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"Potty Patrol's Potty Training Alarm Diapers are designed to notify you and your child when wetting occurs, so that you can place your child on the toilet immediately. Being placed on the toilet while the event is still fresh in your child’s mind helps them make the connection between cause and effect more quickly and effectively."

Potty Patrol Starter Kits include the items shown above.

POTTY PATROL TRAINING GUIDE Includes all the information you’ll need to use the Potty Patrol Starter Kit!

24 ALARM SENSOR DIAPERS Every starter kit contains 24 sensor diapers. When the blue sensor strips detect wetness, they trigger the Potty Patrol alarm to sound. 
+ Potty Patrol Alarm Diaper Refill Kits are available for purchase separately and can be used with the alarm provided in this kit. Some parents will find that the starter kit is all they need, while others will make use of the refill kits.

POTTY PATROL ALARM Each starter kit includes one Potty Patrol alarm. Potty Patrol has an exclusive license to patent pending technology that helps avoid false alarms.

My Thoughts:

We have been using the Potty Patrol Potty Training Diapers on our 3 year old son for a few weeks and these are my thoughts.

• These diapers are best to use when you are at home and can get to a potty quickly.  
  
• A parent needs to help the child take the diaper off when sitting on the potty.  Our three year old could not take them off himself.  
  
• I would love to see this in a pull-up.  Easier on and off for a potty training child and slightly larger.  These fit our 30 pound son who just turned 3 a week ago, but feel a little snug when attaching the velcro sides.  
  
• These diapers have helped us get to the potty more often and when he actually needs to go.  The potty alarm has been a big help.  I am so busy with three little boys that remembering to take my son to the potty at regular intervals is pretty much impossible on my own.  
  

Overall, we have experienced more potty success over the last 3 weeks while using these diapers than we had before.  The starter set (24 diapers) has lasted a while for us because we only use it when we will be at home for at least a couple of hours.  I don't put them on him when he goes to preschool or plays outside because they work best when I am with him and can put him on the potty right away.  

Enter to win a Potty Patrol Potty Training Alarm Diapers Starter Kit on the rafflecopter form.  You will be able to choose a boy or girl set.


Disclosure:  I received this product to facilitate my review.  No compensation was received and any opinions expressed are honest and are my own.

I slightly adapted this recipe from Clover Lane, one of my absolute favorite blogs.  These are delicious and oh so easy.  

Put these ingredients in your breadmaker in the order listed.  

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup oil (I use olive oil)
3 cups of bread flour
1 tsp. salt
3 TBS brown sugar or sucanat
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Once the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough onto a 10 x 12 lightly buttered cookie sheet.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the bread sticks into 24 pieces.

Let rise for about an hour.

Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes.

When breadsticks come out of the oven, drizzle 4 TBS melted butter on top,
then sprinkle with 1/2 tsp or more garlic salt.  

Finally, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

*You can reheat any leftover bread sticks at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes or so until they are warm.  My boys gobbled these up, reheated for lunch one day.  

Congratulations to entry #945 Lindsey.  The winner has been contacted.  

I have several other great giveaways you can enter:  
Mikarose $50 Gift Certificate
Kidorable Hooded Towel
Mia Mariu Natural Skincare 

I have been reviewing two products from Mia Mariu, Anti-Aging Brightening Serum and Refreshing Foaming Gel Cleanser.  

Anti-Aging Brightening Serum
Bye-bye, dark spots and wrinkles! A must-have age-defying serum that targets sun spots and pigmentation while brightening overall skin clarity. This serum contains anti-aging peptides, skin-brightening botanicals, Aloe and Vitamin B5 Complex to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Suitable for all skin types, non-irritating, oil-free. Use AM and PM.(1.0 fl.oz)

Refreshing Foaming Gel Cleanser
Begin your skin care treatment with this soft pampering cleanser. This silky formula will leave your skin soft, hydrated and refreshed without drying out your skin. With natural cleansing agents, tough dirt, makeup and impurities are gone. Sea Kelp and Aloe make this a fabulous super-gentle cleanser for all skin types. Refreshing Foaming Gel Cleanser is especially effective for sensitive skin including rosacea, maturing and even dry skin types. Suitable for all skin types, non-irritating, oil-free, sulfate-free. Use AM and PM. (4.0 fl. oz)


I am impressed with both of these products.  I have been using them morning and night for about a month.  I tend to have dry areas on my face, but not while using these Mia Mariu products.  I have noticed my skin is much softer and looks less tired.  

I have been applying the Anti-Aging Brightening Serum to my face and neck daily.  
When I was in college I joined a modeling agency and they told me to make sure and moisturize my neck daily because your neck shows signs of aging sooner than your face.  I don't know if that is true, but I do think it is important to take care of your skin and I think these products can help you do that.  

One lucky reader will win a Refreshing Foaming Gel Cleanser and an Anti-Aging Brightening Serum.  A Retail Value of $57.  US Residents only.  Use the rafflecopter form to enter.  

You can also enter to win a $600 Apple Gift Card on the Mia Mariu Facebook Page.
 
Disclosure:  I was not compensated for writing this post.  I was provided products to facilitate my review.  Any opinions are honest and are my own.  

I have been wanting to post a weekly menu plan for a long time, but I have never been able to get a whole week ahead in my planning and things always change with busy schedules and three young children.  So I decided that I would post the previous week's menu.  

The purpose is to share dinner ideas anyway, so it doesn't matter if its last week's menu plan.  I hope you find some good ideas and feel free to share your weekly menu plans in the comments.  

Monday:  Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti and marinara, asparagus
Tuesday:  Sloppy Joes and Zucchini Chips
Wednesday:  Broccoli, Chicken, and Quinoa Casserole
Thursday:  Honey Garlic Chicken over rice with broccoli
Friday:  Sesame Chow Mein with Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas
Saturday:  Leftovers
Sunday:  Hamburgers and Homemade Chips, pickles

I made this delicious casserole the other night and it was my first time to use quinoa.  I looked for quinoa first in the grocery store and decided it was too expensive, $5 to $12 a box depending on size and brand.  I then went to our local natural food store and bought it from the bulk bins.  I think it was around $3 - $4 a pound, still expensive but less than the grocery store.  

I found this recipe at Annie's Eats.  She is one of my favorite food bloggers.  Her recipe said to follow the package directions to make the quinoa.  Since I didn't have any package directions, I found instructions for making quinoa pronounced "keen wah" and some nutrition information at Joyous Health.  Quinoa is really good for you and high in protein so it is a good alternative to rice.  

The shallots really make this dish by giving it such good flavor, so if you are tempted to leave them out, don't you will regret it.  

On a funny note, my 3 year old and 1 year old could not get enough of this dish while my 5 year old wanted nothing to do with it.  Oh well, you can't please everyone.  I loved it and really enjoyed the leftovers too.  

Ingredients:

1½ cups quinoa
1 broccoli crown, cut into small florets
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 shallots, diced
2 cups milk 
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. dry or prepared mustard
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded*
1-2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used a 10 oz. can of chicken, drained)


This is what uncooked quinoa looks like in a pan with water.

Directions:
1.  To cook the quinoa use 1 part quinoa and 2 parts water.  Combine the water and quinoa in a pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes.   

2.  Meanwhile, place the broccoli in a saucepan and add a couple inches of water.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Let boil just 1-2 minutes more, until the broccoli is crisp-tender.  Drain immediately and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Set aside.

3.  Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour, shallots, garlic powder, mustard, and cayenne.  Continue whisking the mixture until it is light golden, 1-2 minutes.  Slowly whisk in the milk.  Allow the sauce to simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes.  

4.  Remove from the heat.  Whisk in the cheddar until melted and smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

5.  In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, broccoli florets, shredded cooked chicken and the cheese sauce.  Fold together gently until evenly combined.

6.  Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased casserole dish.  Bake until the top is lightly browned, 20-25 minutes.  Serve warm.

Annie's Note  *For best results, always use freshly shredded cheese.  Pre-shredded cheese comes coated in things such as flour or cornstarch to prevent clumping and results in an unpleasant, gritty texture when melted.

Today my second little boy turned 3.  We had a simple party at home since we will be having a family and friends party at Grandma's in a couple of weeks.  I can't believe how quickly he has grown.  He was just born and now he's in preschool.  

I made Sloppy Joes and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies today so I needed to use some brown sugar, only my brown sugar was hard as a rock.  I needed to add moisture to the sugar so that I could break it up and measure it for each recipe.  

This is really easy to do.  Simply cover your brown sugar with a couple of damp paper towels, then seal your bowl with plastic wrap.  Microwave at 30 second intervals until your brown sugar is soft and breaks apart.  

Make sure to enter to win a case of Bare Fruit Cinnamon Apple Chips before this giveaway ends.