Have you heard? There is a ROCKIN’ blog party going on over at one of my favs…5 Minutes for Mom. Right now there are over 1000 of us partying around the blog world. By the way…there are prizes involved! Yes…so head on over here to find out how to get involved.
I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Caryn and I’m the rockin’ mom behind Rockin’ Mama. I started this blog last year when our little boy was born to share the joys and experiences of his first year with our friends and family. Along the way I started writing about issues I’ve faced as a mom and products I’ve found that really rock! Why? Because this is the information I longed for before our little boy was born. I wanted to know the practical ins and outs of what being a mom was all about.
One of the questions I really struggled with was “What do I really need for this baby?” Hubby and I had decided that we were going to keep me home with our little munchkin as long as possible. In order to do that we needed to be as careful with our money as possible. We all know how expensive raising a child is. So part of what I’ve done with my blog is share with you what products work for us.
I’m also a NICU nurse and while I had to go back to work when my little one was 6 months old, I still have the privilege of being home with him most days of the week (the perks of 12 hour shifts!). At times you’ll see my nursing side come out but I try to keep it to a minimum (smiles!).
I really hope you enjoy visiting and I can’t wait to meet other moms doing the same thing. I’d love for you to share comments or questions so I can get to know some of you. I can’t wait to visit you as well. Let’s get this party rockin!
So to start with…I think food is in order! I’ll be posting a review later this week on the all-new Town House Flip Sides…but if you’d like to be one of the first to try them out, leave me a comment here (not just any comment…I’ll get to that in a minute) by Wednesday March 19, 2008 at 10 pm PST. Of course all the same rules apply. No purchase necessary…void where prohibited by law! Haha… In all seriousness, 1 comment per person, please. Duplicates will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back on Thursday, March 20, 2008 when I announce the winner. Please note that the winner must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn. Now that we’re finished with all of those boring legal details, this is what I want to know…Your favorite recipe. You can put a link in the comments or put the actual recipe in the comments. If your comment doesn’t include one of the above I won’t count it. Sorry. : ) This is to be fair to all of you moms who actually read the entire post and leave me a valid comment. I’ll start the fun off with one of mine.
Spicy Spinach & Artichoke Dip
Serves: Many!
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 packages frozen chopped spinach (thawed & well drained), 8 oz. package
1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
1 8 ounce cream cheese
1 8 ounce sour cream
1 cup shredded jack cheese, divided
1 cup parmesan cheese, divided
2 TBSP Tabasco
Salt to taste
Chips, crackers, or veggies to dip
Preheat oven to 350F. Melt butter in a large saucepan or skillet. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, sour cream, 3/4 cup jack cheese, 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, Tabasco, & salt. Stir until well blended and heated through.
Pour mixture into a 1/2 quart casserole dish (or use a crockpot) and top with remaining jack and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 F until cheese melts and turns golden brown, about 10 minutes. If using a small crockpot, place crock inside and have it set on low to keep it warm. Or you can keep it on a hot plate inside casserole dish. Serve with chips, crackers, or veggies.
So here is the best part….there are over 150 prizes!!!! Way too many to choose from but here are my top ones:
ModMum Sling from Sarah
Go BPA Free Sippy Cup Sampler from The Soft Landing Blog
MomSpit Kit from MomSpit
$25 cash from Lori
$25 Amazon gift certificate from Judy
I also heart these: 151, 145, 140, 139, 130, 129, 125, 123, 117, 114, 113, 112, 109, 107, 103, 99, 97, 91, 85, 83, 79, 72, 64, 62, 55, 52, 42, 39, 30, 19, 18, 15, 12, 11, 10, 4, 1… because I’m dyslexic that way… : )
Caryn is a NICU nurse by day, blogger by night and mom 24/7. She savors the warm Southern California sun and loves to travel, shopping, baking, reading and frequenting her local tea room. Caryn created the column Lavishly Green for Peekaboo Picks Magazine to share her best tips for going green in style, she is the Former editor for Family Review Network, former OC Family Magazine online contributor, former Orange County Moms Blog contributor, former Evenflo Savvy Parent contributor, former member of the Totsy Advisory Board and former freelance writer for CBS Los Angeles.
Latest posts by Caryn Bailey (see all)
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- CHOC Walk Returns to the Disneyland Resort – Special Events and Ways to Support - June 28, 2023
- Beastly Ball Returns to the Los Angeles Zoo - May 8, 2023
I’m inviting you to party with me!
Win some chocolate from my-sister-in-law and I…we blog about CHOCOLATE…me from Australia…and her from Michigan. Here’s the link: http://thechocolistas.blogspot.com/2008/03/ultimate-blog-party-2008.html
What am I doing in Australia? I married an Aussie…and moved to Brisbane, leaving my family and friends and all the right-side-of-the-road drivers in America.
Win a handmade pocket place mat from my blog Comfort Joy Designs. Here’s the link:
http://comfortjoydesigns.blogspot.com/2008/03/ultimate-blog-party-2008.html
Want to know more about life in Australia? Visit my A Cup of Joy site where I keep up with my family and friends in America. Here’s the link:
http://acupofjoy.wordpress.com/
Happy Partying!
Mmm…dip sounds delicious. Aloha from Hawaii!
Welcome to the blog party! Now that you’re here, let’s get this party started! There are so many blogs to visit & friends to meet. What a pleasure!
I have a great appreciation for you NICU folks. I work in early intervention so many times the kiddos I see were cared by you first. Kudos to you!
Peek in on us at GraceFULL Days & say hi before you go! Skip over the Vicks Caring Tributes & vote for my Gracie Cakes story as one of their finalists~ Thanks in advance. http://videos.vickscaringtributes.com/videos/index.html
GraceFULL blessing to you & yours~
Carmen
Your little one is darling! Makes me want another one.
Feel free to stop by my party here. 🙂
It’s never to late to party! Welcome. What an awesome blog you have! Hop over to mine, so we can meet. Blessings! http://www.wearethatfamily.com
This is a fun party! It’s very nice to meet you, hope we can be friends!
Thanks for visiting my blog…you are so kind to offer support. I feel like we have been very well taken care of by the Lord, and our friends and family. You can pray for my husband and I tomorrow (Fri)…Natalie would have been 2…time passes so quickly. When we were in the hospital while Natalie was still alive, several NICU nurses came in to help us learn to use her feeding tube, etc and I just couldn’t get over how kind and wonderful they were. They helped us feel a bit at ease in a very awful situation…a bit of calm in the raging storm! I even remember one nurse coming into our room just an hour or so after Natalie died and giving me a great big hug even though she was balling herself and telling me she was proud of me. Remembering those special people makes me cry even now!! It takes a VERY special person and I am convinced you are extra special. I don’t know if I could put myself in a spot to have my heart hurt for those sick babies every day. Thank you for what you do…you are a God-send for many families!! **hugs!!** Amy
Thanks for visiting my blog! I cannot wait to try out your dip recipe, that sounds awesome! Here’s a link to my favorite recipe, though it does not seem to be a favorite among husbands 😀
mmmm that dip sounds awesome! My favorite recipe is here. YUM! Enjoy!
Great recipe! My favorite recipe is for Curry Dip. I love it! It is so great with botj fresh vegetable and crackers. http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,161,154188-249201,00.html
Here is my all time favorite dessert compliments of my mother-in-law!
Chocolate Dessert
Bake a chocolate cake mix in a 9×13″
pan. Cut the cake into 1″ squares while the cake is warm and put them in a bowl. Cover the cake pieces with
1 cup of Kahlua. Cover the bowl and refrigerate over night. Take 2 instant chocolate puddings and make following the box directions. You will now need 2 instant chocolate puddings, and 9 heath bars chopped up and 2large Cool Whip! Make the
puddings and then mix in the Cool Whip. Layer in a large bowl: cake pieces that were marinated in Kahlua, a layer of pudding, layer of chopped heath bars and a layer of Cool Whip. Do the same layers over! It makes a bunch! Thanks,Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
I’d love to try them.