Review: Old El Paso Taco seasoning

Dinner time. It's always a task for me to figure out what to make every night. I want something easy, something fast, and that tastes delicious! Old El Paso Taco Seasonings make this all possible. We just had our taco night this week.

I picked up some Old El Paso Stand n' Stuff shells, because they not only stand on their own, but they hold more of the good stuff in the shell as well since they're wider. We like to go with 92% or more lean ground beef for ours. I don't want a skillet full of grease after my meat is browned and I feel better about serving it to my family. All you have to do is add the seasoning and some water to the meat and salsa if you like that. We baked the shells for a while like the box instructed and the shells were just as delicious as the seasoned meat!

I set out some tortilla chips and dip, made up the tacos and served them with a side of corn. It took me about 20 minutes from prep to finish to have dinner ready and served. Old El Paso has other kinds of seasoning packets to try as well. Their selection includes flavors like Burrito, Cheesy Taco, Chili, Fajita, Taco, Mild Taco and even a seasoning with 40% less sodium. You can also try this recipe for Double-Layer tacos or Chicken Ranch tacos. They also have a suggestion to make taco night family game night. Check out the rules and download scorecards to play El Tacodor.

If you would like to win this awesome prize pack for your own taco night, please leave a comment on this post. You will receive the following:

Open to US residents only. Please leave your email address in the form of name at site dot com in your comment so I can contact you if you win. If you don't and I can not find a way to contact you, another winner will be selected. Extra entry for tweeting this giveaway! Post a separate comment with the link to your tweet. Enter from now until Tuesday, November 23rd at 5pm EST. Thank you!!

Old El Paso provided me with the products, information, and giveaway through MyBlogSpark

Disney/Pixar presents: Toy Story 3 on Ice!

I'm sure you've all heard by now... the toys are back in town!! Well, they will be in town January 7th thru 17th at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland!! You can see all your favorite characters, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Rex and more!

There are lots of shows to choose from throughout the performance dates. Please check the Quicken Loans Arena website for information on ticket pricing and showtimes. I'm sure there are times that would be perfect for your family! We can't wait!!

We attended the Let's Celebrate show last year and it was wonderful! My daughter was so excited to see all of her favorite characters. Just the joy on her face was worth heading up there. When you're ready to purchase tickets, please use the promotion code MOM2 to save yourself some money!! You will get your tickets for $11 each for up to 4 tickets per discount!! This offer is not valid for front row or VIP seating. Pass the information along to your friends or neighbors that are planning on attending as well!

No food or drinks are permitted inside Quicken Loans Arena, we learned the hard way last year when the security guard made us dump my daughter's cup out. Just a tip to make it easier for you to get in to your seats! Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 is produced by Feld Entertainment. They do a fantastic job!! Enjoy the show!!

Coming this week...

So this week I will have a giveaway. It will be for a cute Cactus chip and dip plate and some festive chili pepper plates. I got one package for me which is why I can't do the post yet. I need to make some tacos and take some pictures for the post! Yummy!! We love tacos and I'm sure most families do. This post will be sponsored by Old El Paso through MyBlogSpark.

I also have the promotional code for $11 Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 tickets for Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH, January 7th-17th. This show is produced by Feld Entertainment. If you can't wait for my post this week about it, here is the basic information:

CODE: MOM2

DISCOUNT: Flat $11 discount on ALL performances

RESTRICTIONS: Not valid on Front Row or VIP seats; no double discounts; limit 4 per order

LINK to purchase tickets:  http://www.theqarena.com/events/disney_110107/

Tell all your friends and go have some fun!! We went to the Disney on Ice show last year and it was fantastic. My daughter had such a great time!

Possibly late

All along this pregnancy, I've felt like this baby was going to be late. The last sonogram we had, everything was measuring about a week off, further adding to my suspicions. When V was in my belly, I felt like she would be on time if not a little earlier and sure enough, one day early. Now we all know that no one can really predict the exact date of a baby's birth. When the baby is ready, that's when it's coming. Well, unless you opt for a scheduled C-Section, which I won't. I believe the baby should pick the birthdate when he/she is ready to meet the world unless there is a medical reason to be induced earlier.

I was looking at the Zodiac signs online to see what sign this new baby will have in comparison to mommy, daddy, and big sister V. My due date is March 18th. The sign of Pisces goes to March 20th and Aries begins on the 21st. If you read anything about the signs, the first and last days of the signs are 'cusps' which means the person could have attributes of both signs that occur on the divide. So if this baby were to be born on March 20th or 21st, he/she could have attributes of Pisces and Aries. I believe this baby will come the 22nd if not a little later, but time will tell and it will be interesting to see if it happens or not.

I don't get wrapped up in horoscopes and everything else that astrology brings to the table, but I do like to occasionally check them out and see how the descriptions for each sign compare to myself or others I know. Lots of times it's pretty accurate, whether that be from the broad nature of the description or not. So tell me, what's your sign? Do you think the descriptions fit you?

Weekends

I'm sure it's the same for most moms out there, but I never ever get to sleep in on a weekend. Weekdays I have work so those are out of the question, but it would be so nice just once in a while to be able to sleep until I wake up on my own. My daughter comes over as soon as she gets up and wakes me up. I try to get her to lay down beside me for a while, but to no avail, she keeps wiggling and talking and eventually I just get up and get dressed.

We had a super exhausting day yesterday. First thing in the morning, we drove for 2 hours to pick-up my cousin and take him another 45 minutes to the college I went to for a tour. We walked all around the school to show it to him and then we drove 45 minutes back to drop him off. After that, V and I decided to stop at the Museum of Natural History to check out the dinosaurs and whatever else they had. The traffic was so thick that a 20 minute ride ended up taking up an hour. After we got there, we went through all 3 floors of the museum, back down, and then back up when a friend met us there so she could see everything too. Then was the long drive back home. V slept a good portion of the way so she was well rested when we got home. I was so exhausted from all the driving and walking around. We had a late dinner from Subway then we went to bed.

We had a great day yesterday, I just wish I could've got more rest this morning. Oh well, that's what mommies are for I guess. Daddies can sleep in till noon and that's just fine and dandy. Time to make breakfast and finish picking up the toys and such around here. Have a great weekend everyone!

It's aaaaaaaa....

I had my doctor's appointment Friday. Thankfully, no blood had to be taken. I have tiny veins and they move so it's pretty difficult for the prenatal bloodwork. I even loaded myself up with fluids hoping to puff up my veins a little. I've gained 4 lbs in 5 months. Most people can't even tell I'm pregnant yet! We had our 3rd sonogram session. We saw each vertibrae in the spine, side profile. It was really cool to see that perspective, but we have NO idea what the baby is. The legs were too close together and viewing from the side, we couldn't see anything at all. I was a little disappointed leaving the appointment. We go back in a few weeks to try again. The doctor wants to examine the facial structure but we couldn't see that either so yay! Hopefully this time we'll be able to get better results.

V had a great Saturday trick-or-treating. She chose to be a football player which impressed the dads that were stuck at home passing out candy in the evening haha. In the early afternoon, our town's businesses did trick-or-treating as well. Lots of the stores gave coupons and a piece of candy. Kids don't want coupons and they weren't great coupons anyways. V said "Cool! Free paper!" the first time she got one, but after that she was like "more paper?!" I'm just glad she had fun. We walked with a neighbor and her daughter for that one so that kept it more interesting for her.

I hope everyone has a great week! Happy November everyone!

Halloween Week!

This is one of our favorite holidays every year! I love the 'spooky' decorations and costumes. V got to dress up for dance class, trick-or-treat in the local mall, dress-up for preschool today and more to come before the weekend is over! It's so fun to see all the little kids dressed up to be their favorite characters looking so gosh darn adorable. The only thing that disappoints me a little is that they weren't allowed to be anything "scary" for dance or preschool. No witches, no ghosts, monsters, devils or other scary figures. I think that takes away from the spirit of Halloween. I just don't understand the guidelines I guess.

Another exciting event for this week happens tomorrow! We will HOPEFULLY be able to determine the gender of the baby with my sonogram. I'm really excited to find out! I want to start settling on a name and start shopping around for anything I might need before the baby arrives in 4 short months! I know that the time will fly and it will be time to push very soon. I will try to update tomorrow if we can tell!

Getting things back up and running.

Well so much has happened since I took my blog down! V is now 4 years old!! I can't believe it. She's in her second year of preschool and doing great. The second day of classes this year, her teacher pulled me aside to ask about things V knew already. She told me that she will have to find a way to keep V challenged specifically because she's pretty advanced for her age. We are expecting a baby brother or sister for her in March! She is begging for a baby brother, but we'll see what happens.

I'm expecting to have 2 giveaways in the next couple months for tickets to Toy Story 3 on Ice and Monster Jam, both in Cleveland. I'll post about those when I get the information. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things around here. It might take me a little while to get things set up the way I want as far as layout, but I'm glad to be back!