers and a 24-page Color Wonder drawing pad where your kids can create anything they want while you’re on the road!


* Crayola Color Wonder Stow & Go Studio provides a solid, compact drawing surface with stay-put clips that can secure a single piece of paper or an entire Color Wonder activity book. Kids will enjoy creating with mess-free Color Wonder markers that make colors magically appear on special paper and reveal special hidden surprises.


* Crayola Color Wonder Story Stampers includes 5 Color Wonder markers in red, blue, green, purple and orange, a Color Wonder stamp pad, 6 sea creature stamps, and an 18-page coloring pad with undersea background settings. Each setting is unique, so every page will inspire a different fish tale just waiting to be told! Kids’ imaginations will take them beneath the sea as they stamp color sea creatures using the colorless Color Wonder stamp pad to create innovative stories and scenarios then can then color in. It's like high tide for your imagination!

Mason's favorites were the fingerpaints and the stampers. I love that we can bring art wherever we go and never have to worry about making a mess at someone else's house! I took lots of pictures of Mason making beautiful artwork, but unfortunately my lap top is dead at the moment. I will have to post them another time.

Would you like to win your very own Crayola Color Wonder prize pack? Of course you would! To win ALL of the awesome products we got to try, just leave a comment suggesting a great place to go with your Color Wonder products.

Winner will be chosen on September 2nd at 9:00PM PST. USA only.

Disclaimer: MyBlogSpark and Crayola provided me with these amazing products to try and share with my readers. No other form of compensation was given to me.
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 2:48 PM Links to this post
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Welcome to Trailing Tuesdays #15!



Trailing Tuesdays are hosted by Familylicious, Nine More Months, and Sugar Pop Ribbons! What is Trailing Tuesdays you ask? Well, it's a great way to advertise your blog and find new friends not only for your blog but for your Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Here are the rules:
1. Follow the first three bloggers (become a follower through google friend connect), as well as on Facebook (add as a friend or become a fan) and/or Twitter (become a follower) on the list.

2. After you do the first three at the top of the list, please follow the five links directly above you. When you enter your URL make sure it is to your HOMEPAGE. This is not a giveaway linky if the URL you enter is to a giveaway it will be deleted. Please enter your Giveaway Linkys on my Giveaway Linky Page you can find it above under the Linky Love tab.

3. Grab the Trailing Tuesdays button and make a post so that your new followers can comment and let you know they are stopping by. This will also help to attract more bloggers to this list which means more followers for you to! Make sure you Follow Back everyone who leaves you a comment.

Following the first 3 bloggers is mandatory to participate in our awesome Trailing Tuesdays. We ask that you follow at least five bloggers directly above you in addition to the mandatory 3 , but after that you can follow as many others as you like. This way everyone gets someone to follow them and no one is left out. We want this to be beneficial to everyone involved so please be honest and lets have fun not only getting more followers but also finding new blog friends and networking.

As an added bonus there will be extra entries in giveaways on the hosting blog sites for being involved. Please check Familylicious, Nine More Months , and Sugar Pop Ribbons sites for details.

Nine More Months Extra Entries Details:
To claim your extra entries, just comment on the giveaway of your choice, saying "I participated in Trailing Tuesdays this week." You get five extra entries per week and can use all of them on one giveaway or one each on five giveaways, or however you'd like to split them up.



And for more friends, head over to...




Tuesday Tag-Along
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 10:44 AM 5 comments Links to this post
Labels:

Monday, August 16, 2010

Mamavation Monday: Things I learned this week.

Last Monday I dropped my husband off at the airport. We left the house at about 3:30 in the morning to make sure he got there in time. Pretty much from the moment we drove away it was just utter chaos. I actually think that day was the worst of all because of how tired we were, but the kids were just bad.

Then Tuesday morning came and I was looking forward to a fun play date and going out for my birthday. Right after I got out of the shower I got a phone call, and not a happy. I received some news that I did not like, and I spent the rest of the morning crying. And I mean, bawling.

So I ended up ditching the play date because I knew I wasn't going to be able to give the kids my full attention at the park. Instead, we went to McDonald's and I drank my weight in Diet Coke while they played in the huge indoor play area. Mom of the year, I know.

My friend from Reno came to my house to surprise me for my birthday. My husband had already set up a babysitter for the kids. I wanted to go out dancing, but unfortunately on a Tuesday night our options were pretty limited. So we had fondue instead. Probably not a great idea as far as food goes, but it was my birthday, and another friend of mine is the manager so he comped us both our food and drinks. Pretty amazing. It was definitely a much-needed break after the horrible morning I had.

The rest of the week was kind of a blur. The kids were not easy for me, especially at night. My sleep sucked. I was so out of it I forgot to feed myself breakfast a couple of times. I tried to keep our meals as healthy as I could, which wasn't hard since I stocked up on fruits and veggies on Monday.

I also cleaned out my pantry and threw away a lot of junk food. Most of it was probably too old and wouldn't have been eaten anyway, but at least I don't have to look at it. Not looking at junk food means I won't think "Hey, chips sound really good right about now, these are stale but I'm going to go buy more." Yes, I really do that sometimes.

I didn't exercise. Not once. Not even a little bit. I also didn't weigh myself. I forgot to do it when I woke up this morning, so I guess I'll wait until tomorrow, although I'm not so sure I'm going to like what I see.

I'm thinking maybe I'm making my goals too hard for myself? Even though they may not sound hard, I'm having a hard time anyway. I don't know.

So this week's plan? It's going to be easy.

-Drink as much water as possible. (At least 10 glasses.) It's gonna be HOT here.

-Eat a veggie with every meal, two with dinner.

-Have a (healthy) snack if I need to.

-Get any kind of exercise I possibly can, parking as far away from the store as I can, dancing with the kids, running around with them at the park, other activities after they go to bed, etc.

-Be happy.

I won't lie, I felt sorry for myself this whole week. Bummed because of Tuesday morning's news, jealous because my husband was having a blast in New York while I was slowly being driven crazy by two kids and a dog. Bitter because I wasn't able to go with him. And let's face it, I don't deal well with negative emotions. Does anyone?

I guess that's about it, and maybe I'll update tomorrow with this week's weight. If I feel like it, that is.

Oh, and I can't forget to say Congrats! Kimberly @christlikemommy is Sista of the week this week. She is awesome and totally deserves it! Thanks Kimberly for being so supportive of me every week!
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 10:26 AM 16 comments Links to this post
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Saturday, August 14, 2010

Give-it-away Saturday! #11

It's Saturday, which means another giveaway linky. While I'm busy trying to keep myself sane and my house clean until Hubby gets home, I hope you'll list and enter some great giveaways. Don't forget to check out my giveaways in the right side bar, some are ending very soon!

And most of all, make sure to put an end date in your listing! Have a great weekend and good luck. :)

Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 12:42 AM 4 comments Links to this post
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Thursday, August 12, 2010

OC Fair and Cascadian Farms Winners!

A couple more giveaways have ended, which means a couple more winners have been picked!

Congrats to Margie whose comment #20 was picked for the Cascadian Farms giveaway!

And congrats to Michelle from Flying Giggles and Lollipops! Comment #3 was chosen, and she won four tickets to see LeAnn Rimes in the OC Fair giveaway.

As always, winners are picked via Random.org. They have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 3:08 PM 4 comments Links to this post
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Summer Safety Shindig: My Precious Kid Gripsterz Review and Giveaway



When I was on the lookout for child safety products, I came across a great website called My Precious Kid. My Precious Kid is a wonderful resource for those of us looking to make our homes and lives a safer place for children. My Precious kid has hundreds of child safety and baby gear products, but it doesn't stop there. Some of the great resources that owner, Kay Green, provides include a child safety blog, a directory of articles, free child safety information, and more.

When I approached Kay Green about my Summer Safety Shindig, she suggested a product called Gripsterz.



It's definitely not easy to go out with a very independent 19 month old. You know that stage where they don't want to sit in the stroller anymore, but they also don't want to hold your hand. Then, when you try to hold their hand they let their legs go limp making it look like you're dragging them around. Yeah, not exactly a safe way to cross a street or walk through a parking lot.

Somehow I knew Gripsterz would get a lot of use from us.

Check out this cute video:



Some of the features of Gripsterz:
•Gripsterz kit includes one irresistible Grippy monkey ring with attaching clip,
two vine straps (1 ft & 2 ft) with an attaching clip,
an adult handle, a convenient storage bag and a Grippy book for kids.
•The Grippy adventure book enhances the child’s natural attachment tendencies
to their new friend Grippy and encourages enjoyable adventure experiences.
•Interchangeable pieces allow for a variety of adventure needs.
•Easy to use
•Can be clipped to a stroller, belt hoop, shopping cart, luggage, purse, and many other portable devices.
•Great for crossing streets and parking lots, visiting museums, exploring parks, attending festivals, and traveling.

Of course, Jackson loves his "monkey bracelet" but doesn't always want to hold on to it. For this reason, I am so glad that the Gripsterz also includes a velcro strap. I can strap it to his wrist, belt loop or overalls strap and keep him close by without having to worry about him letting go.

I've used other leash-type products, but none of them have worked as well for us as Gripsterz. I believe it's because the versatility of the interchangeable parts. The cute little monkey and his accompanying book don't hurt either.

Buy It!
You can buy the Gripsterz kit at the My Precious Kid site for only $14.99 here.

Win It!
One winner will get a Gripsterz kit of their very own!

How to Enter
Tell me another product from My Precious Kid that you would love to have.


Want extra entries? (Leave a separate comment for each one!)
-Follow the My Precious Kid Blog. (1 entry.)
-Become a fan of My Precious Kid on Facebook. (1 entry.)
-Grab the *NEW* Summer Safety Shindig button from this post. (1 entry. If you grabbed before the event, 5 entries.)
-Be a fan of Nine More Months on Facebook! (1 entry.)
-Follow me on Twitter, follow My Precious Kid on Twitter, AND tweet this giveaway. "I want to win a Gripsterz kit from @MyPreciousKid in the Summer Safety Shindig @ninemoremonths http://bit.ly/ahmOIK #giveaways #childsafety" Comment with a link to your tweet. (You can do this once a day for 1 entry.)
-Be a follower or subscriber to my blog. (1 entry each.)
-Grab my button and tell me where it is. (1 entry.)
-Make a blog post linking to this giveaway and leave a comment with the link to it. (2 entries.)
-Enter another one of my giveaways. (1 entry each.)

Giveaway ends August 26th, 2010 @9PM PST. US entries only. Winner will be picked via Random.org and announced the following day. Please respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I received a free product for review purposes. I did not receive any other form of compensation for this post. All opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
Posted by Angela @ Nine More Months at 1:20 PM 38 comments Links to this post
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