Today is Thursday and I’m convinced that the Easter Bunny really should have delivered more jelly beans.

How is it possible that one small child could have consumed so much candy in a few days?

Turns out, she had help.  The problem with jelly beans is that they travel to the bottom of the basket and if you’re not careful, you may eat them all without noticing.  BUT, children always notice.  Their minds carefully inventory their stash in a glance.  Eat their candy, they’ll know, and baby…you will pay.

“My Dad is a stinker butt,” Ellie told her friend in the car today.  ”He ate ALL my jellybeans!”

“Yeah,” her friend responded, “my Dad is a stink bug, too.”

I am just as guilty although I had nothing to do with the disappearance of the beans.  I’m guilty because I already had a strategy in place.  To pilfer from your children, you must take a little at a time while convincing them that it was they, not their loving mother who gobbled up their candy.  Instead, he got to them first and that just burns me up.

Since Sunday morning my mouth has been watering for the taste of Juicy Pear Jelly Bellys.  I had grand plans to sneak into that basket after Ellie had gone to bed, but when the moment arrived… there was nothing left.

The question is not: “Should we buy more jelly beans?”.  

The real question is:  ”When I buy more jelly beans, should I let anyone else know about it?”

Champions for Kids seeks to “mobilize millions” of people by providing training and resources to improve the lives of children in communities across America and beyond.  The easiest way to participate is through their simple service project ideas of which there is a new one each month.

More than 16 million children under the age of 18 are food insecure in this country.  That means that their families lack the funds to adequately supply their growing bodies with nutritious foods on a daily basis, thus resulting in poor nutrition and an unprotected immune system.  Of that 16 million, 3 million are under the age of five years old.

This month, sponsored by Abbott Nutrition, their simple service project challenged people to “pack a snack” using items like Zone Perfect bars, Pediasure, & Pediasure Sidekicks and donate the items to a local organization that serves children.

Working with Loaves & Fishes, which serves the greater Charlotte area, we learned that 17,000 people were recipients of nutritious food at the pantry in our little college town.  Using their list of suggested items, plus the “pack a snack” suggestions, we created a flyer to host a food drive in our neighborhood:

On a sunny afternoon, Ellie pedaled her little princess bike up and down the street handing out flyers to our neighbors.

“We’re having a food drive,” she said proudly.  When I think about mothers who have to decide between paying the electric bill and feeding their families, I know that we’re doing the right thing… and hopefully, inspiring others to do the same in their community.

Little hands, but big heart.

After walking around the neighborhood with her little basket on wheels, we returned home to box up the items we collected.  {We have the best neighbors!}  In addition to our contribution of Pediasure, Pediasure Sidekicks, Zone Perfect Bars, & several cans and jars of food, Ellie took a look at all the food that she had in the dining room and declared, “This is a lot of food!”  And it was…  but there is still a greater need to feed the hungry in our communities.

With the Jetta loaded up, we drove into town to the food pantry.  When we pulled up, a volunteer came out and helped us unload the car.  Then he gave us a tour of the neat & tidy little “store”.

Whether you have a car full of groceries or just one bag, every donation is valued.  I encourage you to research the need in your own community & visit Champions for Kids for great ideas on getting started.

See more of our pictures in our Google+ story!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  We signed up to participate in this project because of the charitable nature & used a portion of our compensation to purchase items for our food drive.  All opinions are my own.  #AbbottCFK #ChampionsforKids #CBias

More than 16 million children under the age of 18 are food insecure in this country.  That means that their families lack the funds to adequately supply their growing bodies with nutritious foods on a daily basis, thus resulting in poor nutrition and an unprotected immune system.  Of that 16 million, 3 million are under the age of five years old.

In researching this project, I discovered that my local food pantry served more than 17,000 people according to their annual report.  These families {who look much like our own families} were provided with a nutritious one week supply of food thanks to the donations of people and businesses in our community.

We are blessed in our family to have the resources to buy food whenever we need it.  Champions for Kids works to mobilize millions of people by providing training & resources to improve the lives of children in our communities.  Their simple service project ideas have inspired our family to host a food drive and YOU can help, too.

If you’d like to participate from afar, you can download a project card and host a food drive in your own community.  If you’re local, I encourage you to participate in Ellie’s Food Drive!  We’ll be collecting your food donations to deliver to our local Loaves & Fishes Pantry at the Ada Jenkins Center.  We’ll be sending out emails & posting to Facebook with more details of our pick up schedule.

Here’s a printable list of food that our local pantries can use:  Ellie’s Food Drive

• Cereal
• Nutrition Bars {like Zone Perfect}
• Oatmeal or Grits
• Pediasure
• Pediasure Sidekicks
• “One Box” Meals
• Canned Meat (chicken, tuna, Spam, etc.)
• Canned fruit
• Canned Vegetables
• Juice (4-6 oz. Or concentrate)
• Pasta
• Pasta Sauce
• Mayonnaise
• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Jell-O
• Pudding
• Peanut Butter
• Jelly or Jam
• Cookies
• Cake mix and icing
• Spaghetti-O’s
• Bar soap
• Laundry detergent-small
• Toothpaste and toothbrushes
• Toilet paper
• Diapers and wipes
• Baby food
• Pet food

Let’s give all kids a chance for a healthy start in life & feed families in our own community.

Disclosure: This post has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions are my own & the desire to participate in a local food drive were decided upon in a family meeting.  #AbbottCFK #CBias

Three ways you know you’ve been missing in action online:

1. Your husband asks if you’re still a blogger.
2. Your triberr leader checks to see if you’re alive.
3. Your house is clean – there are some perks to being offline!

This past month has been quite a busy one for this football family.  In addition to celebrating Christmas, I made a major decision in our family’s schedule – more on that later.  While Coach continued to recruit student athletes, I traveled to Pennsylvania with Ellie & Toby to visit my family, then flew to Texas for a rendezvous with Coach before making the return road trip back to NC.

Christmas was full of magic for our family this year.  Ellie was just as tickled over her new bicycle as she was for the bunnies who also received new toys in their stockings.  Her new doll, which received the best reaction, has been good company for her and she enjoys having tea parties & cooking for her.  The doll’s name is Masha {not to be confused with Marsha} and is named for the female brown bear cub from her favorite documentary.

Oh, that Ellie.

Let me share a  zinger from the last month…

One chilly Pennsylvania morning, after running to the vet’s office with my mom & her dog, we stopped back at the house briefly to return the dog before venturing out around town.  While still buckled into her car seat, I popped back into the house for a moment.

When I returned, I opened her door and said, “How are you doing, Midge?”

“Mom!  I am not a bitch!” she shouted at me.

I laughed so hard and then said, “Midge.  I called you Midge!”

“Well, I’m an Ellie!”

Lesson learned.

Recently I noted that the last time I went away with my husband {just the two of us}, I was very, very pregnant.  I’m not saying that pregnant women can’t have fun, but with limited access to abdominal muscles, just walking on the beach was a bit of a chore.

Yesterday, we had a busy day of travel.  I began my day in Pennsylvania, kissed my daughter goodbye & flew to Atlanta where I hooked up with Coach & the boys.  By late afternoon, we were strolling along the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio.  Just the two of us.  There were no crayons in my purse, no stroller to push, & we enjoyed this thing called “conversation” that doesn’t happen too often in parent-mode.

This morning Coach said to me, “When was the last time we slept in like this?”  The answer to that question is easy:  2008.

And now, if you’ll excuse me… I have a date with my husband.

After our arborvitaes outgrew our few strands of outdoor Christmas lights, we gave up on decorating outdoors for Christmas.  Ahh, but three-year-olds are persistent & you wouldn’t believe the amount of joy that this small grouping of lights, trees, & one reindeer has brought to her.

Our palm tree is really special to us & we’ve marveled at how quickly it has grown.  It is 6 ½ years old… the same number of years that we’ve lived at this address.  Incorporating it into our holiday display has been a lot of fun.  Ellie likes to visit her little reindeer in the evening & thanks to him, she is no longer afraid to go outside when it’s dark.

Next year, we plan to add MORE lights & maybe even MORE reindeer.  Personally, I think we need a whole team of reindeer…  11 of them to be exact.  Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen, Rudolph, plus two more: one to play center & one animated reindeer to quarterback.  Wouldn’t Coach be surprised?  {No, honey… I didn’t buy 10 reindeer at Kmart.  Must be a typo!}

We have a large front porch that we also decorated for the season.  I spent a portion of our $100 budget on items that would add some cheer during the daylight hours, too.

And how about that elf?  It is {by far} Ellie’s favorite Christmas decoration.  It’s official product name is “porch greeter” but in our house she serves as surrogate sister.  She has accompanied us to the grocery store, the library, been buckled into the backseat of the car, & been pushed around the neighborhood in a stroller.  Thanks to this cheerful little sprite, many happy memories are being made this Christmas.

 This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions are my own.  #Cbias

Kids off of school for Christmas break?  Need something to keep them entertained?

Check out Alvin & the Chipmunks: CHIPWRECKED.

On Friday, I treated Ellie to an afternoon at the movies.  She was so excited to go see “the hamster movie.”  Hamsters… chipmunks… all the same when you’re three.

We decided to see a matinee, but first went to the store to pick up some snacks.  At our theater, popcorn is nearly $10 for a medium size bag.  I was able to buy hotdogs, popcorn, & drinks for the same price and then stuff them in my purse for the show.

Alvin & the Chipmunks: CHIPWRECKED follows the Chipmunks, the Chipettes, & Dave as they set sail on a Carnival Cruise ship for a relaxing family vacation.  Oh, Dave… when will you learn?  Vacations with human children are never relaxing, so you can only imagine the trouble that 6 spunky chipmunks get into with a salsa club, casino, in-room movies, & a desire to parasail.  But the real trouble begins when Dave takes a snooze & Alvin fashions his own parasailing experience by trading Theodore’s donut for a kite, thus getting everyone “chipwrecked” on an island.

Many professional movie critics thought that some of the gags in the movie were too adult, but as a mom I can tell you that they’re all quite innocent.  Afterall, the chipmunks are supposed to be children.  Ellie and I both enjoyed all the snippets of popular songs sung in 6-part chipmunk harmony.  Her favorite:  a chipmunked Lady Gaga song.

What many of the critics failed to note is that under pressure, Simon becomes brave, and Alvin becomes… responsible!  There’s a moment in the end that is so touching {I can’t believe I’m admitting this!}, that I actually got a little teary eyed.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions of the movie are my own {and Ellie’s, too}.  #couchcritics #cbias

]]> http://thefootballwife.com/2011/12/alvin-the-chipmunks-chipwrecked-couchcritics/feed/ 1 http://thefootballwife.com/2011/12/totally-drab-to-christmas-fab-curb-appeal-for-100/ http://thefootballwife.com/2011/12/totally-drab-to-christmas-fab-curb-appeal-for-100/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:50:37 +0000 Sara http://thefootballwife.com/?p=2969

Each year when we drag our Christmas decorations down from the attic, we often debate over which items we should use and which items we should skip.  With a three year old, we brought out mostly items that could withstand her curiosity.  After trimming our tree, hanging our stockings, & arranging the nativity… the little one was not satisfied.

“Let’s go decorate our garden!” she said.

I looked at the small strand of outdoor lights that we used in years past and knew that just wouldn’t do.  So with the help of my little elf & the Kmart Holiday Shop we set out to bring a little Christmas magic to our front yard.

Kmart Holiday Shop

Before we headed to the store, I checked out Kmart’s offerings online but it came as no surprise to me that the store was nearly out of stock of my favorite decorations.

When I was first thinking about decorating outdoors, I didn’t think about creating a space on our front porch that would be an inviting holiday space.  Plan B made me rethink our shopping list and I was very pleased with what we went home with!

• Two spiral trees
• One tabletop tree
• 24″ grazing doe
• glittered pinecones
• giant elf
• seasonal door mat
• peppermint placemats
• 2 bows with dangling Christmas balls

Totally drab to Christmas Fab

All of these items combined with a few leftovers in the attic were about to give our house some holiday curb appeal!  Once home, we emptied our bags, assembled our trees, & got busy decorating our “garden”.

The true test of whether we achieved the results we were after was with our expert:  the three year old.  Were we able to create a magical garden using old items from the attic and a $100 budget from Kmart?  Oh, you’ll just have to wait and see…

Until then, I invite you to check out my Google+ slideshow of our entire shopping & decorating experience!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions are my own.  #Cbias #kmartholiday

If you are a reader of this blog then you know two things about my dear little daughter:

1. She is very busy.
2. She has a ferocious appetite.

Now is a great time to try Tyson’s newest product – if you buy 2 boxes of Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches,you’ll receive a $5 Walmart Gift Card.  These sandwiches aren’t available in all stores yet, so visit TysonGoodness.com to find a store near you.

To see more pictures, please visit my Google+ Story.

DISCLOSURE: THIS SHOP HAS BEEN COMPENSATED AS PART OF A SOCIAL SHOPPER INSIGHTS STUDY FOR COLLECTIVE BIAS.  ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.  #CBIAS #TYSONGOODNESS

Saving Money Made Easy

I’ll never be an extreme couponer, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like saving money at the grocery store.  One store in particular has grabbed my attention with their fuelperks! program that rewards me at the gas pump.

BI-LO grocery recently unveiled their new Bonus Card that you can now use to save money at the store, but also swipe & save money at participating gas stations.  For every $50 you spend, you’ll earn 5¢ off per gallon.  It adds up quickly, especially with special promotions like their Triple fuelperks! on gift cards & other bonus rewards throughout the store.

TRIPLE fuelperks!

From now until December 6, you can earn TRIPLE fuelperks with the purchase of giftcards in the store.  The selection is amazing: Pottery Barn, Starbucks, iTunes, Sears, Macy’s, & hundreds more in different denominations.  {Just FYI: fuelperks! are not issued on Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or BI-LO giftcards.}  After checking out all the giftcards, I decided to purchase a Toys ‘R Us card because…

{shhhh… I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Santa shops there.}

Next, I strolled around the store in search of Nature Made Vitamins — a fuelperks! bonus item that would have given me an additional $0.40 cents off per gallon.  Overall, you can earn up to an extra$1.25 off per gallon with bonus rewards.

My BI-LO store experience was great.  The shelves were neat & tidy and I was surprised to see so many great sale prices & bogo offers.

Pump it Up

Getting to a participating station was easy, too.  It was just a traffic light down from the store & in the direction that I was headed.  With the purchase of a $50 gift card, I earned 15¢ off per gallon {tripled from 5¢}, which brought my price per gallon of gas to $3.22.

Using the program is as easy as swiping your bonus card at the pump.  It automatically discounts your per gallon price at the pump — no need to go inside, carry receipts around, just swipe & pump. Wondering if there’s a participating pump near you?  Check here.

You can see more photos in this Google+ Story by clicking here ——————–>

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All opinions are my own.  #cbias #fuelperksatBILO