Real Moms Real Reviews Kidsswimwear.com review and giveaway

I have subscribed to several blogs for years, but have just started doing blog giveaways.

Real Moms Real Reviews is an amazing blog, if you are not following it already.

I love hearing about products from a mom's point of view and these reviews are very authentic.

Today I came across this giveaway for adorable bathing suits from kidsswimwear.com

I don't know about you, but my girls and I live between the pool and beach in the summer, and we can never have enough suits.

These bathing suits are adorable and practical.

Please take the time to check this out!

http://realmomsrealviews.com/2012/04/09/let-them-get-wet-and-look-cute-doing-it-kidsswimwear-com-review-and-giveaway/comment-page-2/#comment-174717

Missing in Action-At least as far as blogging

Okay, so I realize...it's been MONTHS since my last blog entry! There are really no excuses. I can say that life has been busy, which I guess is true for us all. My husband reminded me that if I spent as much time blogging as I do twitter partying, I would probably have a very successful blog. So guess he has a point. Oh what a wise man, part of the reason I married him.

Speaking of marriage, hard to believe that my husband and I will be celebrating 10 years of marriage this summer. We had talked about going away on a cruise, but I am just not sure how that would work at this point. We live away from family, and there are very few people that I would even leave my children with. I have never left the girls more than over night. I guess I can just keep dreaming that I am on a beach somewhere, reclined in my chair, wind blowing in my hair, and fruit drink in hand! Agghh...who wouldn't love that?

The past few months have been crazy. My Father in law passed away in January, after a very brave battle with cancer. Cancer is one of those things that you never think much about until it effects you on a personal level. My FIL was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma (bladder/kidney cancer) a few years ago. We thought he had beaten it at one point, but guess that's the nature of cancer. You just never know. Anyway, my in-laws were able to visit us over the holidays, and my FIL was sick then, but guess it was nothing compared to mid-January. He just went downhill so quickly. It was such a blessing that my husband was able to take a few days off of work, and fly down to Florida to be present with his father for his dad's last few days. It has been such a loss for the family. My girls are only 3 and 6, so they don't really understand the impact of it. I am 33, and I have to admit that I have been very fortunate to have never have lost anyone close to me (other than my grandfather a few years ago). This man was my Father in Law, and I can honestly say that I loved him like my own father.

My husband has been having such a difficult time with this loss, but I guess he copes with things differently than I do. I am more of a talker. It makes me feel better to get my thoughts and feeling out there. Maybe men are different or maybe it's just a difference in personality. It's just been hard because a lot of times, I just feel shut out and don't really know how I can help.

So here I am rambling again, this blog is about my deals, steals, and meals and I am going to make a more diligent effort to get back on track with this subject matter since these are things that are of true importance to me.

It is St Patrick's Day weekend as I type this, and I am so looking forward to spending time with my family in Pennsylvania. I hope and pray that it will be a blessed weekend for all of you (if anyone is reading this!)

the little things

It's been a few months since my last entry. Life has been crazy.
My oldest started kindergarten in September. How can that be? I can't believe that I can be old enough to have a school age child. She is doing really well though, and can't wait to go to school everyday.
My little one started preschool about mid-September. Wish I could say that she is loving it. She is having a hard time but we will keep trying. Breaks my heart, as I totally didn't expect her to have attachment issues.
My FIL still continues to battle stage 4 transitional cell carcinoma. It is hard to live so far away from family.  My in-laws hadn't seen the kids since May, so they were able to come up for a week. We had a great visit, but my FIL was having a hard time by the end as he was due for another treatment back in Fl. It has really made me re-evaluate life. When you sit and think about all of the things that bother you from day to day, you realize the brevity of life. What really matters? So much of the things we worry about are so superficial. Enjoy each moment, as you never know when it may be your last. Today I am most thankful for my family, my health, and for the little things (like this beautiful weather).

Old Navy Deal-going on now!

Not sure how long this deal is going to last, but Old Navy is giving you 10 dollars in Old Navy cash for every 20 dollars you spend. Today I went to my Old Navy, spent 40 dollars on back to school items for my oldest child (they have tons of cute things that are on sale, and polo tops were only 5 dollars). I got so many cute things, and have 20 dollars now that I can go back and spend starting the 25th! Smart shopping. ;)

easy summer cooking

Well if you know me, then it is not a surprise that summer is one of my favorite times of the year. "It's summertime and the living is easy"..well at least "easier" right? One of my favorite things about summer (aside from the beach and the pool) is how much easier it is to eat healthy. Especially here in the good old "garden state". In my own garden this year, I planted two different types of tomatoes and peppers. The tomatoes are not doing so hot (because I have a few rabbits that are enjoying eating them before I can get to them.) Have to work on that for next year. Still though, it is so wonderful to be able to enjoy fresh produce that is grown locally. My favorite of course would be corn on the cob.

There is nothing like the corn on the cob where I grew up in Central Pennsylvania. There was a local farm (which still stands today) where my mom always bought corn all summer. There is a table out front with a tin can and bushels of corn, and it works on the honesty policy. That is not something I see much anymore. Growing up my family was big into corn on the cob, and would have "corn roasts". There is nothing like corn in the husk that has been roasted to perfection in it's own husk, and then dressed in drawn butter and a little salt. Don't quite have corn like that here in Jersey, but have had some that is almost just as good.

All this being said, I find that cooking in the summer is so much easier for me. Love the grill and have a fabulous London broil recipe. It's amazing how the right marinade or rub, can transform any cut of meat. One of my "easiest" summer meals is London Broil, Mac N' Cheese, Corn on the cob, and sliced garden tomatoes. Because I promised "meals" in my blog here are the recipes:

London Broil Marinade:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oil
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp ginger 1-2 cloves garlic



Martina's Mac and cheese:

4 tbsp butter
2 1/2 cup raw macaroni
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart of whole milk

Melt butter in casserole dish in microwave until melted. Add macaroni and cheese, salt and pepper, mix well. Pour milk over the macaroni mixture (do not stir). Bake at 350 1 hour uncovered!


I hope that you will try them and then pass them a long if they become some of your favorites.

Check out your local library a STEAL in my book

As a mommy of two young girls, E (who is 5 1/2) and R (who will be 3 in a couple weeks), I am always looking for ways to keep the girls busy and out of trouble. Also, just like any children, they always sleep better at night after an active day.

We are very fortunate to live in an area that is both close to NYC and even more exciting to me, very close to the beach. I spend a lot of summer days at the beach with my girls. Some of you may get the image of me reclining in a beach chair with a book in hand, but with my girls, the beach is a fun workout. Like most of the country this year, we have had days that were even too hot for the beach.

This being said, I just wanted to remind you all of what a great resource the library can be. We are fortunate to have a wonderful library system in our town with an even more amazing children's program. Today we took part in the "Teddy Bear Picnic". I packed up the girls' lunches, they grabbed their favorite teddy bears, and we headed to the library. It was rather warm, so the picnic was an indoor one, but there were fabulous stories, craft activities, and the best part was it was FREE (a major steal). 

Not only does our library have great children's programs, but they have fabulous programs for adults as well. Even more shocking yet, I learned that they offer many electronic books now that you can load onto any e-reader!  So make sure to check out your local library. You may be surprised at what you find!

First Post

Okay, so not a very original title for a first post, but it's been a long day and I promised myself I would do this today!  I have been wanting to create a blog for so long now. I have had a million ideas just jumping into my already scattered momma brain but just couldn't figure out where to start. After much thought about a blog title, and a late night conversation with my hubby here I am (not to mention the friendly online harassment from some of my twitter buddies who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are ;) ).

I have loved to write since I was a child, so blogging just seems to make sense. I have kept a journal almost everyday, so I guess a blog is just like that, but only hopefully EVERYONE is reading it. I have titled my blog Martiferg's deals, steals, and meals as you can see, and now I will tell you why.

First my twitter handle is @martiferg, and that is where I came up with the idea to blog. I have met so many great "tweeps" there, many of which are also bloggers and have given me great inspiration. So even though my name is Martina, it's a blog by @martiferg.

It's kind of funny how I got started on twitter. I certainly never thought it would be my thing. I started couponing in 2008 after becoming a full time stay at home mom. Somehow I managed to find a site called www.heyitsfree.com and that led me to www.freebies4mom.com. That led me to www.sweetiessweeps.com which led me to twitter. I started using twitter in January of 2011 and remember getting a splitting headache. After a few days though, I was hooked.

Okay, so I told you I get scattered sometimes. Back to the blog title. So I thought long and hard about what I would blog about. I used to be a special education teacher, but after having my second child as I mentioned before I have really learned to stretch a dollar and that's where the deals and steals come in. There is nothing like getting a great deal on great products, and I always come home and tell my husband but am not sure that he gets as excited as I do. I thought it would be great to share my deals and steals with the world.

Now for the meals part! My mother is a domestic queen. She makes everything from scratch, and there is nothing like her home cooking. I wish I could say that I am the same, but it is something that I have to work much harder at. I came up with the idea of trying at least one new meal a week, and then sharing my husband and children's reactions with the world through this blog and that is the "meals" part.

So now all that being said, thanks so much for reading my first post. I would appreciate all of the feedback/constructive criticism I can get. So excited about embarking on this new journey with you.