Food Fun Family

80’s Costume Party with Momz Share

Lolli — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:38:06 +0000

I’m usually not the stand-out, adventurous type, but apparently I’ll do just about anything for my local blogging friends.

On Saturday, I headed north to the latest Momz Share event with a few of my favorite local bloggers. The theme was the 80s, and I made an attempt at going for the early 80s look with hand-made leg warmers and all.

The kids were embarrassed to watch me walk out the door (one child suggested that I put a mask or dark sunglasses on so the neighbors wouldn’t recognize me). Somehow, I not only made it out the door, but I was brave enough to show off my Just Dance 2 skills in front of the whole party.

My legs are still a little sore from all the dancing.

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.

Are you playing along with Wordless or Wordful Wednesday today? Link up!
Want to grab my button?

PS – Before you go, you might want to check out the article I wrote on 5 Minutes for Mom about the Power of Local Blog Networking.
Oh – And another thing, see that notice up on the very top of my page about winning a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer? You should totally click it. And then when you win, you can send me some chocolate chip cookies. Deal?

Child Hunger Ends Here

Lolli — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:58:47 +0000

There have been plenty of times in my life as a mother when I have wondered where money for milk or bread was going to come from. But somehow, thankfully, something has always fallen into place and I’ve had food to feed my kids. We’ve had challenges, but we’ve also been greatly blessed.

Not every child is as fortunate as mine. On Thursday, I met with a group of local bloggers for a tour of the Captial Area Food Bank, as part of the ConAgra Foods Child Hunger Ends Here Campaign. From the Child Hunger Ends Here website:

Hunger is a reality in America, one that more children face every day. Food is their chance for a better tomorrow and a strong foundation for the future.

* Research indicates that even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth impacts their behavior, school performance, and cognitive development.
20.5 million children depend on free or reduced price school meals.
* Children who are hungry may not perform well academically.
* Children who are hungry may experience slower growth and inhibited brain development.
* Children who are hungry may suffer from more stomach aches, headaches, colds, ear infections, and fatigue.
* During the school year, about 20.5 million children depend on free or reduced-price school meals to help keep them from going hungry.

The tour of the Capital Area Food Bank was incredibly interesting. Seeing where our donations go as well as how the food is sorted and distributed was fascinating. The need is great. In fact, the Capital Area Food Bank distributed 27 million pounds of food last year. Their mission is not only to provide food, but also to educate, empower, and enlighten the community on issues of hunger and nutrition. More than 14,000 volunteers in the community ensure that the program not only runs smoothly, but that the majority of the Food Bank’s funds go toward food and not staffing costs.

There are several ways that everyone can help end childhood hunger, no matter where you live:

Go grocery shopping – Through May 2011, anytime you purchase a specially marked ConAgra food item (brands such as Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice, Kid Cuisine, and Marie Calendar’s), you can enter an 8-digit code on childhungerendshere.com and the company will donate one meal to Feeding America.
Text to donate – Text “FEEDKIDS” to 50555 to make a $10 donation directly to Feeding America through June 30, 2011.
Get social – spread the word and learn more on twitter. Follow ConAgraFoods and hashtag #childhungerendshere. You can also see inspiring stories of those who have benefited from your generosity on The ConAgraFoods Facebook page. Every time you share a story on your FB page through August 31, 3011, ConAgra will help Feeding America secure an additional meal.

Interesting tidbit: Did you know the difference between a food bank, a food pantry, and a soup kitchen? Answer: a food bank solicits, collects, stores, and distributes large quantities of food to nonprofit programs. A food pantry provides food directly to those in need. A soup kitchen prepares hot, nutritious meals for those in need.

Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way to participate in this tour or to write this post. I paid my own way to travel to this event, and I chose to share this information because I believe it’s truly valuable.

Cups of Hope

Lolli — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 03:23:06 +0000

According to Wikipedia, breast cancer comprises 10.4% of all cancer incidence among women, making it the most common type of non-skin cancer in women and the fifth most common cause of cancer death. In 2004, breast cancer caused 519,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths). With more than 290,000 women diagnosed every year, it’s not surprising that most of us know at least one woman personally that has been effected by this disease. Many of us will someday be effected by it ourselves.

When I think of breast cancer, I think of my inspiring friend, Susan: mother of two, astrophysicist, blogger at Toddler Planet, and breast cancer survivor. Although her struggle has been far from easy, she lifts ME up each time I see her.

Since 1985, October has been recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Dannon has launched the “Give Hope With Every Cup” campaign, which I am proud to be able to tell you about. Currently, a variety of Dannon products are helping to support the cause, not only by raising money, but also by increasing breast cancer awareness. Dannon pledges to donate at least $500,000 to the National Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, but they hope to increase that donation to $1.5 million dollars this year.

Under the lid of specially-marked Dannon products you will find a unique code. With each code entered at www.cupsofhope.com by November 30, 10 cents will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. ® (NBCF). The money raised will go to the NBCF, to provide women free mammograms and support breast cancer research nationwide.

Entering your codes couldn’t be easier. The form looks like this:

…and all you have to do is enter your product, code, and email address and 10 cents will be donated to breast cancer research. (click the image of the form above to be taken to the Give Hope With Every Cup website.

So while you’re eating your yogurt this month, take a minute to hang on to that lid and enter the code….and give hope to a women everywhere.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Dannon. I received a gift certificate and coupon for Dannon yogurt as well as a breast cancer t-shirt (in pink, or course) to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Silver Spring Soiree

Lolli — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:45:56 +0000

Soiree: “an evening party,” 1793, from French soirée (from soir) “evening.”

Group shot courtesy of Then Again Photography (aka Parenting by Dummies)

Momzshare got together for another fabulous night of networking, chatting, and food this past weekend. Jessica McFadden of A Parent In Silver Spring hosted the event at the The Little Gym in Silver Spring, MD. We had over 70 bloggers from the DC Metro area in attendance! A big thanks to Jennifer from Hip as I Wanna Be and Lara from Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom for putting Momzshare together (many many hours of prep!!). Here are a few highlights of the evening (for me!) from my camera:

I got to hang out yet again with Angie from Seriously a Homemaker and Caroline from The Bingham Diaries (also the fabulous organizer of the Casual Blogger Conference….I’m flying out in 2 days!!). PLUS: Check out my new haircut!!

Angie won the raffle for the BitMoms gift basket (someone was very excited!!) Pictured here with Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama and Jessica from A Parent in Silver Spring.

Here I am again with a group of fabulous blogging friends, sporting birthday hats from the American Cancer Society (We all want MORE BIRTHDAYS!)

BitDefender donated a generous $1000 to cancer research, specifically for American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and Team Why Mommy, anchored by Sunday of Extreme Parenthood and in honor of our friend Susan of Toddler Planet.

And it wouldn’t be a soiree without yummy food (from Treet), right? See those cupcakes there? Completely gluten-free, and absolutely heavenly!

OK, now I MUST get back to work. There are so many more details to share about the night, but you might just have to check out my twitter stream or the momzshare flickr group for more details. I’m swamped!

Flavor Your Day

Lolli — Sat, 15 May 2010 02:59:32 +0000

*Giveaway closed. Winners are (from random.org) #6: Jennifer – motherofall6, #14: Safire – Waterfalling Up, and #16: Alyssa – Just Another Day in Paradise. Congrats!!*

We all know that being a mom, no matter how rewarding it is, can be draining. Sometimes we all need a boost, whether it’s a couple of minutes to indulge in your favorite snack in the middle of the day, or something a little “bigger,” like a night out with your girlfriends.

Most evenings, I am beat. The last thing I want to do is get out of the house (in fact, CandyMan used to push me to get out of the house after he got home. I told him that I’d rather lock myself in our room and let him brush the kids’ teeth!). I cherish the few hours of relative peace and quiet in the house after the kids go to bed. However, as much as I love my quiet evenings, I love going out with my friends.

Last month, I was invited by Mom Central to be an Aquafina Flavorsplash Mom, and around the same time I found out that two of the lovely PR ladies (below) that I have worked with many times over the last year and a half were going to be in town to throw a special FlavorSplash ‘Celebrate Moms’ event. And since I knew that many of my local blogging friends from Momz Share were going to be there, too, I couldn’t resist. And it was a blast. Good food, lots of fruit (in the FlavorSplash and out), chatting, and plenty of laughs.

I enjoyed testing the different flavors of FlavorSplash (so far, I think my favorite flavored water is peach mango). I particularly LOVED it with pieces of peach and mango in the glass. Yum! I love to drink water but I often have a craving for something flavorful but not too heavy. I am completely enjoying my FlavorSplash samples. Unfortunately, my kids are drinking them as fast as they come. I guess we have similar taste. AJ loves the Wild Berry (the first sample box that we received last week).

Here I am, in the middle of the gorgeous Megan Maguire and Allison Parker from Mom Central

And here’s one of the ways we FLAVORED our night. Yum!

Lovely, lovely ladies!

The question of the night was “How do you flavor your day?” Our responses varied from coffee to Dr. Pepper (with little ice) to eating a piece of dark chocolate. And so I am going to ask you guys: how do you flavor your day? What is that little treat (it can be a drink, something to eat, or an activity) that gives you the boost to keep plugging through the day?

Answer the question and I might be sending you a coupon for a free 6-pack of Aquafina FlavorSplash plus two FlavorSplash lip balms (so yummy!). I will pick 3 winners next Friday, May 21. If you’d like to do any extra tasks to earn extra entries you are welcome to. You know the deal. I’m easy to please, as long as you play nice.

PS–don’t want to wait? You can click to download a coupon good toward $1 off a 6-Pack of FlavorSplash.

Disclosure: I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for Aquafina FlavorSplash and have received various FlavorSplash samples to facilitate my participation. Mom Central will send me a gift card at the end of the program. Additionally, I wrote this post after attending an event sponsored by Aquafina FlavorSplash and Mom Central. I received FlavorSplash goodies and a gift card as a thank you for posting.

Momz Share DC Metro Bloggers Girls Night Out

Lolli — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:24:53 +0000

What is Momz Share? Momz Share is a series of events, held quarterly and hosted by a different, fabulous D.C. Metro Region blogger. It’s part Girls Night Out and part networking. But it’s ALL fun. Apparently, Maryland is overflowing with awesome bloggers. And pretty cool businesses willing to sponsor and support mom bloggers. I won a La Papillon gift basket with scented candle, scented lip gloss, lotions, etc for being the mom with the most kids. Score! Here’s a little glimpse at the fun (and networking) that went on this past weekend:

Jen (Hip as I Wanna Be) and Lara (Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom) are the founders of Momz Share, as well as our first hostesses (joined here by the gorgeous Rhea of Pro Mom Blogger whose 3 month old baby was about as cute as they get)

Nic from My Bottles Up and Joanne from Barely Domestic Mama — Love the iPhone picture!

Parenting by Dummies and I were asked to be the night’s photographers (check out more photos of the night on the Momz Share Flickr group)

I met Justice Fergie at Bloggy Boot Camp last week. We were lunch buddies. She is one fabulous lady, and I’m thrilled that I got to see her again!

Leticia (Tech Savvy Mama), Janine (Two-fer Mom) and Stimey (Stimeyland in the background) are a few of the original Maryland mom bloggers that I met over a year ago. I was coveting their twitter necklaces. Yum!

One of the bloggers I was most excited to meet was Jessica from A Parent in Silver Spring. She was the highlight of my night. Jessica is the ultimate local mom blogger and I was shocked when I found out that she reads my blog too. Jessica and I and my friend Safire, who came along with me, totally clicked.

I can’t wait for the next Momz Share event, hosted by Jessica later this Spring. Do we really have to wait til May?

PS–there are a dozen more fantastic women I wish I could link to or show pictures of, but I have run out of time. Just know that I loved everyone. And more pictures can be found on Flickr.

Until the next time….