Easy Lunchboxes- Pack your Kids' Lunch Fast, Bento-Box Style!

I had been wanting to try out Easy Lunchboxes for so long that by the time they actually arrived on my doorstep I was positively giddy!  Funnier yet, my excitement had rubbed off on my boys and they were almost as excited as me!

So, the verdict- were they really all they cracked up to be?!  Honestly?!  YES!

I never thought I'd be in love with a lunch box!

I am!

We're packing up and whisking away on a love affair to France.

ORRRRR... I'm packing meals in them all the time for trips to our local science center, co-op, park, mall, grandma's house, friends houses, or just plain old sitting at home on a dreary winter day!  We just can't get enough of these things!

I love how easy they are to pack.  I line them all up on the counter and can easily go down the row and plunk all my little selections in each of the compartments with no fuss and no mess, in just minutes. They are easy and simple!

Oh, and did I mention that my boys love eating out of them?!  This is big, especially for Rhythm, since he is such a picky eater and we will try almost whatever tactics and motivators we can to get him to eat!  I will take serving his meals in an Easy Lunchbox over bribing him with dessert ANY day!

My next favorite thing is how three whole containers fit into a cooler bag, or two containers and both boys drinks.  Soooo much easier than keeping track of separate lunch boxes!  Can you say perfect for the homeschool family?!

No really, can you?

:-D

Beyond all that I am also a huge fan of the bento box style of the containers that eliminates the need for any sort of throw away.  No tin foil, no stinky plastic baggies- just neat little BPA free, kid-friendly containers.

What it really boils down to is that I would be telling you about these lunch boxes even if they hadn't sent me a set to try, and that I absolutely will be expanding my collection of containers and bags as we expand our family (don't get excited- no news there, just thinkin' ahead).  They really have the best of every feature I was looking for in a lunch box and we couldn't be more thrilled with this ingenius product line.

Even more thrilling is that I now have the opportunity to offer a set of containers and a bag to one of my lucky readers!

Want to enter?  I'm going to make it really simple for you- just one way to enter.  Swing by EasyLunchboxes.com and then come back here and tell me your favorite lunch idea from their gallery!  That's it!

I will draw a winner on Monday February 28, 2011 and post it on my blog & email the winner- so be sure you include a way for me to contact you if you haven't enabled your email address in blogger.

But hey- if you want to keep up with all their sales, news, and cool stuff they offer online (like parenting webinars and the Let's Do Lunch Musical Web Series starring the creator- Kelly Lester- along with celebrity guests!  Yes- I'm serious!) then make sure to follow Easy Lunch Boxes on Twitter and Facebook!

This giveaway is offered to US & Canadian residents only. Please do not enter this giveaway if you have won or received free product from EasyLunchboxes within the past 3 months. 

I received product from Easy Lunchboxes for the purpose of honest review.  All opinions are solely my own.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

CSN Giveaway!!

Alright Ladies! I thought I would have this up last week, but none the less, here it is!  The $45 Gift Card to CSN Stores is yours for the taking!!  These puppies are handy because CSN is a network of over 200 different stores with almost anything you can think of!  I picked up some great deals on toys for my boys for Christmas and have and mind to maybe even pick up a few little kitchen items for myself!

Required Entry:

Visit CSN.com and tell me one thing you would like to get (how much easier could this be?!).

Extra Entries:

• Blog about this giveaway (leave a link to the direct post)
• Subscribe to or Follow The Mama Kenz Studio
• Post The Mama Kenz Studio button on your blog
• Follow The Mama Kenz Studio on Facebook
• Follow Me on Twitter & Tweet about this giveaway, using this tweet:

"@ChicMama is giving away a $45 gift card to CSN.com at The Mama Kenz Studio- http://bit.ly/gg1eBb ! Go enter NOW!"

Thanks for entering and good luck!

This gift card is being given away from csn.com and was given to me free of charge as one of their preferred bloggers.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

CSN Giveaway coming!

As a preferred blogger with CSN I have once again been given the opportunity to partner with them, and this time I thought I would spread the holiday cheer on to you all!  Later this week I will be hosting a giveaway for a really nice sized gift card to their over 200 stores, just in time for you all to do a little Christmas shopping!  You might even want to pick up one of their nice new TV tables (do you remember me mentioning this awesome TV table before- ya know, the one that I really want and would be the perfect thing to replace my husband's old, hideous, plastic, bachelor pad TV stand!), or some new toys for the kiddos!

Hop on over and give CSN a gander, cause after all, you could be winning a gift card there very soon!

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Winners and some disappointing news...

Well, it looks like only two people entered my giveaway for Marmee's Favorites Bundle.  TWO! Considering that there were supposed to be three winners, it looks like both of the entrants won!

So, congrats Jamie and ButterflyWishes!

However, in light of this disappointing turn out, Marmee and I have decided that the raffle for the Bosch Universal Mixer is just too risky for her to go ahead with.  I am seriously bummed to not be able to offer this opportunity to my readers, but since Marmee already sent me one mixer for review we just cannot move forward with the raffle without a more promising response.

So, if you want to see this wonderful opportunity come back, then you need to 

LET US KNOW!!

Also, I did want to address a comment that was made in regards to the raffle, in which someone compared the raffle to gambling.  I could not disagree more with this perspective.  The raffle was going to be offered in such a way that each ticket would come with a plethora of downloadable items.  The top package was only going to be $7.99, worth 8 entries and come with nearly $40 worth of valuable downloads.  I consider gambling to be any time that you are putting money towards a chance at something and receiving nothing in return except the chance.  I just wanted to clarify that.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Overnight Cinnamon Buns and A GIVEAWAY!

Mmmmm... heaven on a plate!

These warm cinnamon buns filled our house with such a wonderful aroma on Sunday morning and do you want to know the best part?  I made them the night before and all I had to do was stick them in the oven on Sunday morning!  Now you know I am all about prep-ahead meals, so these were right up my alley!

Perfectly sweet with a generous helping of whole wheat flour- what more could you want?!

My family had requested cinnamon rolls before, but I of course was always a little intimidated by them.  The kneading and the time it would take and blah, blah, blah!  But then I got my BOSCH!  I'm so in love!  I use it almost every day in some capacity or another!  Seriously girls- you've got to get one!  (And you can always enter to win one in my upcoming raffle!)

So to kick off my little giveaway season Marmee has offered to giveaway 3 (yes, t-h-r-e-e) of her favorite's bundles!  This downloadable bundle includes:

• A 3 Page Feature recipe for an incredibly delicious soft and fluffy bread!  This featured recipe has a surprise ingredient of over‐ripe bananas along with nutritious freshly milled golden wheat, golden honey, and a sprinkling of poppy seeds. It makes a soft, lightly sweet yeast bread with no resemblance to a cake‐like banana bread. This recipe makes 4 nice‐sized loaves for slicing and makes a superb toast for breakfast slathered with butter and fruit preserves or a marvelously yummy PBJ sandwich!

• Sizzlin' Summer Recipes and Menu from Marmee including Chicken Strips, Dippin’ Sauces, Soft Buns in a BOSCH mixer (which I will be making this weekend!) and more.....

• 5 pages of printable pantry labels to organize your containers of baking goods in your pantry - exclusive of Marmee's Bread Market

• Marmee's Mornin' Favorites featuring the overnight cinnamon rolls I made this last weekend and endless hot cocoa!

• Family Table Courtesies- An exclusive Poster for your family from Marmee.

Sound good?  Here is how you can enter!

Mandatory Entry: Hope on over to Marmee's Bread Market and tell me what product you would most want to get!


Extra Entries (leave a separate comment for each!  And PLEASE be honest!): 

• Sign up for the Marmee's Bread Market newsletter (upper right sidebar on the site).
• Add a BOSCH Raffle button to your blog (in my right sidebar).
• Blog about this giveaway AND the BOSCH Raffle (link to each- worth 3 entries!).
• Follow or Subscribe to The Mama Kenz Studio.
• Become a fan of The Mama Kenz Studio on Facebook.
• Visit Marmee's Bread Market and tell me which recipe sounds the yummiest to you!
• Tweet about this giveaway OR the upcoming BOSCH Raffle (can be done daily- 1 extra entry per tweet).  You may use these as your tweets if you like:

@Chic_Mama is hosting a giveaway for a YUMMY download package w/3 Winners! http://tinyurl.com/28mrx65

@Chic_Mama is gearing up to raffle a BOSCH Universal Mixer!  You WANT to see this! http://tinyurl.com/2fzlh2r

Giveaway will run from August 24, 2010 to September 6, 2010 at 8:00PST.  Winners will be notified within 24 hours and must respond within 48 hours to claim prize.  Downloads were supplied to me by Marmee's Bread Market for honest review- all opinions are solely mine and based on my experiences.  For other disclosures and additional contest rules and terms please go here.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

The BIG Announcement!!

Alright ladies- here is the big doozy I have been dying to share with you!!  Along with all the other awesome giveaways that Marmee from Marmee's Bread Market is partnering with me to bring you, I will be hosting a raffle for a Bosch Universal Pluss Mixer from October 19- November 16, 2010!!!

And this isn't just any old raffle where you fork out your money for a ticket and just hope you get the grand prize!  NOPE!  EVERYONE gets something!  Marmee will actually be offering 3 different raffle download packages, chocked full of goodies!!  Our top tier raffle package will be $7.99 and is worth 8 entries in the raffle!  The second tier raffle package will be $5.79 and worth 6 entries, and the final tier will be $3.59 and worth 4 entries!  These packages will be so packed full of awesome recipes and ideas for your kitchen and family you just won't believe it!  It is a total win/win!

So, why am I announcing the raffle so early?  Well, I wanted to get these raffle buttons and banners out to all of you because if you have them on your blog they will help get you extra entries into the other giveaways I will be running with Marmee between now and then!  So snag them now and start spreading the word!  And remember, tomorrow starts the first giveaway!

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Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Postponed but still making an announcement!

Well, a bit of a bummer- BOTH the sites I was affiliating with for tomorrow's post are either backlogged or having technical issues!  So, I won't be guest posting on HannahKeeley.com until next week and the great little giveaway I am hosting for Marmee's Bread Market won't be up until Tuesday (hopefully!  Her servers are down- a horrible hit, so you can be praying for her!).

However, I will still be making my big BOSCH announcement tomorrow and plan to get a super cute printable up later this week that I bet you are all going to want to see!  So, hang in there with me!  Have a wonderful evening!

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

This Little Prayer of Mine- Reivew & Giveaway!

What a sweet little book!  We have truly enjoyed this rhyming little prayer that ensures little hearts that God hears them, protects them, and can give them the strength to obey and become whatever they want to be!  The picture are very sweet detailed.  This book has been a wonderful addition to our family devotions and is a lovely choice for a before bed book!

In fact, we liked it so much that I am offering a giveaway!  All you have to do to enter is drop by my new blog, The Research Years, then come back here and tell me what you think (this is the mandatory entry)!  You can get one extra entry for doing each of the following:

• Following Mama Kenz Studio
• Following The Research Years
• Becoming a Fan on Facebook for Mama Kenz Studio (leave your name)
• Becoming a Fan on Facebook for The Research Years (leave your name)
• Adding The Research Years button to your blog
• Writing a post on your blog about The Research Years (leave a direct link)

If you would like to purchase a copy of This Little Prayer of Mine you can visit Random House.

I trust that your family will enjoy this book as much as we have!  Thanks for entering & visiting!

Winner will be chosen on Saturday April 17, 2010

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

If you would like to review books for Waterbrook Press you can join their Blogging for Books program here!

Coming Attractions- Book Review and Giveaway

I have been reading about Katie Weldon and all of her friends since I was 13 years old (The Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen series'), so I pretty much run out and buy a copy of any new books that come about them- it is kind of like catching up with old friends and finding out what has been happening in their lives since the last time we talked!

Well, Coming Attractions, the newest book in the Katie Weldon series, did not disappoint- in fact I think it could possibly be one of Robin Jones Gunn's best works to date! This book does not just embody entertaining fiction but gives readers much to ponder about forgiveness and following God's direction in their own lives. As always, the characters are likeable and relateable, and Robin leaves just the right amount of suspense for the final pages of the book!

I laughed and literally cried with Katie as she graduated college and moved on towards the next amazing adventure of her life! I cannot wait to hear what happens with Katie next and desperately hope that Robin has much more in store for us over the next few years- the 4th book simply can't be released soon enough! When you read Coming Attractions (especially if you are a fan of Robin's books) I am sure you will understand!

This book truly caused me to reflect on my own ideas of forgiveness and even helped me come to terms with some ways I needed to forgive myself. It also reminded me of how God has a sense of humor about keeping our futures a mystery- I can plan all I want, but in the end He has very specific plans laid out for me, and I like that! It is nice to know (especially right now) that someone knows and understands what is going on!

To purchase your own copy, just head on over to Amazon and pick one up! You can also find the book along with lots of fun news and products at RobinGunn.com.

If you would like to read other reviews about the book, you can hop over to other blogs on the tour to hear what they think:

4 the Love of Books
A Peek at My Bookshelf
Blog Tour Spot
Book Nook Club
Carlybird’s Home
christymillerfans.webs
Christy’s Book Blog
Come Meet AusJenny
CommuniKate
Deus e Fiel
Drive Home Productions
Fictionary
Great Christian Reads
Karen R. Evans
Life is one daily adventure
Lighthouse Academy
Mama Kenz Studio
My Christian Fiction Blog
My Spot
Red Said Paisley
Sherry Kyle
The 160-acre Woods
The Friendly Book Nook
The Gospel Writer
The Writing Road
WORD up!

Want to try to win a copy of Coming Attractions? Since I had already purchased the book before I found out that I would be a part of the blog tour, I thought I could offer the copy that the publisher sent me to one of my lovely readers! This will be the simplest entry I have ever offered on my site- just tell me why you want to read this book! That's it!

Additional entries will be granted for all of the following (leave a separate comment for each)- these entries only count AFTER you complete the above entry:

• Being a follower of my blog (right sidebar)
• Being a subscriber of my blog- via feed or e-mail (left sidebar)
• Having the Mama Kenz Studio button on your blog- please note that the Summer of Baby Love button no longer counts since it is over (also in left sidebar)
• Blogging about the giveaway (leave the link to your direct post)
• Following on Twitter and tweeting about the giveaway (leave your screen name and the time you tweeted- can be done daily)
• Participating in any meme during this giveaway (leave the direct link to your meme post)

The giveaway will end Wednesday, September 9, 2009 @ 9:00 PST. Winner will be posted and notified by the end of the week.