Join the Party with Ultimate Blog Party 2013!! #UBP13

Welcome to the party! The Ultimate Blog Part is blogging party created by 5 Minutes for Mom and it grows by leaps and bounds every year! Check out how to participate on their party post, create your own, link up and start visiting other great blogs out there.

I love parties. Time to spend with friends, mingling and meeting new faces. Every year I am excited to meet new bloggers and find amazing new blogs through the UBP. This marks my 4th year linking up and we have grown around here.

This blog is all about my family, our food and life on the farm. We love throwing a good party. Here are some of the party highlights from the past year:

We threw a magical Cinderella Princess Party for friends.

We got a little crazy with our in-home Men In Black 3 viewing party. This post was full of crazy treats and craft ideas.

And most recently we threw a March Basketball Party for our fellow sports enthusiasts. With a sandwich bar and lots of munchies to keep everyone happy.

Of course, I invite your to browse around my recipes. I love spending time in my kitchen and though sweets are always popular around here, I do make a variety of dishes for my family. Here is a highlight of the past few weeks:

1. Chocolate Brioche
2. Korean Tacos in the crock pot with homemade Kimchi
3. Baked Lemon Pasta with Kale
4. Homemade Sandwich Cookies (Faux-reos)
5. From Scratch Banana Pudding Parfaits
6. Mini Heath Chocolate Cakes

And the farm? Well, this time year the guys are busy tilling and planting. My chickens are busy scratching in the yard and I am getting set to plant our family garden out back. You can expect to find more gardening tips and tricks on my blog as the weather heats up here in Oregon.

I am currently getting ready for baby #3 in June, a little boy we are going to name Elliott. This means there will be a few more product and baby focused posts, but family and food have always been the reason why I created this blog back in 2007 with the birth of my first child.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will come back during the growing season and check out what we are up to. Life is never boring around here - it is always an adventure!

Connect with me on my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Welcome! Glad You Joined us for The Ultimate Blog Party #UBP12

Welcome to the party!

So glad you could stop by. This is my 3rd year linking up with the fabulous Ultimate Blog Party - and yes, it is fabulous! Over the years I have made many new friends and found great, new blogs to follow.

My little family of 4 lives on a farm in the Pacific Northwest. Some days I feel like it is our own little "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow. When it isn't raining here, that is. We are either growing food (my husband is the farmer) or preparing it (me!) in some way or another. It helps that I love to eat.

There is room for the chickens, our garden, a dog, a cat and of course the kiddos who keep me on my toes everyday! This is exactly how I want it though.

I love blogging about daily life, yearly occurrences like the prune harvest or carrot washing on the farm.

But besides the chance to show off my kids and their crazy antics, I love to share recipes and food posts. I make a wide variety of foods. Though I enjoy local, seasonal goodies... I love to bake breads and cakes as well as explore using healthy fare like quinoa and cooking from scratch.

Some of my favorite food posts this year have been for:

Spicy Lemon Quinoa
Bread Machine Challah Bread
Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake
Blueberry Ginger and Lemon Crisp

Of course, I also love adding on giveaways and giving my two cents in a review. Check out the right-hand side of my blog for current giveaways.

Come connect with me on Facebook or @notimeMom on twitter. Don't forget to follow my boards on Pinterest while you are at it. I love to share great products, recipes and all matter of crafty stuff.

Thanks for dropping in. I hope your will stay away, click a link or two and visit again real soon. As I like to say, whether it involves my kids or my kitchen, it is all an adventure. This is our adventure in all things food.

See past party posts:
UBP 2011
UBP 2010

Of course, if you haven't linked up there is still time to join the party. Just hop on over to 5 Minutes for Mom for all the details on how to join in.

UBP - The Ultimate Blog Party is Coming!

There ain't no party like a bloggers' party, cause a bloggers' party don't stop!

It is time to stand on the rooftops and pass it on that the Ultimate Blog Party is coming April 13 - 20. Mark your calendar, start writing your party post and get set to zip around the internet meeting other bloggers like you. It is a great chance to let your hair down, get creative and find great new blogs to follow.

More details will be coming soon, but head over to 5 Minutes for Mom for all the details.

#UBP11 Is Here! Let the Mingling Begin.

It's Baaack! And I am ready to Par-Tay!

Ultimate Blog Party is brought to us by Susan & Janice of 5 Minutes for Mom!

My name is Andrea and this is my little blog. I am a SAHM to two little ones who keep me on my toes!
Here in Oregon we love the outdoors, we grow our own food on the farm, and we also love to play with our food.

Oh, where are my manners? Grab an hors devour, a drink and stay for a bit. While you are looking around, be sure to check out some of my favorite recipes:

•  How about these Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting
• Or these Cranberry Orange Muffins?
• Or a Bowl of Roasted Beef, Barley & Mushroom Soup?

 I love food and am always looking for good recipes to share with my readers and scratch cooking and baking are my passion. We live next to the family farm and are always looking for new and delicious ways to use the fresh fruits and vegetables available.

Though much of our life revolves around food... there is so much more to this blog. I am a Mom with little kids, so the fun and insanity just never seems to stop! I love sharing pictures and moments. But we also enjoy trying out new products, posting reviews and of course, throwing in a giveaway or two as garnish!

Be sure to check out my current giveaway listing on the right sidebar. A few with low entries include:

• EA Sports Active for the Wii (4/4)
• $25 Amazon Gift Card (4/4)
• Gorton's Frozen Seafood Giveaway (4/10)

Besides these, Blogmania is coming up April 9th - 11th. Each participating blog will have a prize package worth at least $100 dollars! Easy entries, so mark your calendar and stop back by.

Also follow  me in my weight loss journey. I am excited to be a Finalist for Mamavation Mom campaign #8 and am looking for more votes to win one of two spots. I have 70 more pounds to lose and could use the dietary, fitness and life coaching offered in the program.

Please take a minute during your blog hopping to vote for "notimeMom" http://bit.ly/geB3Y8. Just two quick clicks! No sign-up or hassle.
The winners will be announced at the Mamavation twitter party 4/4.

...and for even more fun... GirlGoneMom.com is giving away a $25 SUBWAY gift card and I have entered to win it.  Check out her UBP11 post here. 

UBP After Party!

Whew! Who knew that a SAHM of 3 could party so hard and for a whole week. My biggest problem is, there are so many more blogs to visit. I guess I will be trying to visit all of them before next years fabulous bash!

While I was blog hopping, I did come across some great blogs. My top 3 included: Finding Joy In My Kitchen , because she is also on a similar food journey as we are. She had gotten rid of the processed food in her kitchen, and is making it from scratch; The Local Cook, because her Shitake Pasta recipe looks fabulous and she strives to eat locally; and Loving My Life for all the great photos she shares of her family.

Thanks for the party! I am stuffed... too many cocktail weenies, I guess. Cheers! ... and I will see you all next year.

Ultimate Blog Party - hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom!

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by my little part of the blogisphere. The party is just getting started here on Friday 4/9 and there is a fabulous looking list of prizes! I have my wishlist at the end of this post.

So, I am supposed to introduce myself and I will try really hard to keep it brief.

My name is Andrea and this is my adventure in all things food. I have always loved to bake, cook or just plain create edible delights. I dreamed of someday passing on all of that to my kiddos.

Fast forward to present day and I have 2 gorgeous kiddos (boy do they keep me busy!) who were diagnosed with PKU. This has made food (my love!) a real challenge. It also necessitated me staying home to care for them. So, now I am a SAHM with a computer and a blog. Look out! Now more than ever I am trying to make it all as healthy and fresh as I can. So, from my garden through the kitchen and to the table, it is all an adventure.

Of course with kids comes stuff. No matter how you go about it, they need stuff. Believe me, I have stuff coming out my ears here. This was made painfully obvious during our recent move to a new house out of town. So besides cooking and eating my way through the day, we talk about stuff. I love to try new things and also read other blogs about the great stuff they have found.

I hope you will like your visit and will take a moment to look through some past pics from Wordless Wed. or even just my recent musings.

I would love to win:
#16 – A custom-made tutu for a baby or little girl. This can be made in any color combination you like (classic pink or your favorite team colors). Tutus made by Sweet Patootie’s are the fluffiest little girl tutus you’ll find – like a REAL ballerina’s tutu! Great for costumes OR everyday play!
#1 – Win a $150 shopping spree at Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles.
#5 – Baking Magic for Kids mini-cupcake kit for two winners. This kit contains 12 gourmet mini-cupcakes, unfrosted, with an assortment of frostings and decorations.

And if my top three picks are already chosen, I’d love any of the following (in order of preference): #63, 71, 3,15, 33, 32, 31, 83, 87, 98, 19, 18, 22, 37, 36, 73, 74, 9, from the US only list. or USC #60... I love edibles or I have 2 small kiddos age 2 & under.


Okay, now lets all par-tay!!!