• Pampers Gifts to Grow – 5 Free Points

    You can receive another 5 free points from Pampers with a new Gifts to Grow code!

    This code is different from the previous codes I have given.

    Use Code:  HOLIDAYGIFT2011

    The code didn’t have an expiration date but they usually expire in a few days so be sure to add it to your account soon!

    You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!

    For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!

  • Review & Giveaway: Torani Flavored Syrups

    As the weather gets cooler you may enjoy a hot cup of coffee to help jump start you on a crisp morning even more or a cup of hot chocolate by the fire with the family as you relax together on a cold evening.  Of course you may be in an area that is warm and would rather grab a smoothie or an iced coffee.  The secret ingredient behind those amazing coffee shop drinks that you and I enjoy so much in the syrups they use to flavor them.  Torani flavored syrups are made in the USA and are used at restaurants and coffeehouses in more than 40 countries around the world.   The best part is you can get these amazing flavored syrups and make your favorite drinks at home!

    I was thrilled to hear that SheSpeaks teamed up with Torani and they were sending me some Torani Flavored Syrups to try!  I received the Salted Caramel and Peppermint flavored syrups.   They are AMAZING!  I have been having fun trying out a variety of fun recipes both Torani’s Recipes and ones that I have come up with myself.   Torani offers over 120 Regular and Sugar Free Flavored Syrups which are the perfect compliment to your favorite Coffee, Espresso, Hot Chocolate, Lattes, Smoothies, Teas, and many other drinks you enjoy.  I have even used Torani Flavored Syrups in a few recipes while I was baking and they turned out delicious!  Our favorite baked goods were Torani Salted Caramel Syrup in our Banana Bread and Torani Peppermint Syrup in our Brownies!   Torani Flavored Syrups will add an extra special touch to your next party celebration!

    The Salted Caramel and Peppermint Syrups were awesome!

    • Flavored Coffees / Espresso Drinks
    • Italian Sodas
    • Flavored Tea, both hot and cold
    • Flavored Lemonade
    • Flavored Sodas (or Pop as we say in the Midwest!)
    • Cocktails
    • Mocktails
    • Flavored Energy Drinks

    Our family tried a variety of delicious recipes with our Torani Flavored Syrups!  The ones from Torani’s recipes are awesome so if your interested in getting started that’s a great resource.  Here are two recipes that I came up with that were raving hits with our family:

    Delicious Holiday Hot Chocolate!

    Rich Peppermint Hot Chocolate Recipe

    • 1/2 cup Mom’s Hot Chocolate Mix
    • 1 cup Milk
    • 1/2 tablespoon Torani Peppermint Flavored Syrup
    • Cool Whip
    • Crushed Mint Candies
    1. Heat the milk to near boiling, add the Hot Chocolate Mix, Torani’s Peppermint Syrup and stir until blended.  You can add more Torani Peppermint syrup if you want a stronger peppermint flavor.
    2. Pour the Rich Peppermint Hot Chocolate into mugs.
    3. Top with cool whip and crushed candies.

    It is a perfect blend of chocolate and peppermint for those cool evenings.  The girls loved having this as a special treat and it was great for a relaxing evening with family and friends!  I look forward to serving it even more as the Holidays approach.

    Delicious “pick-me-up” Smoothie!

    Salted Caramel & Chocolate Coffee Smoothie Recipe

    • 1 cup Milk
    • 1/2 cup Coffee (cooled)
    • 1/2 tablespoon Torani’s Salted Caramel Syrup
    • 1 tablespoon Chocolate Syrup
    • 1/2 cup Ice
    • Coop Whip (optional)
    1. Put the Milk, Coffee, Salted Caramel Syrup, Chocolate Syrup, and ice in the blender and mix until smooth.  You can add more Torani Salted Caramel syrup if you want a stronger caramel flavor.  Pour into a cup, add cool whip, and enjoy!

    This was an awesome recipe for an early morning or mid afternoon pick me up, plus it allows you to use up that extra coffee still left in the coffee pot that no one finished that morning!  Since we live in South Carolina we still have some warmer days so we were able to try a mix of hot and cold recipes with our Torani Peppermint and Salted Caramel syrups.  Salted Caramel syrup was my favorite because it blended well with any hot beverage or cool smoothie.

    A great Christmas or Hostess Gift!

    Not only are Torani Flavored Syrups a wonderful addition to your pantry they are the perfect gift to give family and friends for birthdays, Holidays or any other special occasion.  Torani Flavored Syrups make the perfect hostess gift for all those fun Holiday parties coming up.  I love that that Torani Flavored Syrups are both tasty and practical for my family and to share with others.  Torani gives your drinks that extra authentic coffee house flavor that you can make in your own kitchen so you don’t have to pay full price at your local coffee house.

    SheSpeaksbutton

    As a special treat from SheSpeaks and Torani if you order from the link on the left you can get 10% off your order!

    • Click on the picture above (it takes you to Torani’s website)
    • Order the Torani Flavored Syrups of your choice
    • At checkout enter the code shespeaks for a 10% discount

     

    Torani Flavored Syrups can be found at many retail locations or online.  Torani Favored Syrups are available at select:

    Torani has many flavor syrups available to choose from.  I am looking forward to trying more soon, trying to decide which one is next (White Chocolate, Eggnog, Pumpkin Pie, Raspberry).  You can check out more reviews on the Torani Syrup Flavors to get an idea of what everyone else is enjoying!

    Giveaway

    As a way to say thank you to my readers and to share a taste of the Torani Flavored Syrups with you I am doing a 48 hour giveaway!

    The winner of this giveaway will receive a FREE Bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup!  I will be sending the winner a coupon for a free bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup so he/she can pick out their favorite flavor to try or use it to buy a gift for a family member for the Holidays!  Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

    1. Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.  You can sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email.
    2. You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing one of your favorite flavored drinks!

    All comments must be made by November 16th at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.

    Make sure to follow Torani on Facebook and Twitter using #SSTorani hashtag to learn more about Torani and become eligible for more prizes.  To learn more information about how SheSpeaks works and get involved sign up for free today.

    As a member of the SheSpeaks Blogger Society, I was given samples of this product to write an informed review.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own.  I was not paid to write this post.  A special thanks to SheSpeaks and Torani for providing the samples to review and the coupons for the giveaway!

  • Song: “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin

    This is a great song giving God the glory for creation. We serve an amazing God and the song names only a few ways of how truly awesome He is from the seasons, to knowing each star, the depths of the sea and so much more.  You cannot fit such an amazing God in a box.   He is the creator of miracles and He is with you always to help guide your life no matter where you may go.   Here is a piece of the song to encourage you:

    Indescribable, Uncontainable,
    You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
    You are amazing God.
    All powerful, Untameable,
    Awestruck we fall to our knees and we humbly proclaim,
    You are amazing God.

  • What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan

    The menu is quick and easy this week.  We have some traveling and other obligations that are filling up the schedule so we made dinners easy to make sure we have enough time to spend with our family instead of making elaborate meals.   Some weeks the menu will be “no frills” and like any other family when a busy week is coming up you do your best to feed your family well while knowing that hopefully next week you’ll have more time to focus on dinner prep.  Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:

    Our Weekly Menu Plan

    • Monday (Beef Entree):  Hamburgers, Fresh Vegetables
    • Tuesday (Seafood or Pork Entree):  Hotdogs, Baked Beans
    • Wednesday (Chicken Entree):  Chicken Noodle Soup, Fresh Fruit Salad
    • Thursday (Pasta or Vegetarian Entree): Creamy Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
    • Friday, Saturday, & Sunday:  Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting

    I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef entree, Tuesday a seafood or pork entree and so forth).  It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned.  I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.

    Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family.  On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home.  As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes.  If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).

    As a family of four our life can get busy.  What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget.  Our family typically eats 6 to 7  dinner meals at home a week.  We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat.  Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family.  Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day.  Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends.  The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety.  We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.

    Photo by Liz

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    I started the week out a little stronger, but still have a lot of areas I need to work on regarding my goals.  Next week I hope to do better.  The good news is I am at least taking small steps in the right direction.

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday – I didn’t quite get everyday this week
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) we missed two nights 🙁
    5. Start the process of getting the girls passports
    6. Go on Mother Daughter Date Night I had a blast with Karlie! 🙂
    7. File the last several weeks of coupons in my File Folder and Binder – halfway done

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – more than last week but not there yet
    2. Finish reading  The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
    3. Listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (I am going through this book with my Community Group)
    4. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday – I made it a one night.

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. Summer clothes pulled out of the main part of the closet and put away (it’s getting chilly and we are not wearing them as much now)

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk – hopefully no one will be looking at my desk today (need to tackle this one daily or it gets overwhelming).
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Research ways to create more residual income – didn’t get there this week
    5. Upcoming events, activities, and posted to my upcoming calendar

    Ministry Goals

    1. Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others. – Made a little over $8
    2. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    3. Alms & Legs Ministry – Email Meeting Notes to the Team
    4. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch – Schedules got a little crazy this week, hope to pick back up next week

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Close on our Refinance – Our plan is to go from the 30 year mortgage that we have been paying off to a 10 year mortgage with a lower interest rate. – bank has delayed the closing again and had to extend our rate, maybe next week?!
    3. Pay off remaining debt – almost there…..I see the light….
    4. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – on hold until our debt is paid off completely

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
    4. Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
    5. Get the girls passport pictures taken
    6. Finish filing the last several weeks of coupons in my File Folder and Binder

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Finish reading  The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year by Crystal Paine who has a blog called Money Saving Mom (VERY excited about the opportunity to preview this book by a blogger I have been following for years and thankful to be featured on her blog weekly with the Save A Lot Deals!)
    3. Listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (I am going through this book with my Community Group)
    4. Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday

    Home Management Goals

    1. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    2. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    3. Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    4. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    5. File the receipts for the last couple of months and organize the table in the office.

    Business Goals

    1. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    3. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    4. Research ways to create more residual income
    5. Review my 2011 Business Goals and start planning ones for 2012

    Ministry Goals

    1. Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others.
    2. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    3. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Close on our Refinance – Our plan is to go from the 30 year mortgage that we have been paying off to a 10 year mortgage with a lower interest rate.
    3. Pay off remaining debt
    4. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Fresh & Healthy: Fall Harvest – Community Supported Agriculture (Week 6)

    We are enjoying our Fall Harvest with our Local Farm with Community Supported Agriculture program.  The pumpkin we received last week was amazing we found out that it was called a Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, delicious!  We are now over halfway through our fall harvest, we just picked up week number 6.  The Fall harvest is 10 weeks long through our farm.  We are thrilled to get the produce and fresh eggs.  Our family is doing a half share again for this harvest.

    Fall Harvest Week 6 of Fresh Goodies from our CSA!

    Fresh goodies from our Local CSA Farm!

    Items in our Basket this Week:

    • 3 Green Tomatoes
    • 1 large bundle Bok Choy
    • 3 Beets
    • 6 Brown Potatoes
    • 2 Sweet Potatoes
    • 1 Half Dozen Fresh Eggs
    I am looking forward to eating these goodies this week!  Thanks everyone for the delicious Recipes!    To find out how you can be a part of a local CSA check out this post – Fresh & Healthy:  Community Supported Farms

  • Book: “Remember Your Manners”

    When the girls were little we got the book called Remember Your Manners: A Story About Being Polite by Parragon Books.  It is a board book that they still like to read and it provides a simple reminder of the importance of using manners.  The story is about a young elephant named Elly who sometimes forgets her manners at the table.  She is learning to not use her fingers, waiting for everyone before starting to eat, eating her vegetables without complaining, and sharing.

    There are a three other titles in this series that the girls enjoy as well:

    • Excuse Me!
    • It’s Mine!
    • Remember the Magic Word

    This book and the other ones in the series provide a great reminder of using manners in several situations.  If you are looking for a good book that’s easy to read and for younger children you should check these out.  Since they are board books they are perfect for infant and toddlers but the older kids still enjoy them.

  • Pampers Gifts to Grow – 10 Free Points

    You can receive another 10 free points from Pampers with the a new Gifts to Grow code!

    This code is different from the previous codes I have given.

    Use Code:  FAC1111PYWFNXRD

    The code didn’t have an expiration date but they usually expire in a few days so be sure to add it to your account soon!

    You can save up the rewards to purchase gifts!

    For more information about the Pampers Gift to Grow Program and how you can start earning Pampers “Gifts to Grow” Rewards for your family go to Pampers Gifts to Grow!

  • Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    The week went by quickly.  I have been fighting off a cold so I didn’t do as well bargain shopping throughout the entire week.  Thankfully I was able to find some amazing deals early in the week and was able to stock up on some candy to share with others (including the girls school) during some upcoming events and parties.  I was running low on shredded cheeses (a big no-no in our house) so I was able to stock up on it and other items this week.  Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

    Groceries from Ingles

    Ingles Groceries:

    • $29.28 at Ingles for 1 bag Laura Lynn Bread, 2 blocks Laura Lynn Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 5 bags Laura Lynn Shredded Cheese, 1 box Margarine, 1 bag Ham Lunch Meat, 1 whole Chicken, 1 box Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix, 1 box Pillsbury Brownie Mix, 1 bag Laura Lynn Miniature Marshmallows, 1 container Fresh Lemons, 1 Sweet Yellow Onion, 1 bag Regular White Pitas, 1 bag Onion Pitas, 2 bags Deli Egg Roll Wraps, and 1 container Spinach Bites.  (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance including the meat, diary, and produce!)
    Groceries from CVS

    CVS Groceries:

    • $0.70 at CVS for 4 bags Oreo Mini Snack Packs, 2 bags Wonka Nerds, 2 bags Milky Way Simply Caramel, 2 bags Hershey’s Cookies N Cream, 1 bag Twizzlers Strawberry Twists Snack Pack, 2 bags Butterfinger Fun Size, 1 bag 100 Grand Fun Size, 2 bags Nestle Crunch Fun Size, 2 bags Whoppers Snack Size, and 2 jars Skippy Peanut Butter.  (My family will not be eating all this candy and sugar, but I was thrilled to get it since I have several upcoming parties and celebrations where I need to bring goody bags.  All the items were on clearance after the Halloween Holiday or on sale and will come in handy for upcoming events.  It was a great price on clearance items and none of the items expire until late 2012.  The Extra Care Bucks were a huge savings help.  To see more details about this shopping trip go to my CVS: Spent $0.70 and Got $3 ECB’s)

    This week I spent $29.98 on groceries.  Even though I only a little under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on several items.  The Halloween Clearance at CVS was pretty amazing and the items I picked up on will be beneficial for several different upcoming events so it was worth to stock up the pantry at those prices.  I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!

    It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks!  As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me.  I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too.  The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.

  • Recipe: Pumpkin Dip

    Fresh Pumpkin Dip

    Our family had fun making jack-o-lanterns this year for the holidays.  Brina choose to do a happy one and Karlie wanted to do a scary one.  While we were having fun doing the activity we set aside the pumpkin seeds and the pieces of pumpkin that we cut out so we could make more goodies with them.  The pumpkin seeds were a huge hit and were gone in less than 24 hours.  We used our Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipe and shared them with friends.  With the chunks of pumpkin that were remaining we made Pumpkin Dip for the evening meal.  It smelled amazing walking into the house as the aroma of sweet pumpkin soup greeted us.

    Pumpkin Dip:

    • 1 pound Pumpkin, seeded and peeled
    • 1 cup Water
    • 1 cube Chicken Bouillon
    • 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
    • 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
    • Crackers, Pretzels, or Bagel Pieces (for dipping)
    • Dash of Chili Pepper for Spicy Kick (optional) OR Dash of Brown Sugar for a sweeter dip (optional)

    1.  Cut up the seeded and peeled pumpkin into one inch cubes.  Place the pumpkin, water, and chicken bouillon into the crockpot.  Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours (or until the pumpkin is tender).

    2.  Use a hand blender to blend the pumpkin mixture in the crockpot.  Add the cream and pumpkin spice to the pumpkin mixture.  Let it cook for another 10 minutes and stir or blend until smooth.  Pour the pumpkin dip into a serving dish, add your favorite dipping items and enjoy.  You could add a little chili powders to make it a spicy dip or a little brown sugar to make it a sweeter dip.

    Pieces of Jack O' Lantern ready for Pumpkin Dip

    We used the pieces from our jack-o-lantern activity but you could use a regular pumpkin or canned pumpkin as well.  This would be a good one for upcoming Holidays and potlucks.  We used plain bagels cut up into bite size pieces to dip.  The girls loved it!