July – 2016 – Frugal Novice

Pancakes That Will Make Your Family Flip!

This post is part of a compensated ambassadorship with Denny’s. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Our family loves pancakes. We make them at home a lot… but now we’ve got some serious competition. Denny’s has upgraded their pancakes, creating a recipe so good it even tops those that are homemade!

One thing I’ve learned throughout my time as a Denny’s ambassador is that this is a company wholly committed to quality. They put hours of work into each recipe that makes it to the menu, so it was no surprise when I learned they transforming their pancakes with pure ingredients and classic flavors for a bigger, better, and tastier pancake. They’re now 50% fluffier and made with fresh ingredients such as real eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

There are four limited-time signature builds available right now:

Sticky Bun Pancake Breakfast
Strawberries & Cream Pancake Breakfast
Double Berry Banana Pancake Breakfast
Peanut Butter Cup Pancake Breakfast

The Dream Dog Park Project with Beneful

This post is part of an ambassadorship with Beneful. I receive products, information, and compensation as an ambassador. All opinions are my own. We’re proud to be #FriendsOfBeneful!

Yesterday we decided to take the kids on a special outing. We had dinner at home, and then told them we were going to the park, which garnered some moderate excitement – who doesn’t love a good playground? But then we told them we were going to a dog park, and that we were taking our Yorkie/Schnauzer mix, Ninja, with us. Glee erupted – they were thrilled! Ninja was pretty excited, too, and we promised Sally (our Lab/Golden Retriever mix) that we’d take her next time (Our city has a small dog park and a large dog park, so it’s easier to take them one at a time and all be able to hang out together in one or the other).

Ninja could hardly contain himself on the car ride over (he needs a hair cut, btw – he’s scheduled for the doggie spa tomorrow… so excuse his shaggy look!):

When we got to the park there were four other dogs already playing. Ninja was a little hesitant at first, doing his own thing with our family, but soon all the dogs were playing together.

Three Tips for Surviving Your Baby Becoming Mobile!

If you’ve got older kids, you probably remember very clearly how life changed once your babies started crawling. Our three kiddos are all VERY mobile, but my nephew, who is nearly 9 months, will be crawling before we know it – so in his honor (and for all you other mommas out there with little ones), here’s a survival guide for getting through the transition to mobility:

1. Set up safe areas. When your baby starts moving, he’ll want to explore! We found that the best compromise for us was getting a large play yard (we got one with six panels that we could set up in a variety of shapes). We put it in the living room so that our son could cruise along the front edge of our couch and had a wide area with different toys set up around it. The panels allowed for us to link toys to the walls, too, so he had lots of different things to move to and play with. This way he didn’t feel too contained, and I wasn’t worried about what he might be getting into!

2. Buy diapers that will stay in place as your baby moves. Diaper leaks are NO FUN (especially if it’s a dirty diaper – EW!) so it’s crucial that you get the right diapers. Huggies are a great option – only Huggies diapers have a stretchy SnugFit Waistband to help the diapers stay in place like no other diaper. The unique contoured shape provides a comfortable fit and stays in place as babies move and play. We also love that Huggies have new and improved Leak Lock, which provides the protection and security you need between diaper changes. The double grip strips provide a comfy fit that lasts a long time. The DryTouch liner is another great feature that’s part of the Huggies “Moving Baby System,” so your baby stays dry as they move around and explore! Bargain tip: Sam’s Club members will save $3.00 instantly at check out until July 17th!

3. Keep the floors clean. When you’ve got a crawling baby in the house, it’s more important than ever to keep the floors clean. Mop and vacuum more frequently than you normally would so that those little hands pick up less germs as they move around! You also don’t want them finding any crumbs, pieces of grass, or anything else to put in their mouths (because we all know everything ends up going into their mouths)!

I hope these tips help your little mover get going safely – and help to give you peace of mind as they get mobile!

Ad: Who Won Our Tyson® Chicken Nuggets Championship?

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PowerTheirPlay #CollectiveBias

Now that summer is in full swing, I’ve had to adjust our grocery list to make sure we have plenty of great lunch options for the kids to eat when they’re home. I love having choices that are filling – and that are quick to make, too. I recently headed to H-E-B and stocked up on Tyson® Chicken Nuggets (by the way, click here and type in Tyson Chicken Nuggets into the search box to find a $1.00 coupon!) & State Fair® Corn Dogs (keep an eye out for the $2.00 yellow in-store coupon at H-E-B!) from their frozen section.

We love to go to the freezer aisle to stock up on foods that’ll fuel our kids for long days of playing hard. Both the Tyson nuggets and the State Fair corn dogs are good sources of protein, so they’re a great go-to for lunch or even for a mid-afternoon snack. The corn dogs are portable so we can just heat and eat – even take them in the car while out running errands! Our kids love that they’re fun to eat and that they’re a great mix of sweet and savory. And the nuggets are a win-win for me and the kids. The kids think they taste great, and I love that they’re made with 100% all natural ingredients, and use white meat from chickens raised with no added steroids or hormones.

The summer is also a great time to come up with creative activities, and the Tyson nuggets inspired me to do something really fun. Our kids love to watch cooking shows, and we’ve especially enjoyed watching some of the kids’ cooking championships as a family. Our two oldest kids have said they’d love to go on one of those shows, so we decided to have our own cooking challenge: the Chicken Nugget Championship.

The rules? Each of our boys was responsible for coming up with their own recipe using Tyson chicken nuggets. They had to use ingredients we already had in the kitchen for their creations. Brian, my mom, and I each tasted both recipes and were the judges.