The TaterTwins

Cheerios 2 Packs (Giveaway!)

Jayme — Sun, 20 May 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Let’s talk breakfast and big families. We can easily go through a box of cereal in just one morning here! So for us, it only makes sense to buy our cereal in bulk. Previously, it came in a huge box with a bunch of smaller bags. But now, they’re packaging it differently. New 2 box Cheerios contains two individual boxes, making them easier to store and easier to pour!

By reducing the amount of air in each individual bag, these enhanced containers fit 10% more cereal than before and use less packaging. This is a great thing- while each box contains more cereal, packaging material has been reduced by over 200,000 lbs, saving 1,000 trees and taking 130 Cheerios trucks of the road, decreasing CO2 emissions.

New and improved 2 box Cheerios are now available on the shelves of Costco, Sam´s Club and BJ´s nationwide. I believe I’ve seen them at Walmart as well.

But you don´t have to take my word for it, check out all the benefits of new 2 box Cheerios packaging:

I received a prize pack including (2) new 2 box Cheerios packaging (four boxes) and I have one for one of you as well! If you’d like to enter, just comment on this post by June 2nd. Winner will be drawn on June 3rd. US only please!

Cheerios® cereal, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

InstaFriday #4

Jayme — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:18:12 +0000

Ryan Update

Jayme — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:47:56 +0000

Ryan and Aaron left for Philadelphia on Monday morning for a few appointments. He had his MRI scheduled- he gets those every six months. He also had a checkup with the oncologist and with the ophthalmologist.

If you’ll remember, last time Ryan ran into some setbacks and complications. One of the tumors had increased to the point where they didn’t want to do the laser treatments, and instead he had surgery where they sewed a radiation patch on the back of his eye for a few days. Scary stuff! Because of everything last time, this set of appointments was only 2 months from the last ones, instead of the usual three months.

But this time, we received nothing but good news! The MRI was clear, and they didn’t even need to do any laser surgery on his eyes like every other time- the radiation worked! So, he gets another three month reprieve from heading to Philly.

When Aaron and Ryan got home last night, the twins immediately ran to each other and embraced… so sweet! They miss each other so much- Dylan doesn’t know what to do with himself without his playmate!

School Fundraisers

Jayme — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:48:43 +0000

It seems like every other week, the girls are bringing home some sort of fundraising thing from the elementary school. Sometimes it’s for a charity- like when they did the Jump Rope for Heart event awhile back. That one raised money for the American Heart Association. Other times it’s for the school itself, which is usually accompanied by a catalog and an order form where they expect you to go door to door or bring it to work. The problem with school fundraising like that is, we live on the Marine Corps Base and all of our neighbors have elementary aged children selling the same thing. Plus, if Aaron brings it to work, the few single guys who don’t have kids participating aren’t interested in knickknacks and wrapping paper.

Recently, the school put on a bake sale. I think that was a pretty good idea, but they held it at the school itself. I know I don’t send extra money in with my elementary schoolers, so I don’t know if it was the best venue to earn money. Perhaps a better idea would have been to sell baked goods in front of the barracks. I’m sure those guys would have LOVED to have some homemade sweets! I know they’d do just about anything for a home cooked meal- once when we moved, we offered lasagna, salad and beer to anyone willing to help and had a great turnout.

But that still requires parental participation, and with many families, there just isn’t the time to be baking. What schools really need to do is to find some super easy fundraising ideas, ways to earn the money needed without major effort on the part of the parents and students. I think the best way to do that is to make sure you’re selling products or services at a reasonable price that the majority of people would be interested in. I know some successful ones that I’ve seen previously have included things like coupon and discount books for your local areas and the one where they do the ready to bake cookie dough. Who doesn’t like deals and raw cookie dough?

I think I’ll mention this stuff next year… I’ve even found a site that looks promising, full of info about cookie dough fundraising made easy. Too bad we’re already in the last weeks of school!

What things have your kids done to raise money for their schools? Which were the most successful?

ET’s Hanging with the Stars Sweepstakes

Jayme — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:11:59 +0000

Have you ever dreamed of walking the red carpet with all of your favorite celebrities? Wearing a gorgeous gown, in the midst of the camera flashes from the paparazzi, pretending your rich and famous…

Well you just might be able to do so thanks to this sweepstakes from ET!

Grand Prize: A trip for 2 to ET’s Exclusive Emmy® Gala Party to LA in September. Total package worth $2200!

Weekly Prizes: (8) Win a 10 – 15 minute private, off-air call with one of Entertainment Tonight’s show talent: Mark Steines or Nancy O’Dell.

Daily Prizes: (20) Will get at least his or her first name and last initial on Entertainment Tonight in an on-air graphic within the ticker, bumper or end credit.

Contest ends May 24 at 4:59 PDT.

Want to enter? It’s easy! Just go here and fill in your info. And then share- because the more you share, the higher your chances of winning are!

RTT- BlogHer & Date Night

Jayme — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:50:00 +0000

While the kids and I love the new playgroup for speech therapy, I kind of miss having the therapists come to the house weekly- because it forced me to make the living room presentable. Now we have no incentive to keep it clean.

I’m so excited about BlogHer ’12 (Did I mention I’m going?) because Jenn and I are rooming together and we have been having the best time making plans.

But if you’re going to be at BlogHer, let me know! I’d love to meet you!

And if you’ve already been, tell us what we should see and do, what are the events that we just can’t miss!

The other night, Aaron and I went out alone. This is big- it happens only once or twice a year. We’d already eaten dinner, so we went and got coffee and dessert at Olive Garden, and just sat and talked for awhile. But the weird part- when the server went to bring us our bill, he asked if we needed on check or two. I thought that was odd, since we’re an old married couple. I could see if I was with a girlfriend out for a ladies night or something, but for us? It seemed silly.

The next day, since we were still alone, we decided to hit up an adult movie. I headed over to the ticket line and Aaron went to grab popcorn and drinks from the concession stand. I finally get to the window, and just about everything was sold out. I was so surprised, it was early Sunday afternoon- and they were selling tickets for the 7pm and later showings! We couldn’t be gone that long, so we left with our snacks and no movie.

How often do you have child-free dates?

Zombie-Proofing Your Home

Jayme — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:18:20 +0000

Tommee Tippee Review & Giveaway

Jayme — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:59:28 +0000

Sippy cups- they are either a lifesaver or the bane of my existence. All too often the cups that claim to be spill proof and leak proof are not. And then there’s my curious and destructive twins- if the spout is too squishy they’ll bite it right off. If it’s got a valve inside keeping it from leaking that isn’t securely fastened, they will bang the cups until the valve pops out so they can pour the liquid out of the cups. Then there’s the brands in which the lids snap on instead of screwing on. The boys will pop those lids off.

We have found the perfect sippy cups though in the Tommee Tippee Explora Sippy Cups. Now available at Target stores nationwide as well as Target.com, they are even easier to find. The valves snap in and are clipped in place so they don’t pop out unless you take them out- unlike some other brands.

Tommee Tippee cups are BPA- and phthalate-free, as well as dishwasher-safe- so not only are they easy for the kids to use without making a mess, but they’re also easy for us to clean. Additionally, the valve was designed by a physicist, so you know it’s good.

The cups we received are more like a regular, open cup than a sippy cup in shape. They still are spill and leak proof, but the way the lid is made encourages kids to drink as if it were a grown up cup. It’s perfect for this transition period!

Tommee Tippee Valve (green) vs. Other Brand Valve (blue)

Another great feature off these cups is the insulated design. The drinks stay cool, which is a must here in the hot southern summers.

If your kids are younger and need more traditional sippy cups, the Tommee Tippee Explora line has several styles available. Check them out at Target!

Would you like to win a Tommee Tippee Sippy Cup for your child? Head over to the Tommee Tippee Explora Sippy Cups page on Target.com to find your favorite cup, and comment with a link to that favorite! All I ask is that you are a US resident 18 years or older and that you leave that comment by May 30th to enter!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Tommee Tippee Sippy Cups. I received a Tommee Tippee Explora Sippy Cup product as well as a promotional item as a thanks for my participation.

Doc Appt

Jayme — Sat, 12 May 2012 03:07:21 +0000

My current healthy craving.

I went to the doctor on Monday. It was the one I’d seen during my pregnancy- well at least until she referred me over to the OB clinic and then I had the D&C. I like her, she’s a short, chubby, middle aged woman who listens to my concerns and stuff. It’s much easier talking to her than some random buff Marine.

It was a medicine refill appointment- they like to see me yearly to ensure my blood pressure meds are at the right dosage. I’ve been running a bit high for awhile, since the twins really. She asked me if I wanted more kids, because if not she’d put me on something better, but for pregnancy, the one I am on is the best.

I told her we were thinking about it, and if it happened, it happened. We were totally done before the miscarriage, but now… I am not 100% sure anymore. She said that she’d like my blood pressure to be a bit lower, and said we could increase my dosage. I told her how just the other day I started eating better and exercising and that I planned to stick with it. So we decided that it would probably be best to keep my dose where it is, because as the weeks go on, my BP should decrease a bit due to exercise & diet change. It’s high, but not high enough to be dangerous where it’s at.

I asked her to run some blood work- I started with my thyroid, blood sugar, and then mentioned how my iron and B12 were low during pregnancy and asked to have her check them. I started to mention vitamin D as well, and at the same time, she suggested it. It was nice to know that we were on the same wavelength.

I have to email her next week to ask for the results- most of the tests were the kind they send away to be done. I’m also due for a tetanus shot, but the immunization clinic was closed by the time I was done with my appointment and blood work, so I’ll have to go back for that. She wants to see me in three months anyway for a BP and weight check.

She told me to keep taking prenatals, just in case we decide to have a baby. And then at the end of the appointment she was all ‘Call me if you get pregnant so we can get you on all your other meds’

It’s nice to not be criticized for my health or big family. It’s pretty rare that a doctor doesn’t get all judgy on me, and instead is supportive and helpful.

Insta-Friday #3

Jayme — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:47:59 +0000