• Colortime Crafts and Markers – Promo Code for 15% Off All Orders

    Are you looking for a great gift for a budding artist?  Do you have a little one who loves to color?  Colortime offers a large assortment of items to color from shirts, pillowcases, tote bags, backpacks, bandanas, headwraps, and more!

    If you are looking for a neat gift for a kid or want to do a fun craft for a group of kids (Girl Scouts, Birthday Parties, Sunday School, VBS, etc…) Colortime has the perfect product for you.  The kids can use their markers to color a variety of fun items.

    Get 15% off all orders using Promo Code: 15USFG

    Since 1990, over 5 million children and adults have loved creating t-shirts, pillowcases, backpacks, tote bags, bandannas, and more for parties, slumber parties, and scout meetings with our permanent fabric markers. We have provided our customers the opportunity to entertain their guests with a creative activity that becomes a permanent keepsake. Also, we are a licensed vendor of the Girl Scouts of America. Check out our wholesale program, great for your organizations.

    More fun stuff from Colortime

    Below is a great Christmas craft you can do with the kids!

    Make sure you get 15% off your order by using Promo Code: 15USFG when you check out at Colortime!

    A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Colortime for sponsoring this post.  Any specific product information was provided by Colortime and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own.  Blessings Multiplied will be receiving a free craft for this post.

  • Happy Birthday to My Handsome Man!

    Wishing Jake a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 

    I am so thankful for my amazing husband and all he does for our family. He is generous, kind, and loves me despite all my craziness.  Wishing him many more awesome years packed full of great memories.  I am looking forward to celebrating this special day with him.

    Another really cool part about Jake’s birthday is he shares it with two other family members – his Grandpa Conklin and my Uncle Rick!  Happy Birthday to Grandpa and Uncle Rick! May it be a wonderful birthday for both of you!

    Photo credit

  • Happy Birthday Brina & Karlie!

    Happy 7th Birthday to Brina & Karlie!  We love you sweet girls.  It is amazing how quickly these last few years have gone by and we are thankful for the many wonderful memories we have shared.  Wishing both of you many more awesome years of great times! 🙂

    Photo Credit

  • Family Recipe: Mom’s Beef & Broccoli

    In honor of my Mom’s birthday this week I picked one of my favorite recipes that she makes.  My Mom is a great cook and I actually made Beef & Broccoli last weekend so thought I would share it with you as well.  I love this recipe and it is delicious!

    Mom’s Beef & Broccoli:

    • 3/4 lb fresh Broccoli
    • 1 lb lean boneless Beef Steak (top round, flank, or sirloin work well)
    • 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)
    • 1 clove of Garlic, minced or pressed
    • 1/4 cup Salad Oil (or olive oil)
    • 2 tablespoon of Water
    • 1 1/2 tablespoon Corn Starch
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger
    • 2 tablespoon cooking Sherry
    • 1 1/4 cup regular strength Beef Broth
    • Dash of Red Pepper

    Cut broccoli and set aside.  Cut beef with the grain into 1 1/2 inch wide strips then across the grain in 1/4 inch slices.  In bowl mix beef, soy sauce and garlic.  Let marinate 15 minutes.  Prepare cooking sauce corn starch, ground ginger, dash of red pepper, cooking sherry, and beef broth.  When wok is hot add 1 tablespoon of oil, add half of the meat mixture.  Stir fry until browned (about 2 to 3 minutes).  Repeat with second half of meat and 1 more tablespoon of oil.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and stir in the broccoli for about 1 minute.  Add water cover and cook about 3 minutes.  Add cooking sauce to meat and stir until the sauce has thickened.

    When I made this dish last weekend I added in some mushrooms and onions that I needed to use up.  I cut back on the oil and didn’t have the Sherry so that was eliminated however since I added the additional juicy vegetables it was still tasty.  This recipe is amazing as is but feel free to add in extra items that your family enjoys eating.

    Photo by gkdavie

  • Family Celebrations: Happy Birthday Skipper!

    Best Buddies - A Girl and Her Dog (Brina and Skipper)

    The fifth member of our family is full of energy, a loyal friend, loves to play outside and adds a lot of laughter to our family…….Skipper!  She is our sweet black lab who the girls absolutely adore!  Our little Puddle Skipper Hayes was born on March 14, 2010 and she had fun celebrating her 1st birthday with us!  It was a busy day full of a lot of activities but ended it with a little celebration for our furry family member.  The girls were so excited to celebrate Skipper’s birthday.

    Here are a few pictures from our fun together!

     

    Brina and Karlie wrapping Skipper's birthday gifts!

    The girls wrapped Skipper’s gifts in newspaper and A LOT of tape!  They even had tape on the floor when they were done (you can see a pile in between them on the carpet).  They were so excited and had a blast doing the wrapping for their furry sister!

     

    Skipper's Special Birthday Meal!

    The girls thought it was hilarious putting Skipper’s candle in her special meal.  They thought it was funny she would rather have a special birthday meal with “bacon” then a birthday cake.  The girls were worried that Skipper was going to burn her nose so she barely got close to the bowl until the candle was blown out, glad they were looking out for her.  It was great watching them trying to keep her away from the candle while we sang Happy Birthday!

     

    Skipper eating her birthday treat!

    The best puppy birthday meal you can ask for – Meaty and Moist, simply delicious!  Plus she got to eat her special birthday treat all by herself (no one was wanting to share it with her).

     

    The unwrapping part of the birthday celebrations was exciting and confusing for Skipper, good thing the girls were there to help!

    Skipper was very excited to get new bones and a toy!  She immediately took one bone into the yard, then realized the other one was still on the porch so went back for that one.  I really think she stayed up all night playing and eating her bones!

    Happy Birthday Skipper!  Hope you enjoyed your play time with the family, your feast, bones, and toy!  The girls had fun picking them out, wrapping and celebrating with you!!!

  • Family Celebrations: “Welcome Ranch” Birthday Party

    This year did the girls birthday party celebration at Welcome Ranch.  It was our first year doing their party outside of the house and after calling several locations we made the decision to do it at Welcome Ranch.  Brina and Karlie’s personalities and tastes are very different (one of the many joys of having twins), however, they both LOVE animals especially horses.  Jake and I booked the party and when we sat down to tell the girls they were thrilled.  They were okay that we wouldn’t be decorating the house since they would be riding horses for entertainment this year.  I think every day after telling them they would ask “Is it this week?”  When the day finally arrived they asked every few minutes “How much longer until we can ride the horses?”  Thankfully we had another activity planned with friends earlier that day so that distracted them for a couple hours.  They were very excited when we were on our way to the horse ranch to celebrate.  Here are a few pictures from our day at Welcome Ranch:

    The sign at the entrance of Welcome Ranch said "Happy Birthday Karlie 6 & Brina 6"

    The girls were thrilled to see their names on the BIG sign at the entrance of Welcome Ranch!  “We have never had such a BIG sign to wish us Happy Birthday!”  They were pleasantly surprised and excited!

    Brina and Karlie listening carefully to Ms. Lisa's instructions!

    Lisa did a wonderful job of getting the kids (and parents) attention while making the whole experience fun for everyone.  She even got a few laughs when explaining the rules.  Brina and Karlie were listening carefully so they wouldn’t miss out on anything!  They picked out their ranch hats earlier that week at Wilson’s Five & Dime store on Lauren’s Road.  I was surprised they wore the hats the entire time!

    Karlie and Brina leading the way with Ms. Lisa to the horses!

    On our way to ride the horses!  Karlie and Brina led everyone with Lisa to the horses.  They were ready to ride!

    Brina talking and riding Montana! Loving it!

     

    Karlie all smiles riding Chocolate their miniature horse!

     

    Brina having a blast at Welcome Ranch!

     

    Karlie riding with Daddy on Montana! Hang on tight kiddo!

     

    Brina LOVING her time with the horses!

     

    Karlie riding on Mickey!

     

    Brina riding like a pro on Mickey!!!

     

    Brina and Karlie riding together on Montana!

     

    Karlie riding on Chocolate!

     

    Mommy and Brina riding Montana!

     

    Karlie volunteering to ride again! Always ready for another turn on the horses!

     

     

    Brina going for another ride on Mickey!

     

    Brina and Karlie on top of the Firetruck!!!

     

    Karlie putting out the fire!

     

    Brina putting out the fire!

     

    Firetruck at Welcome Ranch

     

    Daddy putting out the final flames!

     

    One of their signs at Welcome Ranch, love it!

     

    Happy Birthday Brina and Karlie!!!

     

    Karlie and Brina taking the candles out of their cake!

     

    The birthday girls enjoying a slice of delicious cake - Brina and Karlie!

     

    The girls liked their cat - Supervisor! They thought his name was very funny!

     

    Karlie had so much fun she crashed in the van on the ride home, too funny!

     

    Brina playing with her toys on the way home, love the crazy hat hair!

     

    Skipper joining in the birthday fun by wearing Karlie's hat!

    The girls had a wonderful birthday party at Welcome Ranch!  Lisa, her Mom, and the crew did an amazing job.  The kids loved riding the horses petting the animals (goats, donkey, dogs, cats, etc…) eating pizza, drinking ice tea, koolaide, a delicious cake and enjoying time with their family and friends.  Thanks to Welcome Ranch for making their birthday extra special and memorable.  We had a lot of fun celebrating with everyone that came to their party.

    Happy 6th Birthday Brina and Karlie!

    WE LOVE YOU!!!

  • CVS: Spent $1 and Got $9 ECB’s Back

    This week CVS has a few great deals.  I wasn’t able to get to the store until later in the day but was still able to get these two items for $1.09 and received $9 ECB’s to use on my next CVS purchase.

    • Revlon Finger Nail Polish – $3.99 with $3.00 ECB’s
    • Schick Hydro 5 Razor – $8.79 with $5.00 ECB’s

    The total was over $13 with tax before using coupons.  Here are the coupons I used on the two items.

    • Used $3.00 CVS Coupon from the Kiosk inside the store
    • Used $1.00 Revlon Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $2.00 Schick Manufacturer Coupon
    • Used $6.58 ECB’s from previous purchase (I had a couple more ECB’s but couldn’t use them because they were worth more than $1 so I will be able to use them on a future purchase along with the $9 I received today).  If you use a $2 ECB to pay for $1.09 worth of goods you will not receive the additional $0.91 back so today I decided to pay the $1.09 out of pocket and use my $2 ECB on a future purchase since they weren’t expiring until later in the month.

    I received $9 ECB’s back today:

    • $3.00 ECB’s for Revlon Purchase
    • $5.00 ECB’s for Schick
    • $1.00 ECB’s for Green Bag Tag

    When you shop the CVS sales regularly and have ECB’s that you can roll over toward future purchases the bonus ECB’s start adding up (Green Bag Tags and Beauty Club).  As you can see from my shopping trip today you don’t have to purchase a lot to save money when shopping at CVS.  You can pick and chose what is best for your family.   I would love to hear your CVS shopping story for this week!

    For those of you who shop regularly at CVS please share how you were able to save this week!  Although the weekly ad sales are similar every family and situation is different so you may have found items better suited to your household.  In your comment please feel free to share a link to your blog article showing us how you were able to save shopping at CVS.

  • Family Celebrations: Girls Birthday!

    Happy Birthday Banner for Brina and Karlie!!!

    The girls had a blast celebrating their sixth birthday!  We made the day special for them and had fun!  It is still hard to believe that they are growing up so quickly.  Here are a few shots from our adventures on their birthday!

    Birthday Breakfast - Blueberry Bear Pancakes & Banana Pudding with Star Candles
    Brina and Karlie LOVE writing in their notebooks. At breakfast they got a pretty princess notepad with purple fluffy pen! Super exciting and cute! (Even better is I found them on clearance at Walmart.)
    Karlie playing with her little pony at TGI Friday's
    Brina playing with her little pony at the restaurant - TGI Friday's
    We celebrated their birthday dinner at TGI Friday's!
    Brina and Karlie enjoying their caramel & chocolate ice cream birthday sundae's at TGI Friday's!!! So delicious they got it all over themselves!
    Karlie and Brina using their gift certificates at Toys R Us!
    Brina picked out a pink & white puppy and baby doll supplies at Toys R Us!
    Karlie and Brina sharing their birthday goodies!
    Daddy helping Karlie putting together her Hot Wheels truck!
    Brina LOVES her horses, the stable, and books! We read one right away then put the horse and book back in the stable!
    Karlie so excited about her Stomp ROCKET! She even blasted a few off in the house that night!
    Brina and Karlie coming downstairs for some more birthday fun!
    Brina having a blast riding the go cart in the front yard! Peddle FASTER!!!

    Look Out MOM!!! Karlie's driving fast and you're in the way! Use the breaks!!!

    I have been very blessed with a sweet family.  Even though I am still in shock that my baby girls are 6 years old I am thankful for them and the privilege of watching them grow up.  Wishing them many more awesome years together!

    FREE Shipping on Party Supplies at Shindigz

  • Happy Birthday Brina & Karlie!!!

    Today is my little ones birthday!  It seems like it was yesterday we were in the hospital and NICU with them.  Even though their due date was in April they decided to come 7 weeks early.  They have brought so much joy and laughter to our life!  It has been wonderful watching them learn and grow.  We pray daily that God will continue to develop them into beautiful young women with a heart for Him.

    Happy 6th Birthday Brina & Karlie!!!

    Our sweet girls - Karlie and Brina!

    This picture was taken a couple months ago.  Now both girls have glasses!

  • Cuddlee Pet Plush Stuffed Pillow Pet – $1 plus Shipping

    Cuddlee Pets are on sale today only for $1.00 (plus $4.99 shipping) marked down from $19.99.  Cuddlee Pets are made of soft plush material and can be both a stuffed animal and a pillow!  They are excellent companions for car trips and can help make nap time more fun for your little one.  Cuddlee Pets are machine washable and feature a velcro closure that allows them to transform from a stuffed animal to a pillow and back again! You will receive a random selection from 8 animal designs.

    Product Features:

    • Machine washable
    • Made of soft plush material
    • Open the Velcro closure to use as a pillow
    • Close the Velcro closure to enjoy your stuffed animal
    • Perfect for travel
    • Stuffed animal dimensions: 15 x 6 x 7 inches
    • Pillow dimensions: 15 x 15 x 3 inches
    • For ages 3+
    • Random assortment including options of: panda bear, kitty cat, puppy dog, bunny rabbit, bear, turtle, cow, ladybug, and cheetah

    The Cuddlee Pets are a about half the size of  “Pillow Pets”.  Although smaller they still cute,  soft, and will fit into your luggage when traveling.  It looks like they charge a $4.99 shipping fee per item.  If you have been thinking about getting a “Pillow Pet” for you child these may be the perfect gift for an upcoming birthday or Valentine’s Day!