Holy Rum Balls! What a good deal!

You my have noticed that I love a good deal... and here's a good one. Bed, Bath and Beyond is having a special. Spend 10$ get a free item of $13 or less.

Check it out.

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=12402161&cp=4090263&cm_mmc=CH-_-20111121RDMPOS-_-11141042-_-m2PC10fg&cm_lm=mommysavesbig.com

We have a soda stream machine and we use our BBB coupons for the syrups or cartridges. I can hardly wait to use this coupon!!

I made lipstick!

Last weekend I decided to try out a project I've had on my mind for a while. I made hard lotion and lipstick.

So what the heck is hard lotion? It's just a solid lotion bar. What are the advantages of using hard lotion? Well, if you're traveling, you don't have to worry about the pesky 3 oz liquid rule. Also, you don't have to worry about it spilling in your purse. Here's how I made it.

Measure equal parts:

Shea butter

Bees Wax

Virgin Coconut oil

The bees wax melts at 175 degrees, however shea butter and coconut butter melt at closer to 75 degrees. Use a double boiler and melt the bees wax first. Once it's melted, turn off the heat and add the shea butter and coconut oil. By just stirring, the shea and coconut will melt. Once all butters are melted you add fragrance oil (make sure it's lip-safe). This will be the base for your hard lotion. From there you can add to a mold (much as the moose mold I used).

Separate out the liquid you will be using for your lipstick. Add more shea butter and coconut oil to get a creamier texture than your hard lotion bar. I took a soon and dipped it in the oil, let it dry and then rubbed it on my lips to see what texture and consistency would be. Add more shea/coconut until you get the right creamy consistency. Carefully pour into chapstick tubes. I used a disposable dropper to fill the tubes.

You can find all the supplies to make your own lipstick and hard lotion at http://www.brambleberry.com/

Coupons for the troops

I just heard about this great thing that couponcabin.com is doing. They're sending coupons to our troops. They military men and women can use coupons overseas up to 6 months after they expire. Today while I was clipping coupon I took those that I didn't use and made a separate pile for the troops. It wasn't a huge effort and I feel pretty good about helping out our military men and women.

Here's more info about their program.

http://www.couponcabin.com/troopons/

Roasted Lemon Chicken

I made roasted chicken tonight and whenever I do it never tastes quite right. It's always dry and tough... even thought I don't overcook it. I read up on the subject and here's what I figured out... I wasn't roasting it long enough. This time I roasted the chicken for over an hour. Then I wrapped it in foil and let it sit for 20 mins before carving it. It was friggin' amazing. Even my step son Jay loved it!

Here's what I did. Ingredients:

1 chicken

1 lemon - rind and juice

salt/pepper

lemon pepper

olive oil

butter

onions

Wash the chicken and make sure it doesn't have any pin feathers left in it (I HATE that). Take salt and coat the chicken liberally, scrub the chicken and then wash off... you're just doing a little salt scrub for the chicken to that the skin is smooth and clean. Pat the chicken dry.

I made a little marinade using lemon, lemon zest, olive oil, lemon pepper and olive oil. Quarter the onions and make a bed for the chicken. Salt and pepper the chicken first, the coat with the marinade, put it on the onions and throw it in the oven for an hour to an hour and a half. Baste every 15-20 mins.

That's it. Once you can take a chicken leg and pull it off the chicken without much effort, it's done.

This chicken was so amazingly good, and the pan drippings were insanely lemoney good. I think my past mistake is not basing the chicken. I think the basing really adds moisture to the chicken.

Don't be intimidated by a whole chicken. Try this... it's really good.

Working Mom vs. Stay At Home Mom... What Gives?

I was at a party the other night. (You know the kind... You're supposed to buy something but you really don't care because that means a night out without the kids or the hubs.) There was an annoying woman there. She's a particular type of Mom that you would know if you saw her: severe bob haircut, laughs sort of loud and awkward, thinks she's brilliant and that no one else can compare to her. Yea, well, I was having a conversation with this woman and she said (in a really harsh tone) "Do you work?". I was sort of taken aback by the question because it was really random. We weren't talking about work, we were talking about the wine and how good it was. And this annoying woman ruined my buzz by taking about work.

I responded to her "I work 4 days a week". Her response? A very short, terse "Oh". She then moved on to another woman at our table talked about how cute her shoes were for a second and said "Do you work?". Apparently, work was this woman's "thing". She wanted everyone to know that she's a working Mom. (Whoopty-damn-doo)

Here's something I just don't get. And I'll admit that as a new Mom (yes, Baby C's 15 months but I still consider myself a newbie). What is the deal with work at home Mom's being hostile to stay at home Mom's? And vice versa?

Seriously, we're all dealing with the same issues. The baby's colicy, gassy, has recurring ear infections, won't sleep in general, crabby, climbing, into everything, won't listen, won't walk, won't talk, won't eat anything but gold fish and mac & cheese.... You get my drift? We're ALL dealing with the same issues, so what's the deal with the hostility?

You stay at home Mom's are angels as far as I'm concerned. I couldn't do it. When I was home on maternity leave I never left the house, felt disorganized, discombobulated, never got out of my sweats, etc... The days that I don't work, I tend to feel the same way unless I have an overall game plan for the day. Groceries, nap, lunch, laundry, more errands, nap, prep for dinner, etc...

I'm getting side tracked here. But seriously, folks, what gives? I made a new friend at another friend's BBQ a few months ago (not the annoying woman, someone else). She and I talked about how our boys drive us nuts and about how our mother's are gone. After sharing several white wines I felt like we had the beginning of a friendship. I was excited. As an adult it's not so frequent that we are able to make friends outside of our kids school. Anyway, my new friend and I planned to do dinner with both our families soon. Then I got an email..... She invited me to a play date on a Wednesday afternoon. Ummmm..... I work Mondays through Thursdays and couldn't see burning a vaca day for a play date. I politely declined and told her that I had to work that day. I haven't heard from her since.

My Mom was a stay at home Mom and she mentioned how one woman in the car pool group would fling her hair back and say "Well, I WORK, you know", in relation to anything remotely involving the school. Can you bring something for the bake sale? "Well, I WORK, you know". Car pool pickup? "Well, I WORK, you know". Chaperone for the field trip? "Well, I WORK, you know". She always felt like saying "I get it ... you work".

Maybe that whole scenario has been the reason that I'm so tentative about mentioning my work status. My work isn't all that I am, just like being a Mom isn't all that I am. We were all women before we had kids. And now, this special journey that we're all on has given us something incredible in common. Our kids. So why can't that be the commonality? Period. Why can't we accept our Mom friends as they are... working or not... as equals?

Sweet Potato Fries

I was inspired by a recipe I saw the other day. Take shredded sweet potatoes (please use the food processor - it takes too long to use the potato peeler) put them in a large plastic bag. Add olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese and mix.

Spread the sweet potatoes out on a cookie sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. After you plate it, sprinkle with more parmesan cheese.

Even the baby liked it! Enough said.