Go Brie!

We attended Briahnna's middle school athletic banquet last week to recognize all students that participated in the sports programs. For each sport the coach gave out 3 plaques to the athletes they thought were most deserving for a specific area. Briahnna was given the 'Coach's Award'. Her coach was pleased with Brie's readiness to work hard, perform well and be a team player. We are so proud of Brie and she certainly deserves this great honor. What a nice way to close out her middle school volleyball career. Next stop high school!

WTH Wednesday

I bet you are looking at this picture thinking WTH? My husband asked some random lady who owned a few trees that bare this fruit if he could have a few. She told him to take as many as he wanted. He tells her that he used to eat these "Chinese plums" as a kid growing up in Miami. She then tells him that if you drop a seed in the ground it will grow into a plum tree. Why the hell did she tell him that?
Now we have to keep these horrible looking things for him to plant. I am so annoyed because we already have some American plum trees in our yard that are getting ready to removed and now he wants to go plant more? WTH! I wish there was a way I could trash these things! I suggested he plants a couple in a big pot and go from there. I will kick his backside if we end up with a grove of those things! Has anyone even seen these doggone plums before?

Fun in the kitchen

On the Saturday before Mother's Day I got all my ingredients to bake up some loaves of pound cake for my neighbors. I used a Jacques Pepin recipe so I just knew it would be perfect. William was acting like a donkey that day. I called him into the kitchen and asked him if he wanted to help me bake a cake. He shot around the corner and back with his step stool in hand.

I had all of the ingredients measured out and ready to go. He enjoyed helping to add things and of course to mix them all up. He smiled the whole time. Sometimes during the day I will take the remote control and change the channel from Nick Jr. to the Cooking Channel or Food Network. William loves to watch Aaron McCargo Jr. and Guy Fieri (they are the only manly man chefs my husband approves of). William always yells out "He's cooking yummy food!!"


Although this photo is not all that great, it still warms my heart to know that my kid loves doing things like this with me. Guess what? The cakes came out delicious but sadly you needed a sip of water or milk after each bite. It would make you feel like you were about to choke. I will not be sharing this recipe with anyone! I was so disappointed that it was not what I was expecting. After all the butter and eggs that went into it I surely knew it would be moist. Nope, not this time. I did have fun with my boy and the girls gladly ate the cake. My ingredients and time did not go to waste :)

I am thinking about reusables

William has been potty training for several months now and it has been interesting. He has his good days where he will stay dry all day and even all night. Then he has those days that he just decides he will go in his pants. We have been using Huggies brand Pull-ups training pants. We tried a couple other ones but I like these the best and I find coupons more often for them. I have noticed something odd though. They have the regular ones and the overnight ones. I have found that the overnight ones are a little thicker which makes a lot of sense but they are cut shorter.

The training pants on the left are the regular and the overnight is on the right. If I use the overnight and he has a wet night, he wakes up soaked through to his pajamas. This does not happen when I use the regular ones. That makes no sense at all! I even get a couple less in the overnight pack. I am really thinking about purchasing the reusable trainers since it looks like this little dude will be taking his sweet time. Any suggestions?

Mezzetta Review and Giveaway

**Winner is #107 Lois S**
Congratulations! Those daily Tweets helped!

I am such a fan of savory food and love to have a little extra zing on the side of my meals. I am also a big snacker. Mezzetta food products really do a little of both for me. I recently tried out the Mezzetta Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives and I am hooked! I was a bit hesitant since bleu cheese tends to be a bit stinky. These olives were so not stinky~ they were a great blend of salty, tart and "meaty" at the same time. I have eaten them with cheese and crackers, on the side of beans and rice and also just by themselves {with wine} as a snack. I really like them a lot and think they would make a nice addition to an appetizer tray along with the Mezzetta Italian Garden Vegetables.

I did not know this but besides olives, peppers and vegetables, Mezzetta has a line of pasta sauces. They are made from all natural ingredients including fresh Imported plum tomatoes, locally grown herbs, onions and garlic as well a variety of other unique ingredients. Something I really love about Mezzetta products is that there are serving ideas on the jar labels in case you are unsure of what to do with that particular food. You can also go here for some great recipes & tips. I have been purchasing the Greek peppers, Banana peppers and Cocktail onions for years now as salad toppers and add-ins for rice dishes, sauces and soups. I am really impressed to see the different varieties that Mezzetta offers. They even offer gift baskets online. The prices are way less that what I would have thought considering the high-end quality of their products.

Speaking of gift baskets, Momfiles is giving away one Napa Valley Bistro gift basket to one lucky reader courtesy of Mezzetta Foods. This basket contains Homemade Style Marinara, Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce, Porcini Mushroom Pasta Sauce and Homemade Style Basil Pesto. The featured olives are Pitted Bistro Blend and Garlic Stuffed olives, as well as a wood pasta spoon and a stainless cheese grater. This is a $25 value. All you need is pasta!
*Mandatory: Enter to win by letting us know what Mezzetta products you would like to try.

For additional entries you can do any of the following:
~ "like" Mezzetta and Momfiles on Facebook
~ Follow Mezzetta and Momfiles on Twitter

~ Tweet this giveaway (once daily):

Enter to win a @Mezzetta_Foods Napa Valley Bistro gift basket @momfiles http://tinyurl.com/3ez7mu8 #food #gifts #giveaway

~ Grab the Momfiles button and place it on your blog
~ Follow Momfiles via GFC

This giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on May 30, 2011 at 9:00 PM EST. Please leave your email address if you do not have a Blogger profile. One winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. Good luck!

I received sample products from Mezzetta Foods to review and all opinions are 100% mine as always

Keep your family's skin safe from the sun

The temperatures have been turned up in many states across the US recently. I literally feel my skin baking from the shortest amount of sun exposure. This is a great reminder about how important it is to protect my skin against the harmful rays of the sun. I recently tested out JĀSÖN™ Natural Sunblock in the Family formula with SPF 45. I am always leery of what any sunblock will feel like and even smell like. The scent was really light with a hint of citrus. The feeling was very smooth and light and it absorbed quickly. It did not have that typical heavy feeling of most sunblocks.

JĀSÖN™ Natural Sunblock is made with natural antioxidants from extracts of Açaí, Grape Seed and Green Tea to protect skin from sunburn and reduce harmful free radical damage. It's great for the whole family. I really could use this when I am working out in the yard!
Since it is sweat-proof and water-resistant, it will be a pool side must have for my family. I might need to wear some when I am driving the mom taxi since I sit in the sun waiting for the kids to get out of school and practice. You don't realize how much you are exposed doing general, everyday tasks.

I also tried out the JĀSÖN™ Natural Lip Balm SPF 25. I was surprised to see a lip balm with such a big SPF. I am used to only 10-15. This lip balm was really smooth and creamy with a hint of mint. This again will be good for when we are working out in the yard.

JĀSÖN™ Natural sun protection products can be purchased here as well as some natural foods retailers. You can search for a retail location here.

Disclosure: I received products samples to review and all opinions are 100% mine as always.