This Full House Reviews

The Barilla Family Dinner Project: Martina McBride and Celebrity Chef Mario Batali "Share the Table"

Piccolini® Mini Farfalle with Sausage Peppers and Pecorino

My maternal grandmother passed away on October 10, 2003 (a couple of months after I started my parenting blog, in fact) and -- especially, toward the end of her life -- I would often times take her to the doctor, or the occasional emergency room visit, with all 4 of my kids in tow.

She lived with my parents and they were both still working full-time jobs, at the time.

Still, I know my parents appreciated all the support they could get and programs like Meals on Wheels really helped, too.

Barilla is giving us the chance to Share the Table and fantastic kid-friendly recipes, like Piccolini® Mini Farfalle with Sausage Peppers and Pecorino (pictured above) and give back to people in need!

Because, nice matters and hunger sucks -- here's how it works:

Celiac Disease Awareness Month: New Gluten-Free Cereals & Party Recipes from Chex

I first heard about celiac disease (an autoimmune disorder) when my oldest daughter started attending the pre-school at our church and, after presenting her with a tray of freshly-baked cookies, I learned that the director of the program was on a gluten-free diet.

According to the Celiac Disease Foundation:

• When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed.

I also learned that gluten is naturally found in certain grains such as wheat, barley, rye and some oats and, well, that would pretty much cancel out eating breakfast, lunch and breakfast for dinner, at our house.

Not to mention, extra hours having to spend reading labels at the grocery store.

October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month and I am very happy to be able to share information on five new gluten-free cereals, along with a link to some really yummy recipes to share at the Halloween party, this year:

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: KN Pink Signature PJ Collection Giveaway

[WE ARE THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH: JANET CARPENTER (COMMENT #112) PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!!!]

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and, in honor and remembrance of the brave battles being fought by way too many of my family and friends, I will be running a series of posts of ways in which we can each help, even in the smallest way, in the fight against breast cancer.

Why?

Because, cancer needs a good old fashioned virtual bitch-slap!

Today, I'm proud to partner with KarenNeuburger.com and participate in their Time for Research campaign to help raise money to fund valuable minutes for breast cancer research.

We're hosting a Pink Pajama Party and you're invited!

Open House Blog Tour - 33rd Showing

My husband, Garth [not his real name] and I love attending open houses - especially, if it's a home that we've admired from the sidewalk, or wondered...you know...what the heck is going on in there? 

Welcome to the Open House Blog Tour where everyone (and anyone) is free to come and leave links (PG-13, please) telling us about your individual blogging events, fundraisers, giveaways, book tours, contests, or if you have a burning blog post and just need to shout out, go for it!

I mean, who couldn't use a little linky love?

Okay, I'll start:

Leave a link, or comment, if you'd like -- trust me, I know how busy you are -- and, don't worry if you forget, it'll be here, linked permanently in my archives.  So, if you happen to stop by, whenever, just go ahead and leave your link; I'm easy.

ALREADY SHOWING: OPEN HOUSE BLOG TOURS

Happy blog hunting!

[Please, clean off a chair and stay a while - subscribe to our feed or, if you really, really like me, then sign up for our free email subscription updates and I'll love you forever!]

© 2009 This Full House - All Rights Reserved.

Nestle Family Blogger Event: Lessons Learned, Social Media and Twitter

When representatives of Nestle Family first contacted me about attending a blogging event in California, "to visit and share ideas about family," my first thoughts (like, most days) were about my children.

Stuff like, getting them to and from school, soccer, field hockey and the dozens of other little details entrusted to me, in raising 4 kids, 2 cats, 1 sock-eating chocolate lab, that help keep the fabric of our family life from, you know, unraveling.

So, I cashed in a couple of favors (times when all those hours spent in car pool lanes really do come in handy) wrote out a 4 day schedule for my husband, using 4 different colored pens (1 color, for each child) and put family members on notice -- if anyone needs me, I'll only be 2,451 miles away, don't be afraid to call.

"Riiiight."

It's not the first time.  I've been blogging for 6 years now and, through my blogs, my family and I have been exposed to many wonderful opportunities and experiences that, otherwise, would never been afforded to us and, more importantly, working closely with the internet, my children and I have gained a whole new perspective of the world, outside the fishbowl-like existence associated with living in the suburbs of New Jersey.

Still, some people still don't get it.  Why would people (like Nestle) want a person (like me) to go to a blogging event (like this) and, I feel it safe to say, after this trip, my thoughts have changed, as I watched the advent of social media on the family blogging community crash and burn on Twitter.

Suave Mom's Night Out: Jersey Style!

  

Style by Lukaro, dorkified by Liz@thisfullhouse for Glamour Reel Moments 2008 and Suave!

So, you know, my friend, Luke O'Connor (no, really, I swear, he said I could say that!) he owns this super swanky salon and is, in my opinion, the most awesome hair stylist in Beverly Hills (okay, so, like, he's the only one I know, in Beverly Hills, or on the west coast, but, who cares) Luke is, without a doubt, the sweetest, most down-to-earth and famous-type person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, IRL.

The Modern Bob by Luke O'Connor and Suave

Recently, he got this great gig and used Suave Professionals to style actress and Emmy presenter, Kate Walsh (Addison on Private Practice/Grey's Anatomy) and, well, red carpets are meant to be walked by people who, you know, look like her.

Aaaaanyway.

 

This is my hairdresser, IRL.  Her name is Lorrie and she owns Salon Soleil & Nail Spa and, along with her awesome salon team, the woman actually enjoys making moms (like me) happy, by performing little miracles, with hair, every day.

Recently, she got this really great gig and used Suave Professionals to style a bunch of us suburban moms and, well, there wasn't any red carpet, or anything, but we had lots of fun, eating together, laughing at the silly things husbands do (like, you know, agreeing to pretty much anything, just so they could watch football) also, we talked about really annoying people, like, the ones who hog the carpool lanes and stuff.

So, why would Suave want me to host a party like this and did I mention, there was a margarita machine?

Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again - Book Prize Pack

[CONGRATULATIONS VICKY (COMMENT #74) PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!!!]

When Winter, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, was found trapped with her tail badly damaged, she was not expected to survive. This is her miraculous story, from her rescue to learning how to swim again to her unprecedented success using a prosthetic tail:

Bottle nose dolphins have also been seen in the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers here in Central New Jersey and, well, I can certainly understand how difficult it would be to NOT want pet the dolphins.

I'm proud to be partnering with the good folks at Scholastic.com in helping to promote the release of the new children's book, Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again, along with sharing a few tips on responsibly observing dolphins in their natural habitat. 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Share to Care with Snapfish.com

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and, in honor and remembrance of the brave battles being fought by way too many of my family and friends, I will be running a series of posts of ways in which we can each help, even in the smallest way, in the fight against breast cancer.

Why?

Because, cancer needs a good old fashioned virtual bitch-slap!

Today, I'm proud to partner with Snapfish.com in their Share to Care campaign.

For the first time, Snapfish is offering free greeting cards to encourage consumers to share their support with someone they care about with messages such as "Thanks for Your Support" and "Thinking of You." 

Here's how it works.

Open House Blog Tour - 32nd Showing

My husband, Garth [not his real name] and I love attending open houses - especially, if it's a home that we've admired from the sidewalk, or wondered...you know...what the heck is going on in there? 

Welcome to the Open House Blog Tour where everyone (and anyone) is free to come and leave links (PG-13, please) telling us about your individual blogging events, fundraisers, giveaways, book tours, contests, or if you have a burning blog post and just need to shout out, go for it!

I mean, who couldn't use a little linky love?

Okay, I'll start:

Leave a link, or comment, if you'd like -- trust me, I know how busy you are -- and, don't worry if you forget, it'll be here, linked permanently in my archives and on my parenting blog (two links for the price of one entry) so, if you happen to stop by, whenever, just go ahead and leave your link; I'm easy.

ALREADY SHOWING: OPEN HOUSE BLOG TOURS

Happy blog hunting!

[Please, clean off a chair and stay a while - subscribe to our feed or, if you really, really like me, then sign up for our free email subscription updates and I'll love you forever!]

© 2009 This Full House - All Rights Reserved.