Here is a simple way to reduce the amount of sugar in Kool-Aid with a natural sweetener, stevia.  We made Kool-Aid this way a lot this summer, and our college-age son liked it.  So it passed the test!

INGREDIENTS:

*1 small package of dry Kool-Aid mix
*1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (or 1 tablespoon works fine)
*6 “KAL spoons” of KAL Pure Stevia Extract powder

When our son was little, we enjoyed hanging out in our backyard as a family.  We had the typical swingset, however a wooden swing set would have been really nice.   Little Tyke toys were also a part of our backyard toy supply.  My favorite part was one of those heavy plastic swimming pools that was probably six feet long, four feet wide and one foot deep.  Our daughter, Christi, and I would get in the pool and splash around, too.  I had several potted flowering plants plus Crepe Myrtle trees and Cana Lilies in the backyard, so it was like being in our own little mini-tropical area.  We had a lot of fun playing, relaxing, and enjoying our backyard together.

XBOX 360

Our kids love to play video games.  I’m speaking mainly of our son and son-in-law although our daughter, Christi, plays sometimes, too, when she’s not busy on the computer working on her blog.  We’ve seen all the different gaming systems come out through the years, one of the newer ones being the xbox 360.  The cool games they showed at E3 included the Kinect which does not even need a controller…the person playing is the controller!  I would really like to play using the Kinect sometime!

GIVEAWAY OVER:  Winner is Stephanie Grant (by Random.org)

Before I tell you about this awesome $50 gift card giveaway here at Healthy Home Blog, let me tell you this.  Now that I’m “grandma” and have two precious little grandsons, I find myself looking at baby’s and little boy’s clothes if I happen to be passing by them in a store.  The younger grandson is nearly 14 months and the older one is two (nearly three), so I look in the baby’s section and the toddler boy’s section.  I love looking at clothes for them!

Speaking of children’s clothing, have you seen the new line of adorable and affordable kid’s clothes called “Kidgets” at Family Dollar?   I hadn’t seen them until recently when I was given the opportunity to review one of their Kidgets outfits for my grandson as seen below.

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I must say that I’m impressed with how stylish the three-piece outfit is.  It is really cute!  And the saying on the T-shirt is perfect for a two year old.  (If you’ve ever been shopping with a two year old who is having a “terrible twos” experience in the store, you know exactly what that means!)

Family Dollar’s “The Affordable Turns Adorable” Kidgets line of clothing for newborns through toddlers is perfect for this economy.  Many people have a tight budget but yet they still want to have cute clothes for their kids.  Look at what all Family Dollar’s Kidgets offers:

• Three-piece outfits for $8 and under
• Trendy seasonal accessories such as beach sandals (priced $4 & $5)
• Children’s sunglasses (priced $3)
• Foldable totes (priced $4)
• Hats (priced $4)

If you visit Family Dollar’s website, you can even print a coupon for $1 Off a Kidgets set of clothes for a boy or girl.  I use coupons whenever I can, so I think this is great!  And Family Dollar has a money back guarantee, promising a full refund to anyone who is not satisfied with items in the new Kidgets line.  This is a win/win situation!  Maybe that’s why it’s said that Family Dollar is one of the fastest-growing discount retail chains in the US.

Also, Family Dollar is hosting the Cute as a Kidget Photo Contest with a $5,000 cash grand prize and other great prizes.  Families can upload their cutest “Kidget” photos.  Family and friends will then have a chance to vote, and the winner will be announced on July 16, 2010.  Family Dollar is also hosting a “Cute as a Kidget Sweepstakes” for more fun prizes, and they’re having daily drawings for gift card giveaways.

Now, on to the $50 Gift Card Giveway.

WIN IT:

This giveaway is open to all US readers.
Family Dollar has provided one $50 gift card for giveaway.  Entries for this giveaway will be accepted until midnight CST on Sunday, June 27, 2010. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced the following day in a post.

HOW TO WIN IT:

Mandatory entry: Visit Family Dollar’s site and then leave me a comment below letting me know what you would get with the gift card if you win it.  In your comment info where you leave your name and URL, be sure to leave your email address (which will be private).   I must have a way to contact the winner by email.   The winner will be announced here on June 28th and notified by email.

BONUS ENTRIES:

(Mandatory entry must be completed first!)

Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

• Blog about this giveaway and link it back here (4 extra entries)
• Subscribe (2 extra entries)
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect (2 extra entries)
• Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry)
• Tweet about this giveaway (1 extra entry per tweet; up to 2 tweets spaced out during the day)
• Put my button on your blog (2 extra entries)  (download it from my sidebar)
  
• Follow Family Dollar on Twitter (1 extra entry)

Note: This was not a paid post, and my honest opinions were provided. Family Dollar provided the Kidgets outfit for review and is providing the gift card for the giveaway, but I was not paid monetarily.

Children need to feel loved in order to thrive. This book gives a lot of usable suggestions for how children interpret and feel love. What makes one child feel loved might not be the same for another child. Learn the love language of your child (or children).

I am giving away a copy of this book, The Five Love Languages of Children, and will mail it within the U.S. (Sorry, money is limited and I have to restrict it to postage I can afford.)

This is all you need to do to enter the giveaway: Leave a brief comment on this post with your name (first name is fine) and your email address. Your email address will be confidential and I will not share it with anyone. Names will be disqualified who do not leave email addresses because that is how I notify the winner. I will notify the winner by email to get their mailing address. Again, the mailing address will be confidential and I will not share it with anyone.

Deadline for entry is February, 10, 2010.

Using RANDOM.ORG to determine the winner, the winner is… Maria.  Congratulations, Maria!

If you would like your name entered twice, post about this on your blog and leave a comment with the link to your post.

*Watch for another book giveaway soon: The Five Love Languages. Learn your spouse’s love language and also your love language.

This sounds like a fun recipe to make with children:

• 1 cup of your favorite ice cream – NOT ice milk
• 1 cup self-rising flour

Let ice cream set out at room temperature until thoroughly melted, but still cold.  Fold in the flour.  Do not overstir.  Pour into greased muffin tin.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.   Makes 6 muffins.

The holidays are so fun when the kids come home!  It’s nice to have time to relax from the busy work and school schedules and enjoy being together.  We might play some video games on the Wii or maybe some of our favorite board games.   Watching all three parts of the Lord of the Rings is definitely on our list.

We’re already planning to do some Christmas shopping on Black Friday after Thanksgiving which means getting up soooo early.  Our daughter got me hooked on that, and so this year our son (who will be home from college) wants to go and even my husband plans to go, too.   It’s fun shopping with those you love, doing something totally crazy and different like shopping at 5 AM, and finding those terrific bargains.   Then we’ll probably go eat breakfast at I-Hop, where I have a really good coupon, and then go home and crash!   After that, we plan to set up the Christmas tree.  Makes for nice family memories!

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This is the diaper cake from one of our daughter’s baby showers.  I asked for directions on how to make it, and so here they are:

Start by rolling each diaper tightly and place a rubber band around it to secure it.  Place diapers next to each other to make a circular shape.  Place a PCV pipe (from a craft store) in the middle of the cake for stability of the layers.  Surround each layer of cake with a large rubber band (also from craft store) and then place ribbon over the rubber band using the favorite colors of the mother-to-be or the nursery colors.  Decorate with baby shapes bought at any craft store (or Dollar Tree).  You can make two layers or more.  This particular cake had three layers.

Some people think way ahead, and some are probably already planning for Halloween.  They may be thinking about ordering Halloween invitations for a party, planning all of the costumes, and making a list of who to invite.  Summer is a good time to plan ahead for an October party before things get busy with all the back-to-school activities, football games, homework to oversee, and the list goes on and on.  The timing is good for starting to plan a party without any rush and last minute hassle.

If you happen to be planning to have a Halloween party this fall, you might want to check out The Party Starts Here!.com for invitations that are the right style for you.