Sunshine and Sippy Cups

Win an Okiedog Snug Bag – The Best Bag for Busy Moms!

You guys know I love ya’all right? {Yes, I know. I’m from the Pacific Northwest, and we don’t say ya’all here. But sometimes I do. Yep.} And that’s why I love giving away prizes to your lovely faces. Which is why I love partnering up with some of my bloggy buddies to bring you guys cool stuff like this to win – check it out, have fun, and good luck!

Welcome to the Okiedog Snug Bag Giveaway!

Hosted by: Savory Savings

Sponsored by: Okiedog

If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the hunt for fashion that “works” for moms. You know – clothing that is comfortable and allows you to run a million miles an hour all day chasing kids and tasks, while still looking fashionable. Accessories that don’t get in the way of your crazy-busy life. Things that actually make your life easier – like a really good bag. {Isn’t your purse one of the most important things in your life? It’s where all your important stuff lives. It’s almost like a mom tool belt or something….} So, I’m excited to give one of you ladies a super awesome bag from Snug Bag! Read below to learn more…

Why is it that when we become moms, so many companies seemingly expect us to drive minivans, wear mom jeans and want accessories that clearly scream “baby on board!”? Don’t get me wrong, I love a good minivan with a million cupholders and twin DVD players, however, the message purported to the world is that moms have suddenly lost any style and fashion. Well, ladies, Okiedog is here to show you otherwise! Krista over at Savory Savings had the chance to check out the Okiedog Snug bag – which is a diaper bag, cleverly disguised as a beautiful crossbody handbag. This bag is roomy, plenty of storage pockets and looks great, too. Whether you are a mom on the go with a baby or a fashionista looking for a great bag to carry your things to the gym – this bag can do it all!

If you are interested in winning the Okiedog Snug Bag in the color of your choice, enter with the Giveaway Tool below! This giveaway is open to US residents, ages 18 and older. The giveaway will run from October 27 through November 10, 2013 at 11 PM CST.

Good luck! And… If you’re feelin’ lucky today, be sure to check out the big list of other giveaways in my sidebar. I’m always giving away lots of awesomesauce prizes to you awesome readers!!!

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 27, 2013 Filed Under: Giveaways |

Weight Watchers “Gets” Busy Moms – Launches MomFeeds & it Rocks My Socks

Thank you to Weight Watchers and The Motherhood for sharing Weight Watcher’s new digital magazine – MomFeeds – with me, and allowing me to share it with you guys as part of this sponsored post. I received a 3-month trial subscription to Weight Watchers Online, love it, and know you will too.

You know what I need? A time out. A mommy time out. Where someone sends me to my room – and I have to sit, quietly, and no one can come and “play” with me. But, as a mom we don’t even get to pee alone, right? So I have to try and carve out little bits of me time during the day. And one of my favorite ways to kind of zone out and un-stress {is that even a word? Well, in my world it is..} is to sit down, grab my iPhone, and browse some cool stuff. I’m a total social media junkie, so I love catching up on news and gossip, picking up clever new tips and ideas that make my crazy mom-life more manageable, or finding new recipes for busy weeknights. Which is why I’m crazy excited about a new app that helps me do all of those things in one super cool place. The app is called Flipboard, and then you add MomFeeds to it for the total awesomeness. And it’s all going to rock your socks.

MomFeeds is a brand-new digital magazine from Weight Watchers that features content geared towards moms. It’s all displayed on Flipboard – an app I’ve been hearing about forever, but just haven’t made the time to check out until recently. For moms who don’t always have time to read their favorite magazines cover to cover, Momfeeds has recipes, tips, deals and news, all served up in bite-sized portions – or as I like to say, “mom-style.” Because everything we do all day is bite-sized, right? We cut meals we cook into bite-sized portions, we get to watch only bite-sized portions of our favorite shows as the kids interrupt us 237 times, we get bite-sized minutes to do housework. A mom’s life is hectic – no matter what type of mom she is. So, a bite-sized piece of entertainment is often all I can get :)

Love it, right? It’s like, everything we’re looking for, in one place. Because – you never know when your 5 minutes of peace will come. You don’t have time to run to grab your favorite magazines to browse – but you always have your smartphone at the ready, and can browse cool stuff on MomFeeds instead. In the carpool line, waiting at the doctor’s office, or during the kid’s naps. Cool stuff.

First of all – the techy in me is really in love with the way this app flips with the flick of a finger, almost like a real magazine. Very clever. Second, I love the topics covered. As I literally flipped through the app for the first time, I found SO much good stuff. This is one – Mom Makeover: Fab hair tricks that make a big difference. She has some amazing suggestions that are totally inspiring me for my next salon visit.

I also found really fun kid’s recipes – like this one for funny face burgers. Abby isn’t a picky eater – she loves almost everything. But she’s a stubborn eater – she gets bored having to sit still and finish a meal. So I’m always looking for fun ideas like this!

I also found “mom treat” recipes – just for me :) I love carbs. {You can tell when you see the size jeans I buy… Lol.} And there’s nothing you can do to a potato that I don’t love. {Ok, except scalloped potatoes. I don’t hate them, but I don’t love them. It’s the only potato-ness I don’t love.} Anyway – this delish recipe for Easy Oven Fries looks perfect. Thanks for the great find, MomFeeds!

Speaking of great finds – this is my fave that I came across on MomFeeds today – Make the most of your clothing budget by analyzing your colors. Such a smart idea! It links to an awesome site where you go through a mini-quiz, and it tells you what your “color season” is. Then, if you know that, it’s easy to only pick clothes in that range, which means everything in your closet co-ordinates. Plus, it means you’re only buying shades that are flattering on you too. I’m admit it – I’m now totally addicted to MomFeeds. And I’m not at all surprised that this super smart site comes from Weight Watchers. I’ve seen some fantastic results from friends who’ve followed the Weight Watchers program, I love their products, and I really love the way they’re not just a diet, they truly teach you better lifestyle habits. And they “get” the busy lifestyle that we have as moms, and create their products, programs, and cool features like MomFeeds to fit that lifestyle. LOVE.

And… It’s not just me with the love here, guys. Weight Watchers loves YOU too. They’re so excited to have you guys join us all on this sweet new app, that they want to give a big thank you by giving a couple of you ladies their {seriously amazing, by the way} their cookbook: Weight Watchers Ultimate Chicken Cookbook: More than 250 Fresh, Fabulous Recipes for Every Day. {Weight Watchers provided the prizes but did not design and is not administering the giveaway.} And – if you guys want to find a seriously H-U-G-E amount of rockin’ Weight Watchers recipes, I have a friend who has put a few really cool lists together. Why? Because moms stick together, right?

Use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form below to enter – have fun, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 25, 2013 Filed Under: Giveaways, Busy Mom Solution |

Ultimate Party Meatballs Recipe

Disclosure: I received Heinz®, Johnsonville® and Ocean Spray® products in exchange for sharing this recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hi, my name is Meagan, and I like to party. {Anyone else get the Hot Rod movie reference? :)} But seriously. I love to entertain, and will take any excuse to throw a party – holidays, birthdays, Tuesdays…. During the summer we always have a full house, since we’re the only house in our group of friends and family that has a pool. And we’re coming into my other favorite time of year – the winter holidays! So, needless to say, I’m always looking for new party-friendly recipes to add to my collection.

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 24, 2013 Filed Under: Food, Featured Recipe | 1 Comment

Little Pim Language Learning DVD Set Giveaway

I’m excited to bring you guys another super fun giveaway event – to win a Language Learning DVD set from Little Pim. When I was in grade school, I learned Spanish, and was pretty fluent by about 3rd grade. Then I took French for 3 years in high school, and plan to teach it to Abby soon. And from what I’ve heard in my research, Little Pim is one of the best ways to teach foreign language to kids. And now one of you gets to win your own set – free!

Welcome to the Little Pim Language Learning DVD Set Giveaway

Hosted by: Savory Savings

Sponsored by: Little Pim

With our ever-changing world and commerce, it is more important than ever to speak more than one language. The earlier we start a second (or maybe third?) language, the easier it is to grasp, so many people recommend starting with children from birth with hearing two languages to improve the integration of the language and over all comprehension. Krista over at Savory Savings speaks Spanish fluently, while her husband does not know a perro from pero (dog from “but” – the conjunction people, not the other one!) She shared her thoughts on the Little Pim Language Learning DVD series over on her site and you can see how this DVD series, aimed at the 0-6 crowd can help build vocabulary in both languages and promote language confidence! By immersing children in language during entertainment, they hardly notice they are learning and suddenly are using phrases in other languages! [Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 24, 2013 Filed Under: Giveaways | No Comments

What Makes Your Family’s Tail Wag?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ALPO® Brand Dog Food for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

What makes your family’s tail wag? Well, ok – I don’t have a tail. {Except on days that Abby and I play dress up or pretend to be animals. But I don’t usually have a tail.} I’m talking about the tail – or tails – of the pets in your family – specifically, your dog. If you don’t have a dog, feel free to disregard this post. Or, send it to a friend who’s a dog-lovin’-owner. Or read it for reference in case the apocalypse comes and we run out of food and you want to know about the next best thing to eat – which would be these amazing homestyle dinners from ALPO®. No lie. I’m not surprised my dogs loooove them, since they look good enough for me to eat too. {Not that I’ve tried them. Yet… Lol.}

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 23, 2013 Filed Under: Tips | No Comments

Halloween Jokes for Kids

Just Joking is a new, totally free app for kids from National Geographic Kids. It’s super fun – it’s filled with fun animal facts, mixed with silly jokes and surprises. It mixes in educational aspects with knock-knock jokes, tongue twisters, riddles and more. The kids love the silliness of it. I love that it keeps them occupied in the car or waiting in lines – and that it’s clean fun. It’s a free app – check it out here: Just Joking Free App. And there are bonus joke packs you can buy later for less than a buck a piece too. So, to give you an idea of how much fun it is, I’ve got a list of Halloween-themed jokes for kids.

Halloween Jokes for Kids

Check out the selection of jokes from the app, tell ’em to the kids today, and tweet your favorites. I’ve always loved silly kids jokes like this – I giggle at the jokes on Popsicle sticks, and laugh out loud at really cheesy jokes on Laffy Taffy wrappers, so this app is right up my alley :) And as an Ambassador for National Geographic Kids this year, I obviously am a big fan of pretty much everything they put out there – always perfectly designed to appeal to the kids in our house. Enjoy!

The kid in me loves this stuff: Q: Why don't mummies go on vacation? A: They're afraid they might unwind. Lol. #HalloweenHumor #NGKinsider

— Meagan Paullin (@SunandSipCups) October 23, 2013

[Read more…]

Posted by Meagan Paullin on October 23, 2013 Filed Under: Holidays | 1 Comment

$50 By Hannah Design Gift Certificate for Handmade Jewelry

I’m excited to bring some new fun to you guys – I’ve partnered with some awesome bloggers to give one of you ladies a $50 gift certificate to buy some gorgeous handmade jewelry from Hannah Design. Check it out, enter to win, have fun, and good luck!

[Read more…]