Another great bubbling possiblity!

Babee Love is giving you an opportunity to grab up one of those fabulous SodaStream machines for your very own! Wouldn't that add a little sparkle to your holiday season? I know it would to mine! This is the number one item on my Christmas Wish List this year.

Why am I so excited? Well, not only can you find a great assortment of flavors to enjoy, but you have high fructose corn syrup free and aspartame free options! That is a wonderful thing for my whole family. My kids have PKU and can't have aspartame. Take a look at a bottle of Diet Coke sometime for the PKU warning printed right on the side! So, I really want to share this soda option with my whole family.

So head on over to Babee Love to enter this great giveaway... starter kit and flavors to get you started. It ends December 5th at 8 pm. PST, so plenty of time to get lucky. Well, not too lucky... I have my fingers selfishly crossed. :)

Don't miss out! Today is the final day.

The Penny-Pinching Mama: Rudolph's Gift Guide Day 13: SodaStream Giveaway is closing today at 9pm Eastern time, so there are only a few hours left... but, take advantage and enter!

If you have read my blog over the past few weeks you know that I am crazy about these Soda Stream machines and would love to add one to my home (one way or another I will!). Well, here is yet another chance for you to also try your luck at winning one fore your family.

Why not treat your family to some home-made, custom designed soda! Adjust the syrup, adjust the carbonation... or dare I say it? ... mix! Oh, yeah... your creativity is the only limitation on this yummy stuff. So, get on over to The Penny Pinching Mama and enter this giveaway. And look around at her other current giveaways while you are over there.

A Good Chuckle!

I was going through my blog lists today and stumbled upon this DVD giveaway. I had to chuckle as I read the description. Twentieth Century Fox’s latest, Chop Socky Chooks! sounds like a perfect movie for my busy, curious toddler. And it sounds like something I might want to watch! Okay, so I want it mainly for me...." three crime fighting chickens (Chick P, KO Joe, and Chuckie Chan) [are] working together to defend themselves against the evil Dr. Wasabi. "

For a detailed review and the giveaway, head on over to The Not -So-Blog & enter The Experimental Mom's giveaway. 5 lucky winners will win a copy.

Making your own Baby food.

I really wanted to make all of my son's baby food when he was born. That sent my husband and I on a quest to find the perfect baby food mill that also fit into our budget. We found the ultimate in baby food mills that cooked and mashed the food online, but it was a little out of our price range. We settled on the simple hand crank style that you can find in most stores. This worked great for bananas and soft foods. Now that my daughter is here, I am still drooling over the Beaba Babycook. There are currently two giveaways I have found for this particular item. It would be fabulous to win! ...and you have a chance to win it also! So head on over to get the "cadilac" of baby food systems.

Beaba Babycook Giveaways!

Learn all about this and other products by Scandinavian Child

vanillajoy.com (ends December 2)

twoofakindworkingonafullhouse.com . (ends December 7)


Here are some other great links and giveaways at vanillajoy.com to check out!

• craft room organization
• creative date ideas
• obaji skin care
• scrapbooking furniture
• teaching baby sign language

Tis the season to buy a Soda Stream.

I do love soda, but I am not a fan of what is in it. Usually high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweetener with carbonation and artificial colors and flavoring. Yuck. Not what I should be putting in my body. So, I am always on the look-out for the a good solution. Well, now I think I have found it. What if I could control the syrup consistency, how much carbonation is in it, and ditch the aspartame or high fructose? Well, I would probably do a little dance...

I first saw this product on t.v., and now I have found a great giveaway where one lucky person will win one. Go on over to the One Bored Mommy blog for your chance to make your taste buds happy! I have entered. What is keeping you?

Fondest Christmas Memories

Where to begin? My fondest Christmas memories come from my early childhood when Christmas was still wrapped in the magic of a child's eyes. I remember when I was in the first and second grade we had the best Christmases. Those two years My Mother pulled out all the stops and really tried her hand at the picture perfect holiday. Unfortunately I think after that she was burnt out and the holiday was never quite the same.

Anyway, I have one vivid memory of myself sitting in the living room with my Santa mug full of hot chocolate as my parents decorated the tree. Holiday music was playing and the lights were already twinkling on the tree. It was a perfect moment of happiness. I would love to go back and relive it.

Then probably the same year, my Mother went all out and we spent a good week baking away. There was a wide variety of cookies and delicious treats made for the holiday season. I loved helping. Every cookie was a new recipe that I had never tried before. I thought my Mother was a baking genius! It really was magical.

Yes, it is early to be thinking about Christmas. What, with Thanksgiving still not quite here I hope I have started you thinking about the upcoming holiday season. All the online giveaways and holiday gift guides have me in the mood this year. I am already dreaming about what I want to include under our tree. Be sure to check out www.gograhamgo.com and www.jollymom.com They are both putting on the Here Comes Santa Claus Giveaway that began today. Be sure to head over and check out what they have to offer. Better yet, subscribe or follow and keep up to date on what they have in the works. I am sure it will be worth it!

What three favorite family Thanksgiving traditions will you pass on to your children?

I always looked forward to sharing Thanksgiving traditions with my children when I had them. I dreamed of baking & cooking together with matching aprons, and bonding over cookie decorating and pie filling. Well, my Norman Rockwell view of the holiday was shattered with that first diagnosis of my son's PKU. I had never really thought about how much the holiday is wrapped up in food. In a moment, all my hopes had been dashed and I looked at holidays as dirty unrealistic ideals. How do you have Turkey Day going low protein? Well, flash forward two years...and I am again looking forward to Thanksgiving even if it means a modification of food & traditions I will pass on to my children. I will still celebrate the holidays as normal with them, but my menu will be modified.

So, what WILL I pass on to them? First off, I want to keep making our fantastic pumpkin pie! That is the pinnacle of the holiday in my mind. I love the Cook's Illustrated ultimate pumpkin pie with it's vodka crust. Oh, yes! I said vodka! It makes the flakiest crust ever. Stay tuned as I will be making it again this year and posting it. Then for the kids, I will be experimenting with the Rich's Rich Whip & pumpkin puree to either make the kids a trifle? Or a full on pie with Wel-plan baking mix for the crust.

Secondly, my DH's grandmother makes a cold cranberry dish that is to die for! Again, I am pretty sure I can use the Rich's to make a comparable low phe substitute. The original has a sweetened cream cheese base topped with a cranberry sauce and chopped walnuts... all chilled and ready to be savored! So with a little flavoring in the non-dairy whipped topping and no walnuts, I think I can get close. At least visually close.

Last but not least, I want to pass on a true sense of thankfulness. In my family we always shared what we were thankful for before we broke bread. Since we have so much to be thankful for; the modern treatment of PKU, medical food accessibility, our completed family, etc. I want to keep it all in perspective.

Okay, so what traditions do you want to or are sharing with your children? Take a peak at Twitter Moms for more info about what prompted my post and how you can blog about your traditions and win a Target GC. http://www.target.com

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I still love food!

I feel like lately I have been cheating on my most beloved hobby... food! Currently I still make food (I make milk, what's your super power? Comes to mind), but that is just nursing... It takes up 75% of my time right now! My new daughter is a good eater! ...sniff... so proud! But, has left me with very little time to cook or bake. We are still eating off the stockpile of frozen meals I threw together in my final trimester. I have attempted a few small things... but, getting sidetracked at the last minute can be disastrous for baking. (or boiling pasta for that matter! 20 minutes is far too long for spaghetti!) So bare with me as I try to slip in some of my cooking. Baby steps for now.

Bread anyone?

So, about 2 years ago, when I was pregnant with my son, I bought the

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois
I had high hopes of baking all our own bread. I had little time to get out the book until this past year, and discovered that I loved the bread. Our family especially loves the fresh naan! Well, now they have a new book out... Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Wow! Even better. I would love to get a copy of this new one with some even more interesting recipes. Red Beet buns anyone? Well, over at Heart Prints there is a chance to win your own copy of the Healthy Bread book. Be sure to check it out. Contest ends November 12th!