For me, that usually means that the cooking and the cleaning take the hits.  I'm not the best chef or housekeeper anyhow but I take pride in being able to prepare a nice meal that we all sit down and enjoy together.  When I get overwhelmed, I just fall back on the same recipes over and over again.  We tend to eat out more because "...not chicken AGAIN, Mom." 

Thankfully, Unilever noticed a need and created Making Life Better, a website designed to help put a little spring back into our step. Even going so far as to create a Making Life Better YouTube channel!  By providing easy recipes using products that we already know and trust. I've always been a fan of products like Lipton, Ragu, Breyers and Hellmann's, stocking most as staples.  Speaking of Helllmann's...here's a funny story I like to share.  We love it.  Always have.  It's THE mayonnaise for me but when we moved to Los Angeles, we couldn't find it in the stores.  We did, however, find that a product called "Best Foods" had a striking resemblance to our family favorite.  Upon reading the label, we noticed it says "Hellmann's® is known as Best Foods® west of the Rockies."  Jackpot.  Did I get sidetracked?  Oh.  Sorry.

Back to my story about the Making Life Better website.  It's not just a recipe website.  In addition to Food and Recipes, there are also sections covering Beauty and Style, Home and Family, Vitality and Wellness, Tips and News/Offers.  Yes, it references Unilever products, but it isn't designed as a giant sales pitch.  Their product ads are extremely discrete. 

Being a mom means relying on whatever shortcut we can that doesn't really cut anything short.  Special thanks to Unilever for realizing the difficulties that busy families face.  And for outreach programs through Mom Central as well as by supporting mom-related events like "Moms Nite Out" in conjunction with MomSelect (BSM Media). 

I want to point out that I received Unilever "Making Life Better" packages, as pictured, from each of these two wonderful programs, Mom Central and BSM Media for the Moms Nite Out event.  Although I had not intended on double-dipping, I wasn't guaranteed a spot for either as there were limited spots.  Thankfully, they weren't identical packages so I'm able to try out a few products that I hadn't tried before!Thank you to both programs as well as Unilever for this delicious opportunity.

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Raising kids now is so much different than when I was young. Parents have to be more cautious of strangers, language and content on TV as well as addressing issues with kids that we didn't deal with. You know, things like too much time on the couch watching TV or playing video games. Kids, on the other hand are being introduced to things at younger ages and generally just growing up faster.

I constantly ask myself if something is okay or not and try to figure out how to handle it. While family and friends can be great sounding boards, it's sometimes embarrassing or difficult to bring up some issues.

Thankfully, there's a wealth of information at my fingertips any time that I have access to the computer. I've checked various message boards and forums for answers, but recently found an immense amount of help at Mamapedia. I was introduced to Mamapedia as part of a blog tour for Mom Central. At first, I figured it's just like so many of the other message boards out there until I actually started surfing through it. It's essentially a wikipedia for moms... by moms. The phrases they use are "Questions by moms, answered by moms who’ve been there" and "Over a million answers on everything from Acne to Zoos".  That pretty much sums it up.

Some of the questions are things you might easily find elsewhere - "At what age should my child start to walk?" while others are more detailed like "What kind of chores should a 6 year old do?" It's not just about kids though.  Pregnancy or the inability to get pregnant.  Finance issues.  Household questions.  To make it easy, the questions are broken down into different categories - Kids by Age, All About Me, Health, Finances, and House and Home. Within each of those categories, there are subcategories but I'm not going to list them all... you'll have to go check them out yourself!  My blog post would be much too long if I listed them all.

Sometimes just knowing someone else has experienced the same problem or has asked the same question gives us some validation for our fears and concerns. Sometimes it's just nice to know we aren't alone. If you are a parent, you're bound to have questions about something. Stop by Mamapedia for some answers.

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Some of you may recall my "black eye" post in January about being introduced to baseball at a young age.  I was fortunate to have parents and neighbors who took an active interest in the youth of the community.  The lessons I learned at that time were very important and instrumental in teaching me about sportsmanship and helping me to develop an "It's only a game" attitude.

In that same post, I explained how Kellogg's Frosted Flakes has developed the Plant a Seed program to help rebuild sports fields throughout the country.  Rather than it be a pet project of some executive at the company, the power was placed in the hands of the consumer.  From January until March, people could nominate a field of their choosing and explain why their particular field deserved the attention of the Plant a Seed program. 

Well that time has passed and Kellogg's narrowed the field (pun intended) and moved on to Phase 2 - allowing the Kellogg's community to vote on the semi-finalists.  Once a day until May 31st, you can log onto the Plant a Seed website and vote for which field you want to see rebuilt.  Although the field nearest to my community did not win, a few others here in Iowa did make the semi-finalist cut.  It only takes a minute to vote, so stop by their website, look for a field in a community that you care about and vote!

Genuine thanks to Mom Central for the opportunity to spread the word about this great public service project!

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When my husband and I met, we attended different universities in different cities.  For our first official date, he drove the hour and a half distance to my city for dinner.  When we set the date, he told me to pick out a restaurant for dinner and that's where we would go. 

So I did.  I picked my favorite Chinese restaurant and was certain he would love it.

Yeah, about first dates... things you don't know about each other...

We arrived, ordered and ate.  When we finished eating, he told me he has never been a fan of Chinese food.  Oh.  Oops.  Sorry.  But he didn't complain at all.  In the time since that first date, Asian foods have become one of our favorite types of food so much so that each Christmas Eve, we have dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

A little while back, one of my public relations reps asked if I would be interested in trying out Kahiki Egg Rolls.  Sure, why not?  The worst that can happen is that I don't like it and never purchase it.  I agreed to try them out.  Shortly thereafter, I received a dry-ice package in the mail with three frozen boxes of Kahiki Egg Rolls - Chicken, Vegetable and Pork/Shrimp.

The packages were labeled as "Easy Crisp" and "Ready in 2 1/2 minutes".  Microwavable egg rolls?  I'm a skeptic but I said I would sample them.  Even if it comes out mushy, it may still taste good.

DH opened the package one evening and proceeded to heat it up according to the directions.  Each egg roll is individually wrapped in a microwave-safe foil wrapper that you trim the ends of before microwaving.  I'm sure you've seen other frozen products that use a similar technique to create a crisp outside in the microwave.

When we removed the Kahiki Egg Roll from the wrapper, we were pleasantly surprised to see that it was actually browned and a little crispy.  I honestly expected it to be browned but leaning toward crisp-ish, if you know what I mean. 

The flavors of the egg rolls are very traditional and, yes, tasty.  Although they aren't as crispy as a deep-fried egg roll, they are not mushy and are still delicious.  Kahiki microwavable egg rolls are perfect for a light lunch, a side dish or even a snack.  Because they are so easy to make, they are perfect for taking to work.  Since they aren't actually deep-fried, I didn't find them to be greasy either... another plus when calculating whether to pack them for work.

My husband and I thought these were great egg rolls and quickly clipped the coupon that was on the inside of the box.  We've found them at WalMart and have noticed other Kahiki products that look delicious also.  I'm certain we'll be trying the General Tso's Chicken one of these days, which, by the way, has become one of DH's favorite foods.  (Funny how our taste buds change, huh?)

Interested?  Check the Kahiki website for coupons.  Curious about their company? Check out the Kahiki Blog or catch them on Twitter.  Hungry now? Find a store near you.

Thanks to my PR representative and Kahiki for providing the food for this delicious review!

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Back in January, DH convinced me that the BlogHer conference in Chicago is an opportunity that I shouldn't pass up.  It's a close enough drive that I don't have a huge airfare bill to worry about and I have enough great blogging friends that was able to find a roomie or two to help split the hotel costs with.  I registered early enough to get the discounted registration fee so that helped also.  There are constantly companies popping up offering scholarships and sponsorships but I haven't been fortunate enough to land one of those yet.  But I'll keep plugging away in hopes that something will come along.

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What's on your menu for the day? Let me guess... Mexican food.  I love Mexican food but I'm not much of a crowd person and today, they'll all be crowded. People will be flocking to Mexican restaurants because it's Cinco de Mayo.

But it's not the only option for lunch. If you're feeling like celebrating a food holiday but are looking for something a little less chaotic, consider the local 'sub' shop. You can get yourself a good ole American Hoagie sandwich and celebrate "National Hoagie Day."

I honestly didn't even know about it until one of my PR firms contacted me regarding Charley's Grilled Subs. They offered to send me some coupons to celebrate National Hoagie Day.  Miss K had a field trip for school today and I'll be chaperoning so I am not going to be able to partake in any of the festivities. 

It isn't like I'm unfamiliar with Charley's though.  There is a Charley's at our local mall and I love their food. When I eat there, I typically order their Philly Cheesesteak and sometimes send my taste buds into overdrive with their gourmet fries.  Although I can't make it there today, I'll be at the mall soon enough now that the car shows are back underway. (Our mall is one of the hot spots for car cruise-ins.)  I'll be sure to carry my coupons next time and enjoy one of Charley's Grilled Subs!

If you're looking for an alternative to Cinco de Mayo food, either find a Charley's near you or stop by your other favorite Hoagie restaurant!  And next year, remember that Cinco de Mayo translates to "National Hoagie Day!"

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