Love Fun Football- Takes over :-)

While I am enjoying my last days of southern living, one of my favorites, Erin is taking over my blog...definitely go follow her, she is seriously awesome-sauce & I think you will love her as much as I do!!!

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Hello, Cari-fans! I'm a big Cari-fan so I think we'll get along just fine. Thanks for letting me stop in and introduce myself. I'm Erin and I blog over at Love, Fun & Football. My blog's a little bit about everything and that's just how I like it! My interests are all over the board- so I think we'll get along no matter what your favorite things are! ;) Although, if you like DisneyWorld, we're definitely off to a good start.

If you stop over at LFF anytime soon, you'll soon see I'm a little bit crazy, but a lotta' bit friendly---- I promise :) Most pictures you see of me are going to look more like this...

...because, let's be honest. That is way easier to pull off than any other pose I know! Even the hand on hip, skinny-arm pose that everyone else seems to have perfected. Me? Not so much.

Not only do I LOVE football, but I also work in the football world too. This will be my 5th football season and I really can't remember life before it now. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but since my team is going to the Super Bowl this year, we'll go with good. (whodey--sorry, Cari!)

I got married in May 2011 to another crazy football fan. I accidentally stole his hoody in college which is how we ultimately met and started dating ;) Ahhh, football- bringing people together year after year.

You'll find I blog a lot about my obsession with Mexican food, and how I'm currently trying to get back on the whole 'running thing' to make up for how much I eat it. But I mess up more times than not. Any chance I get to eat AND wear a sombrero? I'm not gonna' pass that up! Why would you??

My husband and I recently started up a series on my blog spilling it ALL about our student loan debt and our plan to get out of it. If you're in the same boat as us, please stop by and leave us a note. There is strength in numbers! :)

I would love to meet you other fabulous ladies out there- so please stop by Love, Fun & Football or follow me on twitter! :)

Travel Thursday- guest post

Even though summer is coming to an end, a lot of people still travel through September and as a mom of a toddler, traveling can be crazy, hectic and sometimes scary! Especially if you are driving more than just a few hours. I am excited to be able to share some tips today from Kendra Thorton

Just a little bio about Kendra-   a Travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, proud wife and mama of 3. I am a long time travel expert who has been packing my bags and traveling the world since I was 3 months old! I've found my utmost desire in life is right here in my own home. I have taken my excitement for travel and brought it to you with some of my favorite travel tips and tricks. Enjoy!

Twitter: @KendraThornton
Website:ThorntonPR

Traveling with Children Made Easy
 
Traveling during the summer can provide the perfect getaway to a beautiful destination and allow the family to enjoy time together to create new memories. There are several ways to travel with children and ensure that every member of the family has an enjoyable trip—all while minimizing your stress!

1. Go Somewhere Different
Although vacationing in a familiar place is often enjoyable for adults who know what to expect, kids can become bored and may have outgrown the destination. Pick a location where they can try their hand at new activities—if you usually go to the beach, try going to a fun city, and vice versa!


2. Choose the Right Hotel
It's important to keep kids busy and entertained while traveling, making it important to book a hotel that has family-friendly amenities and nearby attractions. Find a hotel that has an indoor water park, or has a fun amusement park nearby. Also look at fellow user reviews of a hotel to get the real opinions of what it is actually like. I used Gogobot to look up reviews on Orlando hotels, and found a great place for my family.


3. Audio Books
Try something different by downloading a fun audiobook onto your child’s mobile device. This will prevent them from being sucked away in their phones texting and actually will make them do something educational. Also, they won’t be disturbing anyone else as they just pop in a pair of headphones


4. Order Diapers While Away
 Instead of worrying about bringing an extra suitcase along for diapers, take advantage of companies like Diapers.com who offer free next day shipping to the destination. It will save plenty of space when packing, and you can be sure you won’t run out of diapers while away.


5. Watch Out for Hidden Fees 
Although it's often tempting to quickly book a cheap and affordable flight at a moment's notice, there are often added fees and charges that can be overlooked in the fine print. Take your time researching and looking into fees for carryon bags, and even on-flight meals to weigh the prices and find the best deal possible. Also, try out the My TSA app to see what can and can’t be brought through airport security.


I hope these tips are helpful as you prepare for a family vacation this summer! Remember to be safe, and have fun!

Thank you again Kendra for all the awesome tips!

Allergies & Kids...{guest post}

As parents we worry daily about our kids from the moment they are born. Ive been lucky enough to know Melissa from Mommyhood Chronicles through the blog world for a few years, and as a blogger she is one that I totally look up to! Today she shares her struggles w. her son Zane's allergies w foods.



As most of you know, if you read my blog, I am dealing with a 2 year old that got diagnosed at 11 months with some severe food allergies. Luckily for us, some of the major food allergies such as milk subsided, but we are still dealing with a nut and peanut allergy. The reason why I decided to write this post is because I am honestly afraid.

I read this story today about this poor 13 year old girl who passed away from a simple taste of a dessert that had Peanut Butter in it. This is not the first case I have heard about this happening. In my home state, just this past summer, a 17 year old died after taking a bite of a cookie. If you are interested in reading any of these two horrible stories, I have linked them here:  http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/girl-dies-peanut-allergy-summer-camp-19818184 and http://www.abc6.com/story/21627412/teen-with-nut-allergy-dies-from-eating-cookie The fact of the matter is I am scared and rightfully so!

When we found out Zane had a peanut allergy, it was scary in and of itself, but when we were told his allergen was actually quite high in the routine allergy blood test, it really scared me. The doctor really could not tell us if he would ever have a sever life-threatening situation if he accidentally had a bite of something containing peanut butter. She only told us to be very prepared and have all friends/family trained on how to use an epi-pen if the situation g-d forbidden ever occurred. While I am extremely careful with whatever comes in our house and I do not allow him to have baked goods outside the home, the fact of the matter is he is going to get older and he will need to be in charge of what he can and can not eat. He does wear an allergy bracelet most days and he knows he can't have tree nuts or peanuts (he will tell you that it makes him very sick if he has it), but like the two above cases show, mistakes can sometimes happen.


It is very scary to be the mom of a child with severe food allergies! I worry but all I could do is to continue to be super careful, be knowledgeable on how to handle an emergency, and make sure everyone is prepared if the need ever arises. I have to keep in mind that Zane is one healthy boy and I am extremely grateful for that! Do you have a child with food allergies?

Southern {cooking} Our Way-

Happy Monday Friends...today,  the sweet Alexa is taking over the blog sharing some AMAZING recipes!! Not only is she an awesome friend but her recipes are AMAZING {Ive dabbled with a few}  I know when I don't know what to make for dinner, I can always find something yummy on her blog! So be sure to head over and follow her, she will keep you laughing for days!

If you've got the time, I've got the menu!

Hi, y'all! I'm Alexa from Southern Living, Our Way, and I'm so excited to be filling in for Cari while she's traveling down South in my neck of the woods! I started blogging about a year ago as a generic "lifestyle blogger," and I can't say I've strayed too much from that category, simply because I enjoy the freedom of being able to write posts about any topic I desire and not need to fit perfectly into a specific niché. That said, I have found that there's one thing I enjoy writing about over and over again ~ healthy living that starts in the kitchen!

With skillet apple pie... Don't judge, this was a holiday!

Growing up in Tennessee I learned all of my basic cooking skills and recipes from my grandma, "Mimi," who tolerated me hanging over her shoulder every time she cooked dinner or baked a pie, and would answer each question I had about ingredients and measurements. Little did I know how far those lessons would go! My husband, Glenn, and I don't have any little nuggets running around our house just yet, but I was raised to value the importance of sitting down to the dinner table as a family every night, and luckily for me Glenn values that as well, so even with just the two of us in the house, we have dinner together each night after work. Well, guess who does the cooking for that?  :)

Today I want to share with you a few of my favorite weeknight recipes ~ recipes that don't take a lot of time or effort to prepare, because lord knows I don't have time for that after a full work day, but are still healthy and delicious!
{You can find full posts about each of these on my blog by clicking the recipe link.}

Creamy Tomato Basil soup

The original tomato basil soup recipe is from here, and I'll be honest, I haven't changed it much! This meal is a favorite in our house, especially with a delicious, melty grilled cheese sandwich on the side for dipping. It goes on our menu most weeks, and recently I've been stretching it a bit by adding one extra can of tomatoes and some extra milk+broth to turn into leftovers for another night that week. Hey, whatever saves time, right?! This soup is healthy and fairly guilt-free, especially because it uses lighter alternatives instead of the typical "heavy cream" you find in most creamy tomato soups. You really can't go wrong!

Lemon Avocado Pasta

My recipe adapted from the original here. Everyone who has made this pasta after reading my post about it always gets in touch with me to say how "OMG DELICIOUS!!!" it was, so I think that speaks for itself! From start to finish, including cooking the pasta and making the sauce, this meal should come together in less that twenty minutes, so it's perfect for a weeknight when you don't feel like working in the kitchen for too long.

Simple Salmon Cakes

Even Cari can attest to how delicious these babies are, as she made sure to let me know when she made them recently and how much she loved them! I adapted my recipe from here, and reworked it to turn it into a full, hearty meal for two adults. Yes, these are fried, but are done so in coconut oil and with mostly clean ingredients, so this is still far better than going out to a restaurant and ordering fried fish and chips. Bonus points: This is another meal that takes about half an hour to get on the table!

Fajitas

And let's be honest, what a dreadful life it would be in our house if we didn't have Mexican food at least once a week. We're pretty obsessed! I make these super easy veggie fajitas {I'm strictly pescetarian, so there's no meat in this house!}, usually cutting up my vegetables on Sunday during meal prep time, so I can pull these yummies together in less than twenty minutes after work. Want to health it up a little? Ditch the tortilla and turn these into Fajita Bowls a la everyone's favorite Chipotle!

What are your favorite easy-peasy weeknight recipes? Head on over to my blog and let me know!