Happy Belated New Year!! What a year full of FIRSTs...Lindsay's first day of school, Marissa's first day of her LAST year at school, Josh's first day on his own taking care of his diabetes by himself...and he did an awesome job....Katelyn started reading her first book series, my old Nancy Drew books...

My plan was to start the new year, with the intent of blogging everyday...and I am a little off by a couple weeks, but I had to sort through what EXACTLY I wanted my blog to be about, the things I wanted to share, what direction I wanted to go with it and then I would just run with it so without further ado...this blog will remain about the FAMILY and family reviews...I wanted to start a healthy living/recipes blog, a home/garden blog, and on the side my hobby for custom cakes/cupcakes. I know it sounds like alot, but I've had A TON of time off, and now that I'm back and without more time to dedicate to blogging, I feel I can offer my readers information for their reading pleasure!

More to come....Here are a couple pictures from the Holidays and a picture from a field trip I took Josh on to the Science Museum.

Here are some cool links I found via Pinterest...

Source: ginnys.com via Christine on Pinterest

Source: wonderfuljoyahead.blogspot.com via Christine on Pinterest

It came to me as no surprise that the first winter here in Arizona, my skin got dry, and itchy, even the familiar crocodile skin with those troublesome patchy, flaky areas. Having moved from California, where there was more moisture on the coast, I now had to face living in the Southwest extremly dry desert climate. To make matters worse, and even though our winter temperatures can be mostly mild compared to the rest of the nation, it does sometimes get very cold, which effects my skin too. Truth be told, I always carry lotion with me. What I am looking for in a lotion is to help my skin stay moisturized and soft, overall. One thing I also look for is if the lotion has a strong scent. I've found that these types of lotions cause a flare up in my allergies, so I prefer lotions that have a light scent or no scent at all.

Keri offered to send me some of their lotions to review, so I accepted.  They sent Keri Luxurious Deliciously Scented Nourishing lotion . It is total Skin indulgence with Shea butter, Apple Extract and Vitamins A,C and E.

Keri Lotion^® has been recognized for more than 50 years as a great lotion that has provided continuous moisturization for generations. Because everyone’s skincare needs are different, Keri offers a line of hand and body lotions to meet the needs of your specific skin.  Each lotion is formulated with the Keri^® Hydro-Deep^® technology, which penetrates the skin with a unique blend of moisturizers to lock in long lasting moisture protection, helping to keep your skin looking – and feeling – its best all day long.

Keri^® Lotion helps you surround yourself in continuous moisturization.

Get All Day Soft, All Day Smooth^TM with Keri® Lotion!

The Keri^® Hydro-Deep^® Technology penetrates skin with a unique blend of moisturizers to lock in long lasting moisture protection helping to keep your skin looking and feeling its best. Keri^® Lotion is available in five different varieties, ranging in price from $5.99 to $7.99, tailored to meet the needs of individual women’s skin:

·       Keri^® Original – Enhanced with five essential moisturizers, this product is daily dry skin therapy for smooth, healthy looking skin.

·       Keri^® Advanced – This non-greasy, lightweight formula is fast absorbing for silky, soft skin.

·       Keri^® Shea Butter Conditioning Therapy – Provides a conditioning therapy that penetrates deep into skin to nourish with naturally rich Shea Butter.

·       Keri^® Basic Essentials – Made with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E for a lightweight formula that provides optimal hydration.

·       Keri^® Luxurious – A total indulgence for the skin, with a light apple scent and Vitamins A, C and E.

Keri^® Lotion is available at Walmart, Rite Aid, DrugStore.com and other retailers nationwide ranging in prices from $5.99-$7.99.

I fell in love with this lotion. It's very hydrating, without leaving a greasy residue, with a light scent of fresh green apple. I've been using it everyday, especially on my hands and my feet, I noticed they looked and felt smoother and softer. My skin truly felt indulged. Being a mom on the go, the one thing about this lotion, I noticed how fast it absorbed in my skin, so I could apply and go without wiping any lingering excess before I headed out the door.

In addition here is a $2.00 OFF coupon from KERI.

Win it: Thanks to the generous folks at Keri, one (1) of my lucky readers is going to win a bottle of Keri Luxurious Lotion!

Mandatory Entry:

Just mention in comments before midnight, (EST) on 010/29/11                 WHY you need Keri. That’s it!

A random winner will be selected and notified via email shortly thereafter.

The winner will then have 2 days to claim their prize.

Please leave me a valid email address in this comment so that I can contact you if you win. If no email address is left, the entry will be disqualified.

Please leave a seperate comment for each entry!

Extra Entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to where I can find it!

2. Subscribe to my RSS feed !

** Please leave a seperate comment for each entry and remember to leave a valid email address in one of the entry comments. Winner has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

This giveaway is open to Continental US and Canadian residents only. 

***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. I did receive a sample of the product to try in order to write a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way. ***

One word to describe this morning was WHIRLWIND!

It's Parent Teacher Confrences this week, and like the chickenpox back in the day, you wanted all your children to be exposed to it, so you got them through it all the same time.

Same thing with this morning. First was Lindsay's. She's doing really well. Again, I remember Kindertgarten we needed to know our ABC's by the time we were sent off to 1st grade. Now they are needing to be able to count to 50 and know all their ABC's by December before Winter Break (Christmas Break)!

Then Josh had his. The last two years with his Diabetes and me working and going to school, had been really tough. This year I have to say he's doing so much better, and it really does show. From his handwriting, and his general feeling about school and learning. He does need some improvement with Math and comprehension, but we are getting there. His teacher said she knows he's doing his very best. Which made him smile.

Katelyn's went just like I expected it too. She's doing wonderful. The only surprise I got was that she's reading books way below her grade level, when both her teacher and I know she has read books at and above her level, so we're just going to check to make sure she's choosing books that suit her better.
So with one conference right after the other, after the other, OH did I mention this was BEFORE school even started.....Then I had to go home and get the children ready for school. By the time I got back Today I help in Lindsay's class, I went straight to there.

A couple more random things. I joined PINTEREST which I am just loving checking all the crafts, recipes, and photos out. Has anyone else checked it out?? What do you think??

So far I am making these Pumpkin Cupcakes

Source: myyellowsandbox.blogspot.com via Christine on Pinterest

and this SPOOKY BANNER to decorate for Halloween from Create and Dream Scrapbooks

Wishing you all a SPOOKTACULAR DAY!

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend.
Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer
So my question is . . .

• If you could travel anywhere TODAY, WHERE would you like to go??

 

For Josh's Birthday he chose to go see CARS2, instead of Transformers. I'm glad he did, because we had a blast. The movie isn't just a fun movie with lots of laughs, which had Josh saying, "WASABI" all night long, but I loved the whole James Bond spy movie theme it portrayed. Plus  I am a sucker for Happy Endings!

Star race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship on the road from Radiator Springs to exciting new places when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage!

Information courtesy of Disney

On Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D™, DVD and Movie Download November 1st. Pre-order your copy at Amazon.com

Cilantro-Lime Chicken in a Green Chili Cream Sauce

One of my favorite foods are chilis, especially green chilis. It must have something to do with the time I spent in New Mexico. I am absolutely in love with green chilis. If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner, than this Cilantro-Lime Chicken in a Green Chili Cream sauce is delicious and don't worry about it being too spicy, because the chilis I use are very mild. It also helps to remove all the seeds, that are responsible for all the heat of the chili.

I don't know where I found the recipe, but I've made my own adjustments.

1.5 lbs chicken
1 Anaheim chili, seeded and diced
2 Tbls. butter
1/2 red onion
1/4 cup of white wine
3/4-1 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup cilantro
1 lime

First I sauteed the chicken in the the butter until it turns golden brown, about 7 minutes until the temp of the chicken reached 165F. Then I added the onion and the chilis to the pan. If  you need to add more butter that's fine. I love butter. Saute the onion and chilis until they are soft. I then add the wine to deglaze the pan, and then I added the cream. Finally I shredded the chicken, (you don't have too) and added it to the cream sauce. Garnish with lime.
For the rice I just made a pilaf and added some tri color peppers to it.

"He promised her a new and better life. Out in Arizona, underneath the blue never-ending sky!" -Sedona, AZ

What amazes me is, all this time I've spent blogging, I never realized the impact it has had on my children. In participating in Wordless Wednesday, it never occured to me that my love of photography would rub off on Marissa. She loves it, and has such a passion for it that I couldn't help but share one of my absolute favorites she just took on a trip she took with her friend to Sedona.

Happy Wordless Wednesday all!

Today I started thinking that Halloween is just around the corner. About this time of year, I have my children start thinking what they want for their Halloween costumes. Katelyn this year wants to be Cleopatra. If you are like me, I'm looking for really cute costumes, at a reasonable price.

Keeping that in mind, I was really pleased to find this perfect website Just Kid Costumes. Navigating your way through the website couldn't be easier, they list plenty of specific costumes. You can get very creative, with over 3,000 costumes and accessories to choose from including superheroes and Disney Princesses. I even found a super cute Cleopatra costume. Some of the costumes are around $30, but there are ones for under $20.

Just Kids Costumes offers a fun app called the Dress-Up room. All  you need to do is upload your child's photo to the app and then you can see what they would look like dressed up in their favorite costume. It also makes sharing those photos easy with your friends on Facebook!

Look for Just Kids Costumes in the October 2011 Parents Magazine. Oh I almost forgot the best part, shipping is a FLAT rate of $4.95 AND you recieve a FREE Gift with purchase ( and who doesn't like getting things for Free) A Halloween Activity E-BOOK.

SOMETHING FOR MY READERS!Just Kid Costumes is offering readers 10% off of their purchase of ALL PRODUCTS if you purchase by Oct. 16th, 11:59 PST..So today be sure and head on over there and pick out your child's costume! 

Here's your 10% discount code: BLOGGER10 *

For this review I was offered an entry into a contest.

*All products are eligible for this discount. Coupon is good through Sunday, October 16th at 11:59pm PST. Merchandise total of $8.95 must be after any coupons have been applied. Discount does not apply to shipping, or sales taxes (CA only.) Coupon will be reflected as a 10% discount on the merchandise subtotal on the checkout page. Coupon cannot be combined with other coupon offers. Coupon is non-negotiable. Not valid for prior purchases. JustKidCostumes.com reserves the right to cancel any order due to unauthorized, altered, or ineligible use of a discount