Mother’s Day

Well, I know that its a bit late, but first I would love to extend my Happy Mother’s Day wishes to all out there. Whether you have had kids of your own, adopted, having issues with fertility, helping raise other kids, have kids that have their angel wings, or are a Dad doing it on your own ( yes you count as mama too!!) you are doing a wonderful job!! Don’t ever take yourself for granted, and I sincerely hope that you were able to enjoy some special “just for you” time yesterday.

We had a great, but busy day. I woke up to handmade cards from my littles, who were very proud of writing their names, this time without Daddy’s help. They also told him they wanted me to have flowers! They also know how much I love my coffee. They could not be happier when they lead me into the kitchen to see my vase of beautiful flowers and a great big iced coffee right in front. Who would have thought a 3 and 4 year old could be so perceptive? Every little thing they do just makes my love grow even more.

When then got a chance to go out by my mom’s. Again, my littles had a great time. They got to see everyone and play with their little cousin and the dogs my mom has, which the kids lovingly refer to as “puppies”. We then got to come back home for a bit, and everyone got to nap before we headed over to my mom in laws for a quick bbq.

All in all it was a great day, and I loved being able to spend some much needed time with all of our family.

Hope that you guys got a chance to make your weekend special. And remember, every day that you get to spend with those you love is a special occasion!!!!

Review: Sweet Alexis (peanut, nut, dairy, and egg free) plus discount!

I received a package from Sweet Alexis, and what an amazing package it was!  It contained two decorated cookies, chocolate chip cookies, ginger cookies, pumpkin raisin bread, and banana bread.  All of their products are peanut, egg, dairy, and egg free!  Sweet Alexis was developed by a mom whose daughter, Alexis, has multiple “life threatening” food allergies to the following: All dairy products and derivatives of dairy, eggs, shellfish, all nuts, including tree nuts and peanuts, mustard and cherries.

She also has environmental allergies and is asthmatic. She is so severe that three separate doctors have refused to perform skin tests on her for fear that she would go into anaphylaxis.  These products are made by a mom who KNOWS all to well the battle of trying to keep our children safe from their allergens.  She has had a long, scary road, and battles every day to stay safe.  You can read her story here.

The first thing my girls wanted to tear into were the beautifully decorated cookies.  My one daughter loves pink, so she chose the Heart Cookie.  My other loves blue, so she chose the Patriotic cookie.  My girls said the cookies were so delicious!  They wouldn’t let me have a taste, so I have to take their word for it.

Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, so I dug right into those.  I took a bite, and it was one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tried!  I can honestly say, I have a new favorite cookie!  They truly are delicious!  They are soft and have large chocolate chips.  I hate to admit, but I gave my girls and hubby one to try, and ate the rest of the bag myself!  It took me three days to eat them, so luckily the bag is resealable.  They stayed fresh and soft, even after I opened the bag repeatedly.  My family agreed that these were some of the best chocolate chip cookies they have tried.  There will be people who say, they are just chocolate chip cookies, how good could they be?  Once you have had a Sweet Alexis chocolate chip cookie, all the rest will fail in comparison.

I am not a big fan of ginger cookies, and my husband is not a big fan of sweets, but he opened the bag, had one, and said, “Wow, these are good!”.  I tried one and he was right.  They are good!  They have just the right amount of ginger to make them taste good, but not be overwhelming.  The texture and consistency of the cookie is great too.  Both of my girls thought they were yummy too!  Both cookies were the perfect size, and tasted like fresh-baked homemade cookies!  I cannot say enough about how great these cookies are!

We then tried the breads!  Both were amazing.  The banana bread rivals my home-made banana bread. Both breads are soft and moist, and very tasty!  I love pumpkin, and never considered putting raisins in it, but it was really good and tasted like a spice bread.  The tops were soft, like when they are home-made.  I honestly, cannot find one thing bad to say about any of their products.  They were just downright GOOD!  I was amazed that they are peanut free, nut free, dairy free, AND egg free!  I would have never guessed.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and Sweet Alexis is offering a 15% discount right now, promo code: spring13

Disclaimer: I was provided a with the above shown products, in exchange for my honest opinions of their products. I was not financially compensated in any way.  All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Review: Premium Chocolatiers Peanot Butter Cups (nut free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free,vegan)

I received a package Peanot Butter Cups from Premium Chocolatiers Gourmet Chocolates to review. Premium Chocolatiers makes peanut free, tree nut free, gluten free, egg free, dairy free, vegan chocolate!  The Peanot Butter Cup is a new product that will be available online in 2-3 weeks.  In the meantime, they do carry Rabbit Peanot Cups (on sale!).

I told my daughter, Bean, I had a candy surprise for her.  I told her it was one she had never had before.  She got so excited!

I handed her a Peanot Butter Cup, and as she unwrapped the foil, she asked what it was.

I explained that it was a Peanot Butter Cup made with Wowbutter, and told her to try it.  Just like any child, she loves candy.  However, this is one candy, until now, that she has never had before, so this was a special occasion!  Her first EVER peaNOT butter cup!  I love the name by way!

She took a bite of one and proclaimed that it was SOOOO good!  I told her that unlike Reese’s these were safe for her to eat!  She looked at me with an odd look, and said, “is that was Reese’s are?  Peanut butter and chocolate?”  I admit it, I teared up.  The realization hit me that she didn’t even know what a peanut butter cup was.  My almost 8-year-old daughter had never seen, held, or tasted a peanut butter cup.  She has been allergic to peanuts since she was so little, that it just became a normal fact of life, that she would never be able to have one.  Well now she CAN and she loves them!

         

The Wowbutter center is soft and creamy.  The combination of chocolate and Wowbutter is perfect.  It tastes just like a true peanut butter cup!  It was delicious!  Bean had only one bite and proclaimed that she loved it.  She is holding the rest of it in one hand while giving the thumbs up with the other!

I put one in her lunch yesterday as a surprise.  When she came home, I asked her if she liked her surprise.  She said she really, really likes them, and she told everyone at her “peanut-free” lunch table all about them.  She made them guess what was in it.  She said that her one friend Zoe guessed Wowbutter right away, and then Zoe said she really wished she could try one too.  It made me wonder, how many peanut allergic children have never been able to eat a peanut butter cup?  I am thrilled to share this product with all of you, so that now your peanut allergic child can have their first Peanot Butter Cup too!

Premium Chocolatiers makes gourmet chocolates, so check out their special Mother’s Day chocolates including long stem chocolate roses!

They have so many more yummy options too… truffles, and Chocolate Cheesecakes.  How yummy does that sound?  Check out their site for lots more delectable choices!

Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of Peanot Butter Cups from Premium Chocolatier in exchange for my honest opinions of their products.  I was not financially compensated in any way.  All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.