I had intended to do a top ten post on the best Mother’s Day gifts that don’t cost a cent but there was that whole kid in the hospital thing and I never got around to it. Then I read this post which contained many of my draft items. Darn it. But since I think the word needs to be out on what moms are really longing for, I am pushing forward.

What to Get Your Wife (or Ex-Wife, or Sister, or Daughter, etc) for Mother’s Day

1. An Empty House: A few years ago my husband took our girls to his parents over New Year’s Weekend. It was freaking amazing. I slept like 13 hours a night, read about ten books, drank wine and ate crackers in bed, took two baths per day. Seriously heaven. The only flaw was that I totally didn’t clean the house like I told me husband I would. Ooops. This Mother’s Day instead of buying flowers take the kids out of the house for as long as possible. It’s like a mini-vacation for any parent.

2. A Day Free of Poop: The sad truth is that poop does not stop with diapers. I am still wiping my kids’ asses at the ripe age of six. Even if they make it through the day, I still have to do a skid check before bath. And then there’s the underwear. And the toilet. You can see where I am going with this.

3. No Obligations: It’s sweet and all to plan lots of fun, but sometimes a person just wants to sit around. Offer suggestions but leave to decisions to mom.

4. Handmade cards: Every mother secretly wants a card from her kids full of misspelled sentiments and even some stray macaroni pieces. Bonus for cards from their partners extolling their greatness.

5. Sleep: Sleep in, nap, early bedtime. In a clean sheeted, empty of kids bed. Enough said.

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Today is three weeks until summer for us! As you can probably guess, I am basing summer on the date my kids start their break from the regular school year. Even though they have summer school (free in our school district for all kids), the end of the school year means summer is officially here.

To us, summer equals road trips. We go to see family in Texas and Oklahoma; we spend the weekends driving to Missouri sites; we drive all around our city during the day. With my kids’ allergies, it’s important to me that our car be healthy of an environment as possible. I can’t control what affects them all the time, but I can control what affects them in the car (especially on those ten hour trips!)

Read on for my experience with changing the filter!

Over the weekend I headed to Walmart (see my shop trip here) to pick up a FRAM Fresh Breeze filter with Arm&Hammer. These help filter the cabin air in the car. And boy am I glad I did. Our filter was um, not so clean. Now that I have seen it, I am thinking that the FRAM Fresh Breeze filter will help with Desmonda Drama’a allergies. Dare I hope for no more puffy eyes? Plus the Arm and Hammer baking soda should help to preserve the freshness in the kidmobile. Because before it smelled more french fry than fresh.

After our experience with changing it, I put a reminder in my home management binder to change it again in six months. Now that we know how easy it is, there’s no reason NOT to change it twice a year. We can already tell the difference after only a few days!

I recommend a couple of things before installing:
1) Read the FAQ section on the FRAM Fresh Breeze website.
2) Watch the installation videos!
3) Get your tools handy before you start
4) Leave your partner alone while they install it

Want to try it for yourself? Be sure to grab this rebate link first! Learn more at the FRAM Facebook page. If you try it out tweet me using the hashtag #FresherCar and let me know what you thought!

Today’s Fast Food Friday features a twist on a house favorite (fish tacos.) With so many friends with fish allergies, I wanted to create a dish that was fast but could be eaten by everyone. Enter Tyson’s Crispy Chicken Breast Nuggets. Click through for the how to for this (bound to be) new family favorite. If you want to see the whole journey, check out my Google Plus Album.

Friday are often chaotic around here. That’s why the Fast Food Friday series was born. These recipes are easy to make but still a great quality meal for your family. As I mentioned, we often make fish tacos for ourselves. But I was seeking a easy alternative (breading the fish and frying or baking it takes a bit of time) that would also be safe to eat for our friends with food allergies. Enter Tyson. Their new Crispy Chicken Breast Bites are the perfect replacement for my fish chunks. This is not your average chicken nugget.

They are:

• 100% All Natural
• Crispy Breading (so they are lighter than popcorn chicken or nuggets)
• Fully Cooked (you can use them in a flash)
• 16g Protein per serving (love getting this into my picky eaters)
• Whole muscle chicken breast chunks (again, picky eaters!)
• Less breading (these are NOT your kids’ nuggets!)

The great thing about tacos is that you can tweak them to your liking. To keep these in the vein of traditional fish tacos I used mango and chipotle sauces along with queso fresco and guacamole. But to make them more Tex-Mex, I skipped the slaw and the sauces are actually made for BBQ. Here are pictures with layering instructions!

Want to try before you buy? There will be demos of this new item at participating Sam’s Clubs this month. You can also find out more on Facebook and Twitter. Would love to hear what you would do with these chicken pieces!

Want: New Sheets
Wear: Old Navy Summer Wardrobe
Read: all of Tana French‘s books
Need: yummy snacks
(This new blogging series is inspired by this SimpleKids post. This post contains affiliate links.)

Want: The owner of Living Fresh Collection recently send me a set of pillowcases as a gift because she saw me tweeting about my horrid allergies. This is marketing at its best people. Because now I totally want a set of the sheets. The pillowcases are super soft with a slightly silky feel. More importantly, I haven’t been blowing snot every morning since I started using them. And as a bonus, they are made with environmental super star eucalyptus.

Wear: Every year I hit Old Navy for some summer clothes. Their skirts and tshirts keep me cool and comfortable while running around for two and a half months with the terror twins. Hint: They also sell GIANT insulated cups which are fabulous for iced tea. Or sangria. Just saying. Want to see what I picked? Check out my Summer Fashion Pinterest Board.

Read: The other day I saw that Tana French has written a whole series. How did I miss that? I picked up In the Woods
to reread and her subsequent three books to devour. I love me a mystery that’s as much about the people solving it as it is about the people who did it.

Need: Yummy, healthy snacks. I am currently doing the Revolt Fitness program and am getting tired of bananas. Any favorite healthy snacks?

I am getting back on the horse.
These are the 4 Fashion Rules for Moms I am following…

#1: Get the Right Fit

One of the key things is wearing clothes that actually fit. I am still carrying some post pregnancy weight that I am working on getting rid of soon. So I am avoiding clothes that are too big for you. Too much of fabric makes me look heavier and I also care less about what I look like which leads to more eating. I’d rather have a slight muffin top (covered of course) so I am reminded to put down the actual muffins.

#2: Go for Comfortable and Stylish Footwear

My shoes are the worst. So this is where I am spending a nit more cash on some trendy looking sneakers that I can exercise in and wear after. I am also pulling out gladiator flats and ballet flats now that the weather is warm.

#3: Buy Clothes that Breathe

When it comes to buying clothes, go for the ones that breathe well and are comfy to wear. And of course are washable. Right from cotton tunics to boot cut jeans, you’ll find that such fabrics are great when it comes to creating a your stylish wardrobe. At times you may also want to go for clothes that are a great choice when you want to wear them both at home and outside. When shopping for such clothes you should check out the promo deals at NerdWallet so that you can save money on your purchases.

#4: Use Trendy Accessories

Want to create a unique/stylish look for yourself with spending gobs of money? Get yourself to Forever 21. It’s my go to spot for trendy accessories. Be it handbags, hats, scarves or even jewelry, you can look and feel trendy without investing a lot of money or time. The latest retail emphasis on jewelry that is bold and bright in color, makes it easy to create a look with absolute minimal effort. All it takes is a bright, thin scarf over a neutrally colored shirt and blue jeans to make through the day looking like my old self.

What are your fashion mom tips?

This post was created in partnership with MSN. Find out more about the all new MSN experience at allnew.msn.com or see it in action on Windows 8, Android, or on iOS at msn.com

All weekend this quote from Ferris has been running through my head.

It seems just yesterday my girls were crawling instead of running.
Didn’t my husband and I just meet?
Wasn’t it just last week I was moving here from Minnesota wondering if I would ever make new mom friends?

But it can’t be because my girls are now officially old enough to play outside by themselves.
My husband and I celebrated eleven years of marriage on Saturday.
And I co-hosted a baby shower with a friend for another mom from our playgroup.

Yep, life moves pretty fast.
That’s why I thank the heavens for smart phones.

I was a long hold out, not getting one until three years ago. And after a day I texted my husband and told him I could never be without one again. For a long time I used that same first phone (an iPhone 3s) before finally switching over to an android system. And boy, I am never going back. Now I know why my husband loved his Windows phone so much (he recently switched because his Windows phone died, whomp whomp.)

Bill Gates, I am sorry for all those nasty things I said about you.
Windows is rocking my world once again.

Speed: “Faster than a kid reaching for a cupcake”
Touch: “More touchable than velvet.”
Speed: “More info than my husband”

If I could write haikus, I would write one for you!

Thank you to #MSNKnowNow from MSN for sponsoring this post. And thank you for reading it!

So I am getting in some needed computer time. Usually I have the week planned out by now but due to my own dithering and Sunday laziness, I am just now finalizing appointments and planning our week. It’s hard to believe that it will be May in just a few short days. With it comes the end of school, and of course Mother’s Day. Since we are saving for a vacation this summer, my wish for Mother’s Day is to spend time in bed reading, without tiny munchkins staring at me.

Our own mothers are being sent little gifts and I hope to treat my girlfriends to a day at Les Bourgeois thanks to an AddSheet coupon I scored.

If you are still looking, I have the perfect gift…
The beautiful print at the top of this post.

Not only is it a lovely sentiment and picture, half of all proceeds will be donated to the Edna Adan University Hospital.

About Enda Adan:
“The health of the people of Somaliland is among the worst in Africa, with one of the highest Maternal and Infant Mortality rates in the world. Every year, one baby in eight dies in infancy while nearly 4000 Somali women die in childbirth. This tragedy can be attributed in large part to the long civil war which brought about the death or departure of nearly all of the country’s trained health care professionals.” The good news is that this hospital is working to change these statistics and improve maternal health. From educating midwives and fighting female genital mutilation, the Edna Adan University Hospital is making big changes for the people of Somaliland.

These limited edition Mother’s Day prints are for sale on Storenvy (link above.) Prints are $30 with free US shipping. They will ship in 3-5 business days of order. To ensure delivery by Mother’s Day, order by May 3rd.

By: Hillary Monroe, MS RD LDN, Registered Dietitian and writer for Everyday Health Calorie Counter.

Spring is here, and not a moment too soon! As temperatures start to thaw out here in New England, fresh, local fruits and vegetables start to trickle in. One of my favorite nods to the season is to highlight local produce – and often a salad can be a way to let the freshness of that produce steal the show. Beginning May and June, asparagus, spring onions and arugula are available locally. Other fruits and vegetables start to appear as the summer goes on, but since it’s still early, I say we take advantage of these as we spring into summer.

Asparagus: Did you know these green stalks are high in folic acid and are a good source of potassium, vitamins A, C as well as some B vitamins? Asparagus is also a good source of fiber, which helps with digestion. This vegetable is surprisingly versatile when it comes to salads.

First: Trim the asparagus of the woody ends; snap one where it bends naturally and then cut the rest to be the same length.

Second: Steam for 1 minute, or until just softened but still crisp on your stove. Plunge the asparagus into ice water to stop the cooking and keep them bright green.

The chilled asparagus spears make up the base of the salad and the rest is up to you. I like to add thinly sliced red onions, shaved Parmesan cheese, drizzled with a white wine vinegar dressing – don’t forget the heart-healthy oil from the vinaigrette helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K).

Other variations include shaved pink radishes with sesame ginger vinaigrette or walnuts and goat cheese tossed in a sherry vinegar dressing.

Spring onion: These are just simply young onions. The taste is milder than an onion and pairs nicely with many other ingredients. Try slicing these into thin rounds and sprinkling them over any salad to give it a new freshness and kick.

Arugula: The peppery, mustard-like leafy green is an excellent source of Vitamin A. Some find it too strong on its own for a salad, but it pairs nicely as a component. Try mixing it in with other salad greens for an unexpected bite.

Later on this summer, watermelon will be available. Watermelon is high in lycopene, important for cardiovascular health – and it makes for a refreshing salad.
Best part, it’s 4 ingredients: combine cubed watermelon, thinly sliced mint leaves and crumbled feta cheese with a red wine vinegar dressing. Sweet, salty and savory all in one bite!

While we only touched on spring produce, I hope this inspires you to check out what’s local and available in your area so you can make the most of your salad this season!

Anyone headed to the movies this weekend? I am hoping to sneak away to see The Big Wedding. Sad but true: I am a sucker for romantic comedies. This one looks right up my alley. Plus I am a HUGE fan of Diane Keaton. Can not wait to see her and Susan Sarandon spar on the big screen. Add in some of my other favorite underrated actors, Amanda Seyfried and Topher Grace, and I think I am guaranteed a good time. Since Robert DeNiro also stars, maybe I can even convince my film snob husband to see it. And if not, oh well more candy, popcorn, and soda for me. Don’t judge, but I sneak in my own Coke. A girl has to do what a girl has to do in this Pepsi loving town!

SYNOPSIS:
With an all-star cast led by Robert DeNiro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, with Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams, THE BIG WEDDING is an uproarious romantic comedy about a charmingly modern family trying to survive a weekend wedding celebration that has the potential to become a full blown family fiasco. To the amusement of their adult children and friends, long divorced couple Don and Ellie Griffin (De Niro and Keaton) are once again forced to play the happy couple for the sake of their adopted son’s wedding after his ultra conservative biological mother unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. With all of the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are hilariously forced to confront their past, present and future – and hopefully avoid killing each other in the process. Screenplay by Justin Zackham. Directed by Justin Zackham.

Want to know more?
Official Trailer: http://pr.mammothnyc.com/BigWedding/BigWedding_Trlr1B_HD.mov.zip
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBigWeddingMovie
Official Site: http://thebigweddingmovie.com/

What do you think? Will you see The Big Wedding?
Why or why not?