Don't forget to check out the giveaway HERE.

A little ride on the hay...

A few weeks ago we had a hayride at my Dad's. Hunter had a lot of excitement about it the days before but by the time it was time to go he was less than enthusiastic. It was in the middle of nap time (with no nap) that we left out, I think that had a lot to do with. He did enjoy himself but he was not overly bubbly about the whole thing and did fall asleep.

John Loyd slept through most of his first hay ride. I am sure if he could vocalize his thoughts they would have been, "what in the world is a 3 month old baby doing on a hay ride????"





It was a wonderful day trip as we had to come back home that evening. Maybe for our next family outing we can look at outer banks vacation rentals. I am sure it is gorgeous there and that may have to wait until the kids are a little older. For now a day trip here and there is sufficient!

Let the eating begin...

Well I guess yesterday officially started the Thankgiving/Christmas season for the Brandt's. We went to Hunter's preschool to share Thanksgiving Feast with him. Here are a few photos...


I do love this time of year for what it represents but I have to admit that I do love the food! So, it is time to find a good fat burner because it time to bring on the casseroles and the HAM!

I am going to try to make a couple of pies for Thanksgiving. Also we are changing things a little this year, usually we eat 3 times on Thanksgiving but this year we are pushing one back to Friday. I am so glad. It gets a little overwhelming on Thursday and makes it less enjoyable.

Hope everyone has a very Thankful week next week!!!

Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks with Fiber Review

Thanks to MomCentral we got to the new Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks with added fiber. We also got a box of Fruit Loops without Fiber so we could compare them. I am not even sure how to say this other than "what fiber?" There was no taste difference.

As a Mom, it is hard for me to get through just he day to day chores, okay I don't always get through them. Then you add trying to make sure your kids are eating right and getting the right amount of vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc., it can be overwhelming. Well when fiber taste like this that is one thing I can mark off my list!

Hunter loves the way they taste and asked for them by name. I keep thinking about that commercial where the women keep coming by and taking more samples "trying to taste the fiber."

If you would like to read more about Kellogg's and Fiber go HERE.


"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kellogg’s and received boxes of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks and a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate."

Nature Valley Review and Giveaway

Thanks to MyBlogSpark we got a chance to try Nature Valley's Granola Nut Clusters and we loved them! I was not surprised that my husband liked them but I must say that I was surprised that I liked them...

We have always been a big fan of the Nature Valley granola bars so I new that they would be quality products but I am not a big fan of nuts. Well I have had my hand in the Clusters bag as much as anyone! There are 4 great flavors, Nut Lovers, Honey Roasted Peanuts, Roasted Almonds, and my favorite - Roasted Cashews.

What a great after school snack for Hunter. He really likes them and they are good for him, what more can a Mom ask for!

Plus these would be great to have around for your holiday parties! I promise your guests will be happy!!!

MyBlogSpark is giving a prize pack away to one of my readers! You get 4 bags of Nut Clusters to try and backpack, water bottle and binoculars for your nature adventures.

To enter just leave a comment about your favorite thing about nature, this is only open to US residents. Good luck and tell your friends to come enter! I will pick a winner one week from today, Wednesday, November 25th.

Spaghetti anyone?

A quick funny. As I mentioned earlier, we met with our Life Group after church. We had an Italian potluck and I took spaghetti. Let me say that it is the norm for me to take more food than necessary. It is a trait that I acquired from my Dad and well I just error on the side of too much, many times way too much!

So Sunday morning I needed to cook my noodles. I had already prepared the sauce and meatballs. My plan was cook the noodles and then add the sauce and meatballs to the noodles and let everything warm before we went to church. This way, once we got to church nothing would have to be re-heated it would have to be kept warm.

I started the water and asked Brad to put the pasta into the pot after it got a little warmer and I jumped in the shower. Brad did as I asked. From the time I was in the shower until I checked the noodles I got busy dressing the boys. By the time I checked the noodles they were pretty much a mess. Some were mushy, some were hard and there may have been a couple of noodles that were actually al dente.

Part of the problem was that I had enough pasta to feed the entire church! When I poured them out they filled the entire sink! Seriously, I had more that 5 times the amount of noodles I actually needed. So, Brad ran to the store and got more noodles.

We cooked the noodles, put he cold sauce and meatballs in the pot with them and ran out the door. Everything got heated up during Sunday school but do to all the stirring required to get ALL the spaghetti heated my lovely meatballs were no longer balls! Also, we have had spaghetti for lunch and supper 3 times since and I am still going to have to throw some out! When will I learn???

Whose kid is that?

This morning, Brad and I substituted in Hunter's Sunday class. We quickly found out that teaching a class that Hunter is in is not a very good idea! He was a stinker throughout most of the class. It did not take much for him to pout and cross his arms. At one point he even got up and sat at a different table from the rest of the kids.

I wonder what it is that makes kids act differently around their parents than they do other adults?

After class we ate with our Life Group and then came home and spent some wonderful time outside. It was sooo warm! Brad washed the cars and one point Hunter was running around without a shirt.

I have so much to do in the house but I just had to take advantage of the nice weather. I should be taking advantage of a free web directory to help promote my blog but I am just too lazy!!!

Someday...

I am loving this fall weather that we are having here in the south. The days are so nice. Brad has worked on the leaves once, I say once because I know there will be at least two more rounds! Hunter had a blast jumping in the piles, as you can see. He was even still in his jammies.

Brad is good at getting the outside done but we definitely need some things done inside! We need some floor tiles in the basement. After a major leak downstairs we have had to pull up the NASTY carpet that was down there and I would like to have some tiles put down. I would also like to have them put into the laundry room. I am sure I just need to add this to my "when I win the lottery list". Someday...

Who is that...

...in the mirror?

Who else does this? When I think about myself (okay maybe a little egocentric) in my minds eye I am still in my twenties. I don't see the almost 40 year old. A lot of the people with kids my age are younger so maybe that is it. But I seriously don't think of myself as almost 40 and then...

I look in the mirror or wake up all stiff or try to stay up past 10! Why can't my body go along with what my mind thinks? It is way past time to start going heavy on the eye cream! And I guess some exercise is going to start being a part of my daily routine!!!

My Boys!

My boys!  They already love each other so much and it is such a joy to watch!

Things are still crazy here.  Stuff everywhere, toys, clothes, furniture, yada yada yada...  However, I do daily give thanks for the chaos.  I know how very blessed I am and do not want to take anything for granted.  Yes, I have bills that worry me, yes I have clothes that I can't get into, I am tired a lot, and as always I have one of the messiest houses around but I am happy.  There you go I have 2 beautiful boys, a roof over my head and a wonderful husband and family.

Who knows, one day I might even have a motor home with motorhome insurance to tool around in but until then, I am happy now if I could just keep that in mind when I get aggravated at the kids or the dog!!!

Trick or Treat Zoom Zoom

To no one's shock that knows him, Hunter was a Race Car driver for Halloween. Seriously, we actually watch Nascar qualifying on Saturdays. I can see us now motorhome towing and following the NASCAR circuit!

Our first outing was at Trunk or Treat at church. Hunter ended up upset because there was a racing "trunk" that had a diecast car that he could not have so he pouted the rest of the night.

On actual Halloween he had a pretty good time but did not go to many houses, that can be read "Mom did not get enough chocolate!"

Here are a few of our pics...

Hunter carving pumpkins - notice his is a race car!

John Loyd's first Halloween dress up...

My little driver...

The "trunk" and it's owner that caused Hutner to be sad the rest of the night...

Rough Ruff

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before but here goes. Hunter will not leave Maddie (the dog) alone. And even though she puts up with a lot, she is a dog and I just know that one day she is going to snap, literally!

I fuss, I yell, I spank but nothing seems to keep him from pushing her buttons. Sometimes it is good play that they do with her toys but other times it is him teasing her or pushing her. I guess it could be worse, we could have a cat and cat supplies around the house as well. Wish us luck!

Watch me go

Zoom zoom!  The days are flying by and I need more hours in my day!  As I talked about earlier I have started doing some part-time work from home.  I am enjoying it but of course it does take up hours in the day.  I have also been working on my continuing education for my insurance license.  I waited way to long to start it so now I am under the gun.  Why do I do that?

The boys are doing well and we did get out H1N1 shots (except for the baby of course.)  Hunter is excited about Halloween and I all I can think of is the next thing I need to do.  With Christmas and Hunter's birthday coming up soon I have not only birthday invitation but holiday invitations  to think about as well. Not to mention I still have to get John Loyd's birth announcements out! Whew!

Hunter and Brad carved pumpkins last night and I hope before the weekend is over I can get some pictures uploaded and posted!

Everyone have a spooktacular Halloween!

Moving on up...

...stairs. Oh my! Our house now looks like someone has broken in and trashed the place! We knew that when the baby arrived we would eventually have to move upstairs. The way our old house is laid out does not make it possible to put one kid upstairs by themselves. Soooooooo up we all go. Now officially there are only 2 small bedrooms upstairs but there is also a den like area (it used to be a separate apartment). The den area will be our "bedroom", it is not the best layout but we will make it work.

Now back to the mess. I would love to have a professional come in and put stuff where it should go, maybe I can find more one way links and get enough money to hire one! haaa haaa! We did sleep up there last night and I guess we will take it a day at a time and eventually things will be where they should be.

I hope it happens soon!

Evenflo Smart Steps - Nutrition Help

Nutrition, portion sizes, good carbs, whole grains, these are things that I never gave a lot of thought before becoming a Mom. Now, I gave food a lot of thought and have given most diets a try but making sure someone else (and an often picky someone else) is eating right is a whole new game!

Evenflo recognizes this and has created some products to help parents get their little eaters started on the right track! Evenflo Smart Steps have products for each stage your child goes through. Thanks to Mom Central we got to test the following products:

I love how these cups have built in insulation!  Hunter is bad to leave his cup somewhere and then drink from it hours later!

These labels just wash off!  This is wonderful for sending his food to preschool!

Hunter and I both love these!  No more guessing if I have given him too much!

Little hands will find these easier to use as they learn to eat with something other than their fingers.















 You can learn about all these products plus others at the Mom Central site you can also download a couple of coupons!!!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Evenflo and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.