Healthy Snacks on the Go with Kashi

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kashi.

At the beginning of the year, I think we are all a little more health conscience. We started around this time last year with a pretty strict clean eating diet. I can say we did pretty darn awesome for the first 5 months...then summer, vacations and our move really threw off our diets. The move alone was the worst. You really have no choice but to eat out when you are living in a hotel or a house with 1 pot to cook with. The stress of everything had me reaching for chocolate constantly and needless to say, really made a big change in my body. 

Since we are all settled into our new house, we decided we needed to really focus and get back to eating healthy. We started working out together daily and I started training for my third half marathon. It's really important to me that I pair all the hard work with healthy foods. What use is it to work so hard, if I'm just going to fill my body with junk? 

Another health aspect I've been thinking a lot about lately, is that of my kids. Packing school lunches is quite a challenge. Cooper wants packaged lunches like his friends and doesn't understand why I won't buy him brightly colored, fake cheese chips. The only happy medium is to find packaged foods that are quick and easy for me to pack, provide him good nutrition, oh and that small factor, if he will actually eat them. 

I got a couple boxes of Kashi's new crunchy granola and seed bars in the mail this week and decided to put them to the picky 5 year old test. 

He was a little skeptical at first, as he always is with new things, but after 1 bite, he was sold! (Insert happy mommy dance!)

The Chocolate Chip Chia Crunchy Granola and Seed Bar has 3 grams of fiber, 23 grams of whole grains and 7 grams of fat. It is really filling and, I think, quite a good serving size. Also, 2 days and the whole box is gone. Clearly my whole family loves them! 

The Honey Oat Flax Crunchy Granola and Seed Bar has 3 grams of fiber, 25 grams whole grains and 6 grams of fat. I love that Kashi includes things like chia seeds, flax and quinoa in these bars. All things that I try to sneak into my food, they provide in a tasty, kid and adult friendly snack. School pick up is right during the time I like to have an afternoon snack, so guess what's been in my bag this week?

I will most definitely be buying these bars again. I'm so glad to find a packaged snack that really has minimal ingredients, no high fructose corn syrup that my kids like. Rejoice, moms! 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kashi.

If You Give a Girl a Sharpie...{Last minute DIY Christmas Gifts!}

If you give a girl a Sharpie, the first thing she'll do, is craft!

Continue reading here for the complete tutorial!

Dr Sharp Dentistry {GIVEAWAY}

We started our clean eating adventure at the beginning of this year. It started a lot of thought about exactly what we're putting in our bodies. We changed tons of things in our diet and have just more recently, been looking at other areas where we are filling our bodies with unnecessary things. I'm no hardcore, never eat junk kind of person, but if I can change things I use on a daily basis to eliminate even more chemicals, I'm going to do it. 

Dental care is one place where there is a surprising amount of stuff I really don't want in my body and especially my kids. We've been using these Dr. Sharp products for the past few weeks and I am very impressed with them. 

The Dr. Sharp line was founded upon the fluoride-free concept and formulated with natural ingredients. It is also free of parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate and alcohol. I love that I can have 1 tube of toothpaste for my boys that is safe for both of them. The Wild Berry flavor and the monkey goes a long way with getting them excited for teeth brushing as well. 

The Fresh Mint with Green Tea toothpaste taste great and leaves my teeth feeling clean. The line also included a Fresh Mint Alcohol-Free Mouthwash and a Green Tea Mint Dental Floss. All the products are made with natural flavors, Vegan and are not tested on animals. Dr. Sharp takes it a step further and doesn't package in a box, to support a more sustainable environment. 

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the products, just as I was. It's not like giving up ice cream for pureed bananas. It's an easy swap that can help contribute to the health of your family! 

The people at Dr. Sharp Dentistry are giving one reader the same family package I have, with a retail value of $37.50. Use the widget below to enter! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easy Fudge Pie {Comfort Food Perfection}

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Kleenex but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #KleenexTarget  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO”

When the people in my house are sick, my first instinct is to cook. Something to warm them. Something that taste good enough to ease the discomfort. Something to make them smile. 

This school year, we've battled quite a large amount of sickness. After years with only a handful of doctor visits, we've been far more than a handful of times since September. And it's not just the one actually in school who's sick. It's everyone. Coughs, strep throat, sinus infections and the inevitable runny nose. Poor Cooper has seriously had one for 3 straight months. I'm relying on Kleenex to keep his little nose from getting chapped as he keeps trying to "blow one more time". And thanks to Kleenex, he doesn't look like Rudolph from all that blowing. 

At least if I'm going to have boxes of Kleenex sitting all over my house, they are these adorably festive packages! Right now at Target, you can use this coupon to save $1 off a multi pack of Kleenex tissues.
It's been really rainy here lately, just to add to all the sniffles, and I wanted to give my little man something to make him smile after school yesterday. I pulled out an old faithful recipe, written on crumpled paper, that has been stained with softened butter splatters. It's been used so many times, I can't even count. Most of those times to bring comfort to my family, or to take to someone who could use a little cheer at their home. 

The start is my no fail crust, which is an easy, 3 ingredient recipe passed on from a family friend. 

That crust is filled with silky chocolate, which is pretty much the cure all for anything, right? 


And to make this pie go from perfection to comfort food perfection, homemade whip cream and crushed candy canes are added to the top. 

Which makes for one happy, runny nosed little man. 

Easy Fudge Pie Recipe:

Crust: 

5 1/3 Tbsp Butter, softened
3 oz Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup Flour

Filling:

1 stick Butter
6 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
1 cup Sugar
1/4 c Flour
2 Eggs

Mix crust ingredients with a fork and press into greased pie pan. For the filling, melt butter in a saucepan. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients. Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. 

Whipped Cream:

3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tbsp. Sugar

Whisk ingredients with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Put on pie just before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve with crushed candy canes for a festive treat! 

Datevitation: The gift of quality time.

Our 8th Anniversary was earlier this week. Still can't believe we've been married that long, or that we've been together over 10 years now. Time really flies. We don't need a single thing in the way of gifts. We're building a house and have spent lots of extra lately on blinds, fans, furniture and the like. But, nonetheless, it still kinda sucks to show up completely empty handed to your Anniversary dinner. 

This year, I gave the hubs this awesome Datevitation love coupon book. 

The book is completely customizable and full of coupons for things we can do together. So really, it's like giving him my time, in a cute little package. What could be a better gift?

The Datevitation coupon book is so customizable, that you can even add your own faces in! Isn't that so cute?! The hubs loves his gift and is really excited about cashing in his free massage sometime soon! 

The coupons I picked out for our book included a wine and cheese night, a movie-in night and even a little bow chicka wow-wow. There's a little something for everyone. Or a lot of something. There are over 500 date ideas! There are really adventurous ones like skydiving and racing, outdoorsy ones like camping and hiking and super romantic grown up ones. The coupon books are really quick and simple to make online. They are very nice quality books and come in a little 'surprise' sleeve. 

But the love coupon book is not just a gift for your significant other. They've recently added "boy" and "girl" characters with over 200 activities for kids and parents. I love taking my boys out for "mommy dates" so this is a perfect gift for them, too! 

Coupon books normally start at $25. But, as a special gift for y'all, you can use the code STILETTOSANDDIAPERS for $10 off your purchase and free shipping! You can order up to December 13th for Christmas delivery and these would be a perfect stocking stuffer! 

One lucky reader is going to win a Datevitation book for themselves! Use Rafflecopter to enter below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was given the above coupon book to review. All opinions are my own. 

Inspired Travel Look, For Less.

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and People StyleWatch and InStyle magazines but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PeopleInStyle http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO”

It's really no secret that I have a lot of clothes. I love shopping and keeping up with trends. Even with a pretty loaded closet, I get the "I have nothing to wear" blues on a semi regular basis. Don't we all? I love getting inspired to create new, fresh looks with pieces I already have.

The best way to get that inspiration, is a fantastic magazine. InStyle and People StyleWatch are both filled with hot trends, new looks to try and easy guides to putting looks together. My I love the internet and all, but there's just something about grabbing your page markers and going to town. 

It hit me, when I was in bed, carefully adding markers to nearly every page, that I didn't have a travel outfit planned. Why? Because I typically don't care, jump in the car looking like a mess and end up embarrassed when we get where we're going. Not this year, I tell ya! In this fantastic guide to holiday looks, included was a "Trip Home" look, which I loved. I also couldn't stop browsing all the fabulous statement sweaters they had listed. 

What came of all those marked pages, was a travel outfit that is comfortable, includes the layering trend that is all over everywhere and best of all? Budget friendly.  

Boyfriend Jeans: Gap - sale $22.99 | Flannel: Target, Old - $8.98| Sweater: Old Navy - 12.94 (used coupon to make it $7.47) | Shoes: JustFab - $39.95 (50% off your first pair!)| Bag: JustFab - $39.95 | Watch: Target - $16.99 (used a coupon to make it free!)

Grand Total: $119.34 for a look that can take you right from the car or plane, to dinner with your family. Boom! 

Until 12/7 at Target, there is a promotion to get a hearty dose of inspiration for a steal. When you buy 1 InStyle magazine and 1 People StyleWatch in the same order, you'll get a $5 Target gift card! Honestly, both of these December issues are really great. There are tons of holiday looks, including what to wear to Christmas parties, work events and more. Hurry and go snag this deal before 12/7!

Together Time.

I grew up with 2 sisters and was 13 before I had a brother. To say this whole new world of boys has been an adjustment for me, is an understatement. They like to get dirty. They don't care if they eat after touching the toilet. They hate baths. They like creepy crawly things. They fart. It's just totally different from what I grew up in.

I've learned a lot from them both in my 5 1/2 years as a mom. But what doesn't come naturally to me, is activities that are really orientated to them. For some reason, they don't like browsing the Target clearance aisles as much as I do. When we got our TogetherBox in the mail this month, I knew it was a match made in heaven. 

This month, was a Bug Box. A bug "castle", a stuffed worm, a net, a bug grabbing tool and more. The best part was the little book that gives you multiple activities that you can do with the contents of your box. From bug hunting, to bug drawing and even dressing like a bug, the TogetherBox had everything we needed in it for endless hours of family time. 

The boys and I went out in the backyard for a bug hunt. They were so excited to be armed with their tools! Cooper kept an eye out for small bugs on the trees, while Callan stuck to the ground. They gathered leaves and sticks for the bugs home and put them in the "castle".

It was so nice, for me, that they were running around with a mission. They weren't just bolting away from me, they were searching everywhere for a pet bug. 

We saw spiders, ants and lots of other bugs that we took the time to examine, but they really wanted to grab this weird, neon bug we found. It was furry and really cute. Cooper, very proudly put it on his dresser and was so excited to show Daddy when he came home from work. 

I let the boys use the chalk to draw all the different bugs they saw on our hunt. Ever just sit back and watch your kids draw? The way they interpret things is just so fun to see. 

The TogetherBox is a monthly subscription that delivers fun packed boxes right to your door. Each box contains 3-5 unique activities and you'll have everything you need to do them. No searching for anything! Each month is a different surprise theme that is sure to make every child in your family (and you!) happy. 

Want to add some easy to your family time? Try out TogetherBox! Use the code "stilettosanddiapers" for 50% off your first box! What's more than that, is the first 2 people to use the code will get their box free! So hurry over and sign up! 

Make sure to check out TogetherBox on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to keep up with all their fun! 

Thank you, TogetherBox, for providing me with the bug box shown in exchange for my honest opinion. We had and continue to have a such fun with it!