Friday, August 30, 2013

Reno Rose Nursing Cover Giveaway WINNER!

Devon F. was the random winner generated by Giveaway Tools for the Reno Rose Nursing Cover/Scarf Giveaway!

Devon has been notified and has 48 hours to reply to my email and claim her prize, or I will be forced to choose a different winner to replace the old one.

Thank you to everyone for entering the giveaway and following my blog!



***Disclaimer*** Winners are chosen completely at RANDOM and done automatically through Giveaway Tools, once the contest is closed. I have NO CONTROL over choosing winners unless winners do not reply to my winning email to claim their prize in the time specified.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Blueberry Picking!


Last weekend, we went blueberry picking with some friends of ours. We found a nice pick-your-own farm in a town nearby, so on Sunday, we all packed up and met up there for some blueberry picking fun! 

None of us had ever gone blueberry picking before, so we didn't know what to expect. The place we went to had tons and tons of blueberry patches to pick from, and was out of the way of town and an honor system, so you grabbed some buckets and baskets from the barn there, picked what you wanted, divided them up, and then left the money there in a basket. If you picked 4 pints of blueberries for the farm to have/sell, then you got one pint for free, or they were $3.50 per pint. 

We all had SO much fun doing this! The kids all had fun picking their own blueberries for their own buckets and baskets, and we all had a lot of fun nibbling on some berries as we went along. ;)





Merasia had a pint alone just in her basket by the time we were done! She really got into it! Mason was into it too, but every time he started building up berries in his basket, he would end up eating them all and having to start from scratch again. He's such a cutie!





When all was said and done, we had 11 pints of blueberries! And we were only there for an hour and a half or so! We left 4 or 5 pints for the farm, so we took one free one for picking 4 for them, and then paid for 5 other pints to bring home ourselves. 








Another cool thing about the place we went, is there's a swimming pool there open to our use, for free of charge! We found this out once we got there, so we didn't have anything with us to go swimming that day but decided we would definitely be back before the summer was over to take a dip in the pool and even grab a few more berries. :)

It was such a fun day and fun, new activity for all of us to try, and I look forward to doing it every summer!




Thursday, August 22, 2013

Salada Tea and Red Rose Tea Review & Giveaway!


I'm a HUGE fan of Iced Tea, and even certain types of hot/warm tea. That's why, when I was contacted to do a review of Salad Tea and Red Rose Tea products, in celebration of National iced Tea Month, I jumped at the opportunity!

For my review, I received a box of Salada Green Tea Family Size Peach & Nectarine, Salad Green Tea Family Size Raspberry, Salada Black Tea for Iced Tea Berry Patch, and Red Rose Original.

I have had regular Red Rose warm tea in the past before, and have enjoyed them. I was most excited to get to trying the iced tea!

The first flavor we tried is the Raspberry. It takes a little more work to make this iced tea than the iced tea you would buy in your local grocery store, but I soon found out that it was well worth it!

The first step is preparing this iced tea is boiling water. 



Once the water comes to a boil, you remove it from the heat and let it sit for a minute or two. After it has sat for a couple of minutes, you add one tea bag per quart of water. I used 3 quarts of water, so I used 3 tea bags. I also transferred the hot water to our iced tea pitcher before adding the bags.



You let the bags sit in the water for 5 minutes or so, and then allow the tea to cool, add sweetener, and enjoy!

It took a long time to cool down, even with being in the fridge for the rest of the day, but you can hurry the process up by pouring a glass of the tea in a cup of ice. 

You also add sweetener if desired. I added a couple cups of sugar and it was just the right amount of sweetener for this tea! I was surprised by how delicious it was! I wasn't so sure how good it would be, being from tea bags, and REAL iced tea, not the factory made processed powdered stuff in the store. But, I am a HUGE fan now! Mason also LOVED it! The day after I made it, he kept asking for some so I gave him some, mixed with a little extra water to dilute it, and he drank three cups of it! Merasia isn't a fan, and Connor seems to like it okay, which is good. :)

Overall, I was very happy with my experience with Salada Iced Tea, and can't wait to try the other flavors I was sent for my review!

Purchase it: You can purchase the Salada and Red Rose products reviewed here at a local grocery store or local Walmart near you!

WIN IT: ONE lucky reader of Mama 2 Multiples is going to WIN some of their very own Salada Iced Tea and Red Rose Tea products! To enter, simply follow the instructions in the form below!







Family Vacation 2013!

We just got back from our family vacation this past Sunday evening. Last summer, we spent the weekend in New Hampshire and went to Santa's Village for the first time, and then did a hike of the Flume Gorge that Sunday, and then came home. For those of you not familiar with the east coast, Santa's Village is a Christmas themed children's amusement park. We started this tradition of going there last year, so this year of course we planned to go there, and decided to try out Story Land as well. Story Land is another children's amusement park an hour from Santa's Village, and is based, of course, on all of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes and fairy tales we all know and love so well.

This year, we left on a Friday, and had a 2 hour drive ahead of us. Of course with stopping here and there, it took a little more longer than expected. Connor and Merasia fell asleep soon into the trip, but Mason held on awake for most of it.  I was surprised! He had a rough time riding for so long. He kept bothering Kendall, crying, screaming, throwing his paci, asking for snacks, and everything else. He kept singing his ABC's the entire ride, practically! it was cute, but a little much after the billionth time! ;) He did eventually pass out for a little while, though, so it was nice to drive in a little bit of peace.





We got to the place we were staying at, unloaded the van and got things semi set up at our cottage.






After we got semi settled in, we drove down to the local grocery store to get a few things the kids and us needed, then went back and tested out the pool! It was pretty cold, but I did get in a little dip and the kids enjoyed dipping their toes in the water and splashing around a bit!


After we dipped and played in the pool, we cooked some frozen pizza and had dinner, and got Mason in bed at 6 that night. An hour or two earlier than normal, but he had already had a LONG day of traveling and very little nap, and was miserable, cranky, and exhausted. He went right to sleep with no problem and only woke once or twice during the night for some milk in his cup. After we laid him down for the night, Frank and I went outside with the twins to spend a little time with them while Kendall was napping. We got them changed in their pajamas, and hung out outside, then roasted some marshmallows and had some yummy s'mores!





We were all so glad to see our beds that night! We woke up bright and early the next morning and got everyone bathed, dressed, packed up, and ready for the day, and got on the road for the hour drive to Santa's Village! We had a BEAUTIFUL day full of FUN! We went on just about every ride at the park, the kids got all of the punches in their punch cards from the elf statues all over the park, we visited with Santa's reindeer, played in the water park, ate some lunch, saw some friends from home, and, of course, visited with Santa. We got some special treatment from Santa. I went to his house to ask his elf helper when we could see him, and she said they had to let the line inside the house die down some before they could let anyone else in, but told us to come back in a half hour or so. So we were going to go on some rides and kill some time. While we were standing outside deciding where we wanted to go next, the elf came back out and said we could come in if we wanted, but Frank had gone to check something out real quick and I didn't want to go in without him so we said we would wait. By the time Frank came back, the elf was telling everyone to come back in 20 minutes or so, so we planned on that but then the elf came back out to us and said we could go in, but she was still turning everyone else away until later. It was so nice of her to let us go sneak in at the end of the line that was already inside. We waited much longer last year! When we did get to Santa, he gave each of our kids (except the baby, of course) 3 or 4 candy canes, and his elf helpers told him to take extra special time with us. Merasia and Mason did go up to him to get their candy canes and then Mason ran back to the stroller with daddy. I figured that would happen! At least he didn't cry this year like last year! Connor and Kendall sat on his lap, and Merasia got her candy canes and talked to him, but didn't want to sit on his lap. He asked all the kids what they wanted for Christmas and if they were having fun that day, and some other questions. It was so cute for them to get that extra special time with famous Santa! ;)

Here are some photos from our adventures at Santa's Village:

Merasia was a little nervous to go on the water slides alone last year, but this year she was much more brave and went on them over and over again by herself:








Mommy and Merasia on Rudy's Roller Coaster:



She puts her hands up on every ride, even if it's not a fast one or not a roller coaster:





Loving the train ride:

First Santa's Village photo as a family of 6!







Santa's Robe hanging in his house :)





The back side of the water park:




Connor driving the antique cars:






We asked one of Santa's Helpers to take this photo for us, but he didn't get the Santa's Village sign in the background :(



Kendall meeting Santa for the first time!






All 4 kids were fast asleep within seconds of leaving the Santa's Village parking lot!


We had an hour drive from Santa's Village back to where we were staying, so the kids got a fairly good cat nap in, and we went to Dairy Queen for dinner when we got back to the town we were staying in. I have NEVER been to a Dairy Queen in my whole life, so I was PSYCHED for this!! We got dinner, ate outside and enjoyed the nice weather and sunshine, and then had some ice cream afterwards! I had my FIRST ever REAL DQ Blizzard (S'Mores!)! It was beyond yummy!







We all fell into bed, utterly exhausted that night! We were up bright and early the next morning to get everything packed up and loaded back into the van. While hubs did that, it gave the kiddos time to get outside and play on the playground at the place we were staying at.






Finally, we were all loaded back into the van, checked out of the place we spent the weekend, stopped for coffee and donuts at a store downtown, and then headed to Story Land! This was all of our first times at Story Land, and it was a complete BLAST!!!

We rode on a bunch of rides, went in and out of all the houses and cool places to explore there, met Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, Mother Goose, and the Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe, saw lots of animals, ate yummy food, and made so man new, special memories. It was bigger than Santa's Village, so there was quite a bit that we didn't get to do with having a 2 hour drive home ahead of us, but we will be spending even more time there next year, and we already can't wait!

Here are some fun photos from our adventure at Story Land:



 Connor and Merasia with Tinker Bell!


The Three Billy Goat's Gruff:


In The Three Little Bear's House:


Riding the Bamboo Chutes!


Peter Rabbit's House! He was hiding inside so we didn't see him though :(



Cinderella's Castle!


In Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach to ride up to the castle and meet Cinderella herself!


Baa Baa Black Sheep:


Pirate Ship ride:


Riding the Pirate Ship:





The show that Tinker Bell, Alice in Wonderland, and Little Red Riding Hood put on:







Driving the anitque cars at Story Land:


Chicken House:


Getting a sticker from the Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe:




CINDERELLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Mason meeting Alice in Wonderland!!


Dancing at the show:



Connor and Merasia with Alice in Wonderland!!


Tink!!


The Three Little Bear's House:


Three Billy Goat's Gruff:


Safari Ride:


Diggers:



Connor shooting the Pirate Ship:


Merasia driving the tractor:


Gift Shops, etc.:


Goose:


The Three Little Pigs:


The Shoe:


Mason on the Pirate Ship:


Mason driving the antique car:


The Three Little Pig's houses:


Connor driving the tractor:



Pumpkin Coach Ride:



Mary and her Little Lambs:



Pirate Play Area:






Inside The Three Little Bear's Home:


Walking the bridge from the castle back down to the park:


Cinderella's glass slipper:





Roller Coaster:


Swan Boat Ride:



Posing with Humpty Dumpty:


Little Red Riding Hood's Grannie's House:


Rock-A-Bye Baby (the cradle was really rocking!):


Jail!



School House:



Overall, it was a great trip! Exhausting, but great! We made so many new, fun, amazing family memories and the kids just had a complete blast and haven't stopped talking about the trip since! We are already greatly looking forward to next year's trip!