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Pop-a-prune – Review and Giveaway

Posted on November 19, 2009 12:16 pm by TheAngelForever

My boys are not the best when it comes to eating. My oldest son (6) is better than my little guy (2), but that is not saying a lot. Trying to get them to eat healthy, nutritious food is always a challenge. The little guy loves to eat cheese and could live off of it, but to be blunt it constipates him. There is nothing worse than hearing your little guy say he hurts to do his business. We push fiber rich foods into all of our diets with a lot of options.

NHL (6) really likes most dried fruit, but JSL (2) has resisted it in the past. When I was contacted by Family Review Network to try Sunsweet Ones, I jumped at the chance to try something that my little guy may actually eat.

Sunsweet has teamed up with Cheryl Forberg, the registered dietitian and nutritionist from NBC’s "The Biggest Loser" to create the following video on what a Super Fruit is and why prunes fit into this classification.

Additional information about prunes can be found at Pop-a-prune.

Our Review:

JSL was immediately drawn to the package of Sunsweet Ones. Both of the boys hovered around me asking to try what was inside. Who was I to deny them a prune if they wanted to try it?! They each quickly gobbled up their prune and asked for another. I did a double take because this had never happened before when we tried prunes.

The little guy actually grabbed the container and tried to run off with them. He seriously told me that they were his. The word MINE was used frequently.

Before I gave him a second prune, I grabbed my camera to capture the moment. I wanted to be able to show this to him one day in case he ever refuses to eat them again!

The best part was the next day mid-morning. JSL grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen. He pointed to the Sunsweet Ones container and asked me for a prune. I was floored and quickly gave him another snack. My little Cookie Monster was turning into a prune fan.

I think his smile and request says a lot, especially when you consider he is a fussy eater. On the flip side, I love prunes and have since I was a child. One of my main problems with prunes was eating through a container fast enough or they would get hard and lose the plumb, juicy goodness. The other part I disliked was putting my hand into the container and coming out all sticky. Sunsweet Ones does away with both of these issues. The prunes are individually wrapped so they stay fresh and your hands stay clean (unless you are a messy 2 year old).

We will definitely be buying more of these in the future because they are healthy, delicious and best of all everyone enjoyed them.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Sunsweet Ones five (5) winners will receive a Sunsweet reusable shopping bag and a Sunsweet VIP Coupon, which is good for ANY Sunsweet product up to $5.50 in value

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: What Sunsweet product do you think you will purchase with your VIP coupon if you win?
1 Bonus Entry – Follow me on Twitter @TheAngelForever and Tweet about the giveaway. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Sunsweet Ones prize pack in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Chance to win one of 5 Sunsweet Ones prize pack from @TheAngelForever Head over to learn more about the SUPER fruit http://bit.ly/2OZAr8
1 Bonus Entry – What is your favorite dried fruit?
1 Bonus Entry – Enter one of my other current giveaways. Be sure to leave a comment here telling me what you entered.
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – What is something that you learned from the video (above) of Cheryl Forberg?
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of November. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
3 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the Sunsweet Ones prize pack giveaway. Be sure to leave 3 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today November 19th and ends at 10:59 EST on December 1, 2009. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Sunsweet Ones, who provided the product for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.

Categories:
food glorious food giveaway jsl photos Product review video

For the love of Legos

Posted on November 14, 2009 10:46 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL & JSL,

The two of you are constantly playing with your Lego blocks the last few weeks. We had one big container of the Quatro and Duplo blocks together in the living room. Of course, the problem was creative differences between the two of you. NHL, you want to build things and leave them to be admired for extended periods of time. JSL, would rather keep taking down creations and building new items. This has become an issue since NHL created his bench of Legos that prominently sits in the living room.

This morning as you were fighting over Legos and your creative differences, I asked Daddy to head to the basement. Little did you know that we have had a treasure chest just waiting for you. Thanks to Aunt S and Uncle M, we had their giant box of Legos waiting for just the right time. (Thanks again to Aunt S and Uncle M)

I wish I had gotten a photo of your faces when you saw the monster box . I think it is safe to say that you were both very happy. Almost an hour later you are still sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor with Daddy exploring all that there is within that fabulous box of Legos.

No doubt there will still be creative differences, but now there are so many more options to be had. I can not wait to see the things that you both build with your imaginations.

Love,

Mommy

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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.

Categories:
brothers Dear Kid Saturday fun jsl nhl photos play time weekend

A warm November day

Posted on November 10, 2009 10:17 am by TheAngelForever

Typically, temperatures in November get quite chilly here. Lows are usually in the 30’s and highs could climb into the 40’s. It is certainly not the type of weather that one would take their child to the park for an extended length of time. The temperatures have soared to highs in the 60’s the last few days. Thanks to this, I took JSL to the park yesterday. It was just the two of us for an hour or so and we had a fabulous time. Every day, he has been begging me to take him to the park to go "Wheeeee" on the slides. It was so nice to be able to grant him this simple desire.

When we arrived at the park, he bolted away from me. Usually when we are at the park, JSL follows his big brother around. It was so fun to watch and see where he would go on his solo mission.

Of course, my camera was in the car . . . so I used my new cell phone to snap some of our precious memories. There was no way I could rip the little guy away from the park to go and get my camera. They may not be the best, but they certainly capture the moments. After he let go of my hand, he made a beeline for the little train slide.

Once he did this a few times, JSL was ready to run to the bigger slides. Over and over again, he climbed up the ladder. Why go up the easy steps when you can give Mom gray hairs? He would stop on the bridge area to jump a few times and look through the bars to laugh at me.

Then he would go over and over to the big twisty slide. JSL had no fear since the playground was empty and loved the freedom to pick what he wanted.

After a few times down the twisty slide, I convinced him to try the tunnel to another section. He hesitated, but then realized he could play peek-a-boo with me. He kept going over and over and of course I kept missing him. He was too fast and thought it was funny that I was getting bad "cheese" (= photos to a 2 year old) over and over. Eventually I got this which is a big favorite of mine.

Soon, JSL decided it was time to check out more of the park. On our way, I noticed there was a single tree that actually had leaves on it. The tree was gorgeous and a vibrant red color. I went under it and took the following photo.

Then it was time for JSL to channel his inner dinosaur. He needed a boost to get up. Once he was on the dino, he was roaring and rocking out. He had a great time, but quickly wanted to move to more things.

I was shocked he did not want to go on the giant slide at this point. Instead, he picked the "round and round wheee" ride as he called it. This did not last too long. In an attempt to grant me even more gray hairs, JSL kept letting go and trying to stand up while it was moving around.

I was able to convince him to follow me to the swings. He wanted to go on the regular ones, but those are not made for a two year old little boy. I put him into the swings for kids that look more like odd contraptions and he could not see anything. I tried to take a photo, but had used up my cell phone memory (oops!). This seemed like the perfect time to call it a day. I told JSL it was time to head home. We only had an hour to eat lunch before it was time to head to school to pick up NHL.

The weather is supposed to be mild again today, but not as sunny. Perhaps we will have another adventure in the park together. It is days like this that I remember why I am so lucky to be a stay-at-home Mom!

Categories:
fun jsl kid talk photos play time sahm weather

Cooking with TechyDad

Posted on November 9, 2009 11:03 am by TheAngelForever

As many of you may know, my hubby also blogs. TechyDad has a regular feature on his website called Cooking With TechyDad. Here he shares items that he has made for our family, along with a lot of photos of the cooking/baking process.

Recently, his new passion is to use purees in items to try to sneak in some extra veggies for our family. Would you have guessed that these two sweet boys are picky eaters?!

This week, TechyDad is kicking off Sneaky Weeky. Today, he posted about preparing purees a la Missy Chase Lapine – otherwise known as The Sneaky Chef. Be sure to head over this week to check out some of the recipes that our family have enjoyed. The best part is, I know our boys are getting extra vegetables into their diets eating foods that are healthy for them.

Previous Cooking with TechyDad recipes include:

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Mashmallow Dessert Pizza

Slow Cooker Bean Soup

Mock Crab Cakes

Tie-Dyed Cheesecake

Eggplant Italian (for the slow cooker)

There are several others. You can find them by looking under the cooking area on the website. I hope you enjoy browsing and know that many more delicious recipes are coming soon. Remember, as a taste tester I know!

Categories:
bloggy friends food glorious food jl photos TechyDad yummy

100 Books and counting

Posted on November 7, 2009 4:32 pm by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

On Monday, you went back to school and handed in your monthly home reading log. Going into October, you already had finished 82 books. Thanks to your love of reading, your books from October put you well over the 100 book mark. This is something that each first grader is supposed to do by June. You finished this goal in two months, along with your summer reading program titles. Way to go big kid!

Today, we went to the library again and took out more books. I love that you have such a variety of books on your list. Of course, having a reading teacher mother does not hurt. We have been experimenting with different genres and multiple authors. I love how you ask to read before going to bed each night. It is amazing to listen to a story being read to me by my own child.