Wednesday Whatever-Can I Fry My Chicken In It?

It's time for Wednesday Whatever and I (Melissa) have a review for you!

The kind people at Tropical Traditions sent us a batch of coconut oil to try out and review. Now, before you say,"What the heck would I do with coconut oil? Sunbathe in it?" you would be surprised to learn all of the nutritional facts about it. Didn't know until I went to their website. And all of these facts are interesting, all well and good. But I have to be honest with you, if it doesn't somehow fit into what's already going on, it has a slim to nil chance of getting integrated into the Bishop House. I'm a pretty healthy eater, into exercise/fitness and with two school aged children, I'm a busy woman with no extra time to spare for another thing to negotiate into the sched.

So. . . in addition to the coconut oil itself, they sent a book all about virgin coconut oil, complete with testimonials and tons of recipes. The recipes look fun, and I love to try new things. But being a Midwest Girl at heart, I just had to know, could I fry chicken in it and it be healthy and NOT taste like coconut? So what did you think I did? I didn't breathe a word to my family about it fried (well, sauted would be the "correct" term) some chicken breasts in it. Absolutely delicious and not one of my finicky, picky, and yes they would tell me if they noticed something different eaters said a word except, "Great chicken, Mom."

I mean honestly, what good is it if you can't fry your chicken it in?

BUT if you are looking for an alternative to canola or veg oil, based on flavor and ease of use, I would recommend checking out the coconut oil on the site at Tropical Traditions. Check them out and let us know what you think!


GIVEAWAY:

Tropical Traditions has generously offered a free quart jar of Coconut Oil for one lucky winner. The contest will end on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at midnight CST, when the winner will be picked at random.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Go to the Tropical Traditions website to check out what they have to offer. While you are there, you'll need to register for their email Newsletter.

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

1. Subscribe to my blog via email
2. Join my blog using Google Friend Connect
3. Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting) up to once per day
4. Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to here
5. Grab our button and place on your blog

(I will send out an email to the winner and you will have 48 hours to respond back to me or I will pick another winner.)

Yours, using up my coconut oil,


Melissa

LET'S GET READY FOR KINDERGARTEN!

***THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED***

Do you know a child going into Kindergarten this fall? It’s a lot harder now than when we were in Kindergarten. Schools must comply with the “no child left behind” policies, so we, as parents, need to prepare them for this curriculum in advance.

Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten (in English and Spanish) and Let’s Get Ready for First Grade can help you get your kids ready for what’s to come in the year ahead. Each of these books focuses on the skills needed when entering these grades.

Stacey Kannenberg of Cedar Valley Publishing has put a great deal of research and thought into these books. From the Cedar Valley Kids and their teacher Mrs. Good guiding your child through the book, to the parent/caregiver tips helping us work with our kids, she has thought of it all. The books are colorful and appealing to children, which makes them seem less like schoolwork and more like funtime!. And best of all, the pages are designed to use a dry erase marker so each book can be used over and over again. Because these are such heavy-duty pages, it’s next to impossible to tear them. (Okay, let’s face it, if they REALLY want to tear the pages, they’ll find a way, but at least this makes it more difficult for them!)

Some of the topics covered in the Kindergarten book are the alphabet in upper and lower case, shapes, colors, numbers, money, and so much more. My kids loved these books, and I loved knowing they would have some of the necessary skills needed in the classroom.

Oh, and one more thing that this Mom-turned-author-publisher-consultant-public speaker does: She donates 10% of her profits to various literacy programs. WOW!

GIVEAWAY:

Stacey has generously offered a set of Let’s Get Ready books for one lucky winner. This includes the Kindergarten book in either English or Spanish and the First Grade Book. The contest will end on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at midnight CST, when the winner will be picked at random.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Go to the Cedar Valley Publishing website to check out what they have to offer. Let me know what part of either of the books is your favorite.

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

• Subscribe to my blog via email
• Join my blog using Google Friend Connect
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting) up to once per day
• Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to here
• Grab our button and place on your blog

This contest is open to everyone, regardless of where you live (how nice is THAT?).

(I will send out an email to the winner and you will have 48 hours to respond back to me or I will pick another winner.)

SASSY PANTS MONOGRAMS & ACCESSORIES

***This giveaway is now closed***

CONGRATULATIONS TO TWINCERE FOR WINNING THE SASSY PANTS GIVEAWAY! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!

Sometimes I REALLY wish I had a baby girl. This is one of those times. After taking a look at what Sassy Pants Monograms & Accessories has to offer, I began visualizing a mom (me) putting little bows and headbands on a little girl (oops, I only have boys). Sigh!

(Okay, let me be PERFECTLY clear here. As much as I’d love to dress up and play dollies with a daughter, I do NOT want it badly enough to go for another child. Twin boys is enough for me!)

Sassy Pants has unique Personalized Gifts, Home Accessories, Jewelry, Purses and Baby/Children's Merchandise. They also offer a Monogramming Service to personalize your items, which often times is included in the price! If you can't find what you are looking for, the owner, Elizabeth Wolf, can help you create that perfect gift!. She truly enjoys assisting people in finding unique gifts for themselves and others! And just to add icing on the cake, Elizabeth is a Work At Home Mom of two adorable girls! (Oh, sure, SHE gets to play dress up with her daughters!)

They have an amazing assortment of products. From bows to purses to flip flops to monogrammed cell phone holder decals. Which, by the way, is one of the items that Elizabeth is offering to the lucky winner of our giveaway. You can win either the Cell Phone Holder Decal or the Car Decal.

One of my very favorite products that Sassy Pants offers is the Toddler Interchangeable Head Band. It’s an adorable headband on which you can change out the bows so your little girl is always color coordinated. How cute is that?

GIVEAWAY:

The president of Sassy Pants Monograms & Accessories, Elizabeth Wolf, has generously offered either the Cell Phone Holder Decal (a $9.99 value) or the Car Decal (a $19.99 value). The contest will end on July 29th at midnight CST, when the winner will be picked at random.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Go to the Sassy Pants website to check out what they have to offer. Let me know which product is your favorite.

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

• Subscribe to my blog via email
• Join my blog using Google Friend Connect
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting)
• Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to here
• Grab our button and place on your blog

This contest is open to US mailing address only.
Only one person from mailing address eligible to win.
(will send out an email to the winner and you will have 48 hours to respond back to me or I will pick another winner.)

GOOD LUCK!

Review on Care4Hire.com

Review:

You know… we’re busy. And not just a little busy, a LOT busy. On any given day we can be a chauffer, housekeeper, problem solver, mediator, entertainer, mechanic, nurse, employee (or boss), dog groomer, concierge, and above all, caregiver. We seem to take care of everyone (except ourselves, but that’s a whole different issue) including our kids, our spouse, our parents, our pets, our neighbors, and even the stranger at the grocery store who needs help getting something off the shelf.

Whew! We need help sometimes, if for no other reason than to save our sanity. But where to go for this help? I’d hire someone if I just knew where to find them. Well, now there is such a place.

Care4hire.com is an online database for families and caregivers to search babysitters, housekeepers, tutors, elder/companion care, pet sitters and other miscellaneous services. A free preview of available caregivers is available to families. Whether you need a caregiver for a few hours to a few days, you will find it at Care4hire.com. Once you are a registered member, you will be given immediate access to caregivers through email and phone.

So I went to Care4hire.com and entered my zip code. Here’s what came up for me within a 25 mile radius:

• 348 babysitters/nannies
• 9 housekeepers
• 8 tutors
• 16 companion/elder caregivers
• 19 pet sitters
• 17 miscellaneous helpers

WOW! Surely, even someone as neurotic and picky as I am should be able to find somebody to help me out from all these prospects. And they even offer background checks (for an additional fee) and suggested interview questions.

GIVEAWAY:

The president of Care4hire.com, Candi Wingate, has generously offered a gift certificate for 1 month of free service, a $29.99 value. The contest will end on July 15th at midnight CST, when the winner will be picked at random.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Go to Care4hire.com to check out what they do. Let me know which service would be most useful to you and why.

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

• Subscribe & Follow my blog via email
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting)
• Follow Care4hire.com on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway
• Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to here
• Grab our button and place on your blog

GOOD LUCK!

Review on No Slip Charlie®

Every time you give your little one a bath, do you start thinking of “Slip Sliding Away” by Paul Simon? I know I did when my boys were infants, times 2! Trying to juggle the shampoo, the washcloth, the soap, AND the baby was just too much sometimes. I’ll admit it, I often thought about duct taping them to the little tub! (Don’t worry, I didn’t ACTUALLY do it!)

But those of you experiencing this juggling act don’t have to pull out the duct tape! No Slip Charlie® is the perfect answer to your problems. No Slip Charlie® is the baby bath safety product that puts you in control by giving you a great grip on your wet, slippery baby during a bath. These fingerless gloves are made of poly/lycra - just like a woman's swimsuit. They are extremely soft to the touch, yet provide an excellent grip on your squirmy, little soapy one. Your fingertips are free to test the water, touch your baby, and wash their hair but your palms have the friction of the gloves to help you comfortably maneuver the baby and lift them out of the tub. Plus, a detachable terry cloth wash mitt will attach to either glove at the back so you don’t have to struggle with the washcloth.

Since I don’t have infants anymore, I had to get creative on how to test them so I could give my honest opinion. So out we went to the pool. When the boys were lighter, I could pick them up while in the water and throw them to the deep end. But now, they just slide right out of my hands! So I put on No Slip Charlie® and tried to throw them. WOW, it worked! I can’t throw them far because I’m apparently a weakling, but at least they didn’t slide out. I could actually pick them up and out of the water and still have a grip on them. Pretty Cool!

No Slip Charlie® comes in 2 colors: you guessed it! Pink and blue! You can get them here for only $20.00 per pair. You don’t have any little, little ones at home? They make a GREAT baby shower gift!

The folks at No Slip Charlie® are generously offering one as a giveaway and also offering a discount code for Macaroni and Chicken Fingers readers.  Us the code macnchick for 5% off through July 24th.  This discount is IN ADDITION TO their annual July sale.  So be sure to visit the No Slip Charlie® website!

GIVEAWAY:

We are giving away a one package (which includes 2 gloves) to one lucky winner, chosen at random. The contest will end at midnight on July 8, 2009.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Tell me your best/funniest/worst story about giving your baby a bath! (If you don’t have one, I won’t know so make it up!)

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

• Subscribe & Follow my blog via email = ONE ENTRY
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway = ONE ENTRY (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting)
• Follow No Slip Charlie® on Twitter and Tweet about this = ONE ENTRY
• Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to here = ONE ENTRY
• Grab my button and place on your blog = ONE ENTRY

*Make sure you tell me which color you’d like if you win!

GOOD LUCK!

Karen

By The Book Contest Winners!

Okay, so on our first review, I was a day late announcing the winners. But here they are:

Congratulations to ladytink_534 and Margee for winning eBooks of By The Book: Caring For MY Kids!

We hope you enjoy the book!

Review – Shower Hug

Okay, so let’s be honest. Who’s boobs DIDN’T hurt before, during and after breastfeeding, not to mention pregnancy? I don’t see any hands raised, so I must assume that your experiences were as painful as mine! And for just a few minutes every day, if we were lucky, we could take a nice, warm, relaxing shower. BUT WAIT! Even that warm shower hurt our breasts. That’s just not fair!

Well, the women of Belmama & Cherub have come up with a solution for us, called the Shower Hug. The Shower Hug is made of the softest, most luxurious stretch knit terry velour to provide expectant and new moms with gentle bust line support and to soothe sensitive nipples as it shields the breasts from harsh shower sprays. Moms simply wrap the Shower Hug snugly around their chest and secure with Velcro® in front. Ahhhhh! Soothing comfort, not to mention the best warm compress the breasts ever experienced!

Simply wrap the Shower Hug™ around your chest and back and attach the Velcro® closure. Since your body will change over the next few weeks, they have provided four inches of Velcro® so you can pull the Shower Hug™ as snug or loose as you feel comfortable. After wearing, simply wring out the excess water and hang dry. To wash, attach the Velcro® closure and toss it in with your next load of baby clothes.

Moms not only love to wear the Shower Hug in the shower, but outside of the shower as well! Shower Hug patrons wear their Hugs for overnight support and around the house as a comfortable alternative to the traditional nursing bra. And the Shower Hug provides hands-free comfort to hold cool or heat packs and is oh-so-soft.

This is one of those things that makes me say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Now, I will come clean (no pun intended) and tell you that I have not personally tried this product. When I had my twins 8 years ago, I knew I was done! But just reading about it and seeing the pictures makes me wish I had had this during those VERY painful months.

So how can you get this amazing product? Just go to http://www.showerhug.com/ and order. They are available in three different sizes and color options: White with Petal Pink trim, White with Slate Blue Trim or Earth Friendly Natural with Sage Green Trim. Coordinating burp cloths and wash cloths are also available. This is a GREAT gift idea!

Karen

Review - Strosgirl's Blog Design

We have just had a makeover. Of our blog, of course! Like it? We LOVE it, and we owe it all to Angie at Strosgirl’s Blog Design. Not only is she incredibly reasonable (I’ll get to more of that later), but she’s full of ideas and is SO QUICK, which I love. (Because, of course, Melissa and I may take quite a while to decide what we want, but once we decide, we want it NOW! Doesn’t everyone? )

Angie loves to make designs and loves digital scrapbooking, so along came her blog design business. At this time, she can only work with Blogger/Blogspot, but she’s looking to expand her knowledge into other areas.

The cool thing about our redesign is that we gave her an idea of what we were looking for, she gave us some suggestions on how to get it, and then she just ran with it. After just a few VERY minor changes, we had a finished product. So she can design a one-of-a-kind template for you from scratch, or you can pick a premade template from her website, and she even promises not to sell more than 5 of any of these premade templates. (Seeing your design on somebody else’s blog is kind-of like wearing the same dress as a friend at a party. GASP!)

In all of her premade templates you will find a background, corresponding sidebars and post area, and a header that you can customize by putting your own title and an image if room is available. Also included in premade templates, you will find a post divider, icons next to your post title, or a signature. So even if 4 other blogs out there dare to have your same template, at least you know it won’t be EXACTLY the same!

I said she was reasonably priced, right? Get this – her packages start at only $20.00. That’s for the walk, then it goes up to the single and all the way to the homerun. (Did I mention that Angie is a HUGE baseball fan?) Or you can customize your own package, as we did, by purchasing a basic package and adding specific elements from the Dugout.

One last thing about working with Strosgirl’s Blog Design. Angie is TOTALLY customer service oriented. She communicated with us on everything, even giving us suggestions we hadn’t thought of, and just made it a terrific experience. I’d give her an A+, and coming from me, that’s incredible! (Just ask Melissa!)

Angie has very generously offered a 25% discount to anyone for the next 30 days. Just be sure to mention Macaroni and Chicken Fingers when filling out the order form on her website.

Karen

By The Book: Caring For MY Kids

REVIEW:

I was sitting in the publisher’s office, nervously wading through the questions. Six hours from home, away for the third day, and my cell phone starts to ring. I check the ID. “I’m sorry, I need to take this. It’s home.”

“Dance clothes? Yes, it’s in the book. Directions to class? In there, too. And YES you have to wait for her. Check the DAILY ROUTINE Section.”

***************************************************************************

I had just put my feet into the hot, swirling bath. I had waited for a long time for this pedicure and not much was going to spoil it, except a phone call from my sitter. Thinking the worst, I answer the call.

“How do you get the DVD player to work? Remember, it’s in the book. Look under HOUSEHOLD ODDS AND ENDS.”

***************************************************************************

I had fifteen minutes before our big date. In those fifteen minutes, I had to pull up my hair, throw on some make-up and leave notes for the sitter. “One down,” I thought. “I finished updating the book yesterday. Now on to hair and make-up.”

***************************************************************************

Some days it seems like I’m the only one who knows what’s going on with my kids. Don’t get me wrong. I love them beyond all reason, but 24/7 for 365 days a year? I don’t know that even Mother Theresa could do that! I need that time away. And sometimes I’m working outside the home and just can’t be reached. So where is that “Lost Manual” that never came with our kids the day they were born?

I finally found it! By The Book: Caring for MY Kids is the instruction book that YOU fill out about YOUR kids. It has EVERYTHING. Fill out all the information about your kids and you won’t need to be bothered for a thing. It’s win-win for you, the caregiver and the kids! The book is divided into five sections and takes only minutes to fill out. There is a place for the kids’ routines, school information, important phone numbers, household rules and whatnot, emergency contact and procedures and even a place to organize all of your sitter information. My most used section is the Sitter Notes. Every time I use a sitter, I pull out a page from sitter notes. The nice thing is she knows exactly what to look for when she lets herself and the kids into the house.

This book has made organizing my kids’ information a snap. Now I can do what I need to do without worrying about leaving the sitter or significant other all the information they need. After all, it’s in the book!


GIVEAWAY:

We are giving away an eBook of By The Book: Caring For MY Kids to TWO lucky winners, chosen at random. The contest will end at midnight on June 17, 2009.

HOW TO ENTER:

Primary Entry: Go to http://bythebookkids.com/insidethebook.aspx to view the different sections of the book, then come back here and tell me what part of By The Book would be most useful to you and why.

*This entry is mandatory to allow additional entries!

Additional Entries (be sure to leave a comment for each entry):

• Subscribe & Follow my blog via email = ONE ENTRY
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway = ONE ENTRY (remember to use @karmelpub when tweeting)
• Blog about this giveaway and provide a link back to here = ONE ENTRY
• Grab our button and place on your blog = ONE ENTRY

GOOD LUCK!

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

COMING SOON!!!!

Macaroni and Chicken Fingers will begin doing reviews in the very near future.

If you have a product or service that you would like reviewed, please contact us at customerservice@karmelpublishing.com.

We are very excited about this, and hope to bring you money-saving, time-saving, and all-round great stuff! Any suggestions, let us know!

Karen