Perrigo Nutritionals Infant Formula Prize Pack Giveaway!

As you all know I am a breast-feeding mama. I breastfed my oldest until he was around 17 months old. (He had a lot of difficulty weaning), and I am getting ready to wean my youngest son who turns one year old next week. I love the bond from breastfeeding, and I love knowing that I can supply my children with all they need. But when we are out and about I have difficulty breastfeeding. Our errand days are always hectic, and because we are involved in a lot of activities outside of the home it isn’t always easy to breastfeed. Especially when a trip to Walmart can sometimes take us 2 hours! So we buy formula to supplement. The problem with this is my youngest has a BIG appetite! He always has. He was over 10lbs when he was born. He is always hungry, and so far he hasn’t taken to well to whole milk. The only thing we can get him to drink right now is breast milk and formula. He of course eats some regular food, but when it boils down to it he just wants his milk! LOL. Sometimes it’s hard for me to pump breast-milk. I have always had trouble with this and it just tears me up. I can’t hardly do it.
Both of my sons have sensitive stomachs, with my first son we would spend a fortune on formula. I would supplement him while I had to be away at class and such. (at the time I was taking college classes still).
I have always been reluctant to buy store brand formula. As mothers we all want the best for our children no matter what the cost. When I first looked in the formula isle I felt so overwhelmed that I just mainly paid attention to the name brands.. I didn’t even want to look at the others, this was my baby and he deserved the best. What if the store brands weren’t as good as the name brands? But what we often don’t realize is ALL infant formulas made in the U.S. must provide complete nutrition for growing babies and meet FDA requirements for safety, nutrition, and quality. The store brands are nutritionally equal to national formula brands and yet cost HALF the price. Studies show that this can roughly save you around $600 a year!
I use other store brand items such as baby soaps, sometimes baby diapers, I always use store brand wipes, not to even mention the tons of other store brands we use regularly such as foods, products, etc., so why not do a bit more research on the store brand formula? I was pleased with what I found out.
　
Outlined below are intriguing statistics generated from a recent study* conducted among new moms like yourself:


*Baby-related advertisements strike an emotional chord with moms – nearly one in four feel overwhelmed (23%) and one in five feel anxious (20%) or confused (20%)
*53% of moms admit thoughts of their baby product budget plague them on a daily basis
*37% of moms feel guilty if they cannot afford a specific product for their babies
*Moms are willing to purchase store brand over the counter medicine for their baby (42%) and store brand pharmaceuticals (44%), but only 21% of moms are willing to buy store brand infant formula.

Perrigo Nutritionals store brand infant formulas, available at retailers, such as Walmart (Parent’s Choice), Target (Up & Up), Kroger (Comforts) and Sam’s Club (Simply Right), adhere to the highest quality standards, so you can feel confident that you have made a smart choice for your baby and save money for the family.

*All results are taken from the Perrigo Nutritionals “Brand” New Mom Study

Needless to say my little Levi took very well to the store brands, and as he is a picky eater at times this came as a relief. With two small boys I am always eager to save money here and there. lol

Here’s a little video from one of the country’s leading pediatricians, Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg: 　

To get more info visit: http://www.storebrandformula.com/

One lucky reader has the chance to win a Perrigo Nutritionals Infant Formula Prize Pack which includes:

*Perrigo Nutritionals Store Brand Formula
*8oz. Baby Bottle
*Fleece Baby Blanket
*Baby Bib

　Disclosure: Prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by Perrigo Nutritionals through MyBlogSpark. All opinions expressed however on my personal thoughts and experiences are solely my own.
　

A Family Vacation Made Easy! (Plus a Giveaway)

Planning the perfect family vacation can be ghastly. You spend hours trying to find a good location, nearby festivites, accomodations to fit your whole family, and not to even get into the painful details of cost!
With prices through the roof on just about everything these days, taking a vacation can sometimes be more dreaded than exciting.

But there’s a secret out there that many of us don’t know about. It’s something that’s been used for years, except now it has become much more easier. It's as easy as a timeshare rental!

What is a timeshare?: A timeshare is a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term used to describe such properties
Timeshare rentals are a great way to save money. You can save up to 50% versus a cramped hotel room. Plus most of the timeshares come with a kitchen so you can save on meals if your vacationing on a budget. Most of the amenities that come with the resort such as water parks, arcades, children’s play areas, etc., are included in the price.

Now the only problem remains is how to find a timeshare rental. If we go to a search engine and type in timeshare’s in Hawaii it’s going to pull up all kinds of things which could possibly take hours to sort through! And how do we know if they are even legit? But, again I have to tell you about a secret that other’s are finding quite useful.
It’s a website called:

                                 RedWeek!
RedWeek is a do-it-yourself timeshare site where owners can advertise their timeshares for rent and/or resale. Individuals can contact the owners directly to arrange vacation set up, and for further transaction. And since RedWeek doesn’t control the transaction they do NOT charge additional fees or commisions for the transactions.
When you go through an owner of a timeshare you will find you’ll save a significant amount vs. going through a hotel or resort personally. Here's another great feature for RedWeek:
1. Go to the homepage
2. Click on Find a Timeshare
3. On the right hand side of the page you will see a list of Features & Attractions (all inclusive, beaches, kid friendly, pet friendly, casinos, golf, theme parks, etc) Click on the one you want.
4. And it will load a page where you can pick the destination you want to look in, and it will them all up for you.
That simple, easy, and quick. Such a time saver, and planning a family budget friendly vacation should be fun, not cause a headache.

Right now we are in the process of planning a family vacation. We don’t have all the details down pact because we haven’t decided where we want to go yet. We have been thinking along the lines of Orlando, FL. I mean there is just SO much to do there aside from the obvious Universal Studios! With RedWeek I instantly found a resort we could stay in to accommodate all 8 of us for 7 nights for $1,200. Then I went to the resorts website and they wanted $1,724 for 7 nights for the same features and amount of people! With RedWeek we would save roughly about $520! That is a huge amount of savings that we could use for entertainment, souvenirs, etc.

It's great for those who own a timeshare and want to list theirs for rent. If you can't use it yourself why do you have to lose your money to? You can just list it on RedWeek, and get it rented. Your saved!
A RedWeek membership is just $14.99 which allows you to contact timeshare owners directly, read and post reviews, etc. You can try it out for free also by becoming a guest.

RedWeek is so awesome that they are even going to give one of you lucky readers the chance to win a 2 YEAR membership! Enter below in the rafflecopter form to enter. Even if you don't see yourself taking a vacation right away you may change your mind within the next two years.

Sausage Stew Recipe

Okay, I said I'd share my sausage stew recipe so here it is.
Mind you, I can't take any more pictures with my camera until I buy a new memory card. I love taking pictures, and all my cards are FULL. lol. So I used my cell phone camera. The lighting on it is not what it should be so hopefully you'll bear with me. If the pics are just way out of wack I will re-post this recipe probably later this month. As this is one of our family's favorite dishes we make it quite often.

OUR FAMILY'S SAUSAGE STEW

Things you'll need:

1) Potato Peeler

2) Cutting Board

3) Knife

4) Large cooking pot

5) Slotted spoon

6) 5 large potatoes

7) 1 lb fresh green beans

8) 1 Bag Fresh Baby carrots

9) Pack of 2 long smoked sausage (we usually just get the Great Value kind at Kroger, for generic it has great flavor)

1. Fill your pot a little over half full, then put it on to boil.

2. Take your baby carrots...



...and rinse them off.

Then place them in the pot of boiling water.

3. Take your fresh green beans...



...and snap the ends off, then snap the beans in 2 and place them in a strainer. Make sure to rinse them well. Add them to the pot of boiling water along with the carrots.

You'll want to let the green beans and carrots boil for awhile until they start getting soft. These take the longest so before you add your potatoes you will want to make sure you can stick a fork through them and they aren't crunchy anymore.

While you wait you can prepare your potatoes...

3. Peel the potatoes...unless of course you want to leave the skin on. We've had them both ways although my son likes them peeled better.

4. Then cut the potatoes in half, and cut the potatoes into bigger dices.

5. Rinse them well, and when the carrots and green beans are soft add in the potatoes.

6. Next take your sausage...



Slice the sausage, and then add it in the pot as well with the rest of the ingredients.

Let boil until the potatoes are soft also. Be sort of careful because if you let it boil too long you'll end up with sort of mashed potatoes. lol. They usually take about 20 minutes to boil on medium/high heat. But each stove is different so you will have to keep checking on it.

Once done you can serve with rolls or garlic bread. Both go along wonderfully with this meal.

Hope you enjoy...

Note:

You can tweak this meal however you like. One of my readers used canned carrots, canned green beans, and canned potatoes with smoke sausage links in the mix. I have also tried this, and while it was still good I do prefer our method with fresh veggies.

It's a great cheap yet filling meal if your on a budget, and it's also a quick fix since there isn't much to it. You can season it to taste. My family likes this dish plain, but when I can get by with it I love to sprinkle on some salt, pepper, and some parsley. Makes it even better!

And again I will be reposting this at a later time in the month with better pictures. I'm in a bit of a rush today, but I promised a certain reader who sent me an email, requesting that I put this recipe up that I would. Shout outs go to all my readers, and to Tina M. I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading! Hope to see you back soon, and God Bless!