Hellman's Chicken Challenge breaks dinner monotony!!

Once back to school starts it seems like the days just fly by.  And before you know it, its dinnertime. 
And you find yourself scrambling to come up with an meal idea, I know for me sometime I get caught up making the same old dishes time and time again just because its easy.

Well not anymore.

Hellmann's® and Best Foods® mayonnaise are kicking off the first-ever Chicken Challenge, a series of head-to-head chicken dish challenges that will help moms switch up their weekly go to recipes. Each week on Hellmanns.com, two chicken dish "challenger" recipes from Chipotle Lime Crusted Chicken to Baked Buffalo Chicken will go head to head against one of the most popular recipes on Hellmanns.com, i.e. Parmesan Crusted Chicken. Try one of the featured Hellmann's® chicken recipes each week and cast your vote for your favorite.
With so many delicious recipes to try out at Hellmanns.com, you're sure to find dishes the whole family will love.

So what are you waiting for??  Head over to Hellmanns.com, try out one of the weekly Challenge recipes, vote for your top choice, and duh, enter the weekly sweepstakes.  Cuz after all, who doesn't like winning stuff??





Disclosure: I was entered for a chance to win a Hellmann's® prize package in exchange for this post.  No monetary exchange took place. All opinions are my own

Big baby

He is getting so big. *Tear*






Where does all this time go?? I need it to slow down, I want to remember every little thing.

It seems like just a moment ago I saw the two blue lines, now I have a bubbly little boy to take care of.

God is good. And I love babies. I hope I am blessed with more down the road.

Kix and #MyBlogSpark #Giveaway

In this house the Pickle kids love cereal.  LIKE LOVE CEREAL, would consume no other foods for ALL meal times if it were up to them.  And me being the psycho weirdo mom that I am I "screen" all the cereals that come into my house. 

The cereals that they want me to buy tend to be sugary, HFCS, hyper inducing not so umm, healthy options.

The kids and husband say the cereal I want them to eat more closely resemble..ummm...twigs, like from a tree.  Not real. 

And Kix is a great alternative for both of us.  It tastes great, and is a decent source of fiber and Vitamin D.  Plus the kids think it tastes yum.

Yay for both mom and family to have happy cereal habits!!

MyBlogSpark sent me 6 12oz boxes of Kix to "Kid-Test and Mother-Approve" and needless to say..check and check.
WE ALL LOVED IT.

Now on to the fun part!! Wanna win the same prize pack I got from #MyBlogSpark??  Then do this:

• Go here and tell me in the comments something interesting you read on the Kix timeline
• Follow the Dill-io on FB
• Follow the Dill-io on Twitter

Good Luck!! Giveaway ends on 9/23/11.  I will give the winner 24 hours to respond to my email, if no response then another winner will be chosen.  

Disclosure:  Kix cereal, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. I received a free product sample for the purpose of review for this post.  Opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation. The sponsor of this giveaway is responsible for prize fulfillment.

Gator

It would appear that lately in my life I am going through a growth spurt. A growing of my faith, patience and upbeat attitude is underway. And to say its been easy is uhh...a lie.
Its been EXTREMELY hard.

I miss Bonnie--like everyday. But she is loving public school and is well ahead of her class in her subjects, so I am pleased. Growing my upbeat attitude even though I want her to be home- CHECK.

Trying to juggle the boys and their needs, growing my patience and overcoming my self doubt that I am capable of running this household-CHECK.

In the midst of my mom turmoil I find myself doing household tasks that enrich our quality of life.
Like mending Gator.

This is Gator

We got him for Clyde when he was a little baby and its one of the few lovey's he stuck with. Gator has been across the country with us, survived potty training (that was ugly for Gator sometimes) and copious amounts of abuse. Most recently someone cut his foot with scissors (no one would cop to it..hmm..) and he was losing stuffing. So I put his foot surgery on the high pri list and got to it the other day while catching up on Torchwood on the DVR.
Don't judge me, Torchwood is a great BBC X-filey kinda show.

And now he looks like this...

All better now. But a little battle scar to show for it. Its character, now he looks tough.

When I gave him back to Clyde he grabbed Gator by the leg and half ran half dragged back to his room to get right back into the chaos.

And it got me thinking how similar Gator and I are.

He is sooo loved around this house that he gets put through the wringer from all the "fun" and "trouble" he manages to get in to with Clyde. And minus the occasional little stitch he is no worse for the wear.

I am feeling like I have been put through the wringer lately but it always seems like I come out the other side just fine. Maybe I get a little "character" out of the deal, but I am better because of it. My "stitches" are of the invisible variety and the Lord is doing the patching up on me...and its working.

I am getting the spiritual repair and then going right back in the thick of things...and I do love it. So like Gator, I am going to take my licking and keep on ticking.

Because that's how we roll in this house.
G'd up monster truck tough.
I'm out.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

The winner of the #Myblogspark and FiberOne giveaway according to random.org is Comment #9 Nydia@zerohousepaymentforever!!

The winner has been contacted and stay tuned for another #myblogspark and @Kix Cereal giveaway!!!

Thanks for the comments!!

Toughen up Juice

I have been feeling discouraged lately...and overwhelmed. Bonnie went back to public school (post on that later when my heart is not so heavy.) so I am minus one in the house.

Now I know for some have one less underfoot is a WAHOO moment but honestly I am near heartbroken. I wanted her to homeschool again this year and after family go round it was determined she would go back to a public school. She is so pumped and loving every minute, and doing very well..for that I am glad.

Jet pilot is doing pilot stuff away from our little home so I will be minus my love.
Heavy sigh.

And the littlest member of the Dill-io clan has thrush.

Yeah, no kidding.
Thrush.
Really, thrush?

I am still in disbelief, and the kid never complained once. In fact he slept like a champ last night.
From 9pm til 7am!!!

AWESOME!!

If you know my kids you know that they DO NOT EVER sleep that well. It's like a wonderful miracle!

And I fell and hurt my ankle.

Bad.

Like I need to wear a super cool, orthopedic foot sleeve thing to help ease some of the strain on it.

Sidenote: I am NOT wearing the brace...it's goofy looking and makes my foot hot. And it would mess with my already fly image ;)

So yes the pity party is in full swing and if you want an invite lemme know and I will put you on the V.I.P. list.

I know it will all be okay and eventually will work out better than I could have planned. So I keep trying to pick myself up by the bootstraps (or flip flop straps because I hate shoes...I was born in California, it's like being part hippie from birth) and get over it.

Here is the solution I have come up with....



TAKE.



THAT.



BAD MOOD!!

I laugh at you.

Or more specifically Clyde and his amazing smile/tongue combo laugh at you.

Added to this regiment is a tall glass of toughen up juice over ice.

And that cute face always has a way of just bringing a sleepy mommy right outta that self induced funk!

I'm off to get that juice now and get the rear in gear for a fierce and fiery kickball practice for my little handsome boy.

Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest by #Jif

For the past 10 years, thousands of young chefs have shown off their originality in the kitchen by revamping the classic peanut butter sandwich with a twist in the Jif^® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest™. Now through October 12, 2011, us gracious parents can help our incredibly talented kids (ahem), ages 6 to 12 submit their creative sandwich recipes for a chance to win a $25,000 college fund. To mark the 10th Anniversary, this year’s Grand Prize Winner will also receive an additional $10,000 for educational products. 

AWWW SOME right??

A separate contest invites peanut butter fans across America to enter the That’s Why I Choose Jif Essay Contest for a shot at being on the judging panel at the final event in New York, where five kid chefs will contend for the grand prize.

Parents can help their children submit their own imaginative recipe online at www.jif.com or www.jifenespanol.com or by completing the downloadable entry form available on both websites.

Sandwiches will be judged on creativity, taste, how nutritious it is, eye candy appeal and ease of preparation.  Qualified entrants, who submit their entry in the first six weeks of the call for entries will receive a Jif Back To School gift pack while supplies last — provided the entry is submitted online or postmarked by September 1, 2011 and received by September 8, 2011. Ten semifinalists will be posted on both websites to take part in a nationwide online vote in January 2012. Anyone age 13 and older can vote to help select the five finalists, who will go on to compete in New York in March 2012.

Entries for the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest must be postmarked by October 12, 2011 and received no later than October 19, 2011. Online entries must be submitted by 11:59 a.m. on October 12, 2011. For complete details, Official Rules and the entry form for the tenth annual contest, visit www.jif.com or www.jifenespanol.com. The Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. between six and 12 years of age by October 12, 2011. Void where prohibited.

Find Jif on Facebook or visit www.jif.com for more info, tips, recipes, contests & promotions.

Sooo what are you still doing here--- get to revamping the peanut butter sandwich-ing already!!