It’s no secret that reoccurring themes in my blog are pregnancy and motherhood. When it came time to buy my first pregnancy book there really was only one name that popped into my head instantly….”What to Expect When You’re Expecting”!  The “What to Expect” series has to be one of the most well known guides for women who are having a baby, and/or already have one! The book series along with the “What To Expect” website, has been a guide for me since the moment I allowed myself to believe that the pregnancy was really real.

Now that my son is one,  I can officially say that I have read both “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” as well as “What to Expect the First Year”. I can’t believe it! I used to wait each month to read what should happen that month. In both pregnancy and the baby months the articles were right on. I have always loved the honesty, even when it scared me to death! Now, as I am entering my second year, I have put the “What to Expect the Second Year” book right on my night stand just so I can keep up with what is going to happen next. It’s all a mystery to me!

In honor of my son’s first birthday, the people at WhatToExpect.com want to give 6 lucky readers their choice of either “What To Expect When You’re Expecting”, “What To Expect The First Year”, or “What To Expect the Second Year”. How fun is that? The contest will run for 1 full week, and the winner will be chosen on Tuesday December 13th! Just in time for the holidays!

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment telling me which book you’d like to own.

Extra Entries:

1. “Like” After The Alter on facebook. (if you already..tell me)
2. “Like” What To Expect on facebook.
3. Follow afterthealter on Twitter (if you already do.. tell me)
4. Follow What To Expect on Twitter

Remember, that a comment must be left for each extra entry. Good luck!

I was provided with copies of the What to Expect Books for the purposes of this review. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

After having a baby my drive to cook dinner plummeted. Not only did the idea of hitting the grocery store frighten me, but the idea that I actually had to prepare the meal was even worse. Over time I found a good balance, and we got take out less and less. Then, a new dilemma occurred, one that I think anyone who is in charge of meals faces. What the heck am I going to make? Do I have the ingredients to make it? And that my friends is when you start to lose the motivation to cook. If you aren’t prepared, then you fail. That’s where e-mealz comes in. Menu plans based on weekly grocery store sales, seasonal discounts, or diet preferences. The perfect solution to “What’s for dinner?”

I love menu plans! If I buy my food for the week on Sunday or Monday then the odds of me sticking to the plan and cooking throughout the week is good. But sitting down coming up with ideas of what to cook is where I fall short. e-mealz solves all that. For a $1.25 per week, e-mealz compiles you a menu plan based on your preferences, and provide you with the recipe and shopping list to go along with each meal. If you choose Kroger, Publix, Wal-mart, ALDI or Ralphs the meal plans are chosen based on those store’s weekly specials! I don’t shop at those stores, so I chose the “any store” plan.

There are a ton of meal plan options to choose from. Their regular meal plan is 7 meals for 4-6 people, but you also can get a meal plan for two people! This is the one I’ve been using and it’s the perfect amount of food! For those with special food needs you can choose gluten free, low fat, low carb, portion control and vegetarian.

The people at e-mealz want to help you get organized with your menu planning, and are offering a lucky After the Alter reader is a 3 month membership to e-mealz!! How great is that?

The giveaway will run until Thursday October 20th.

To enter…Leave me a comment telling me your favorite go to meal to cook!

Extra Entries:

1. Like After The Alter on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did, and if you already do “like” us then leave a comment saying that!
2. Like E-Mealz on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did, and if you already do “like” them then leave a comment saying that!
3. Follow @afterthealter on twitter
4. Follow @EMEALZ on twitter
5. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link!

Remember each comment is an entry. Be sure to enter every day!

Congratulations to the Quilted Northern Winner! Lucky number 8!!! You are the proud winner of a year supply of Quilted Northern Toilet Paper!

Thank you for all who entered! I hope all my new readers continue to follow and comment!

Anyone who cohabitates and shares their home with another knows how hard it can be to share your space. I am a true believer in living with someone BEFORE getting married. Why? Well, forget about sharing a bed…I think being able to share a bathroom is the secret to a happy marriage. It’s about knowing the other persons home life habits

I think the key is to learn to accept the other person. Take my home for example…each morning The Captain leaves both towels anywhere but back on the towel rack, and his dirty clothes crumpled in the sink. It used to bother me at first. As a matter of fact I used to keep a tally on a post it stuck to the bathroom mirror to show him how many times he didn’t put away his towel since he actually believed he hung it up. You’d think bringing light to the situation would make him change, but amazingly enough it didn’t. Over the years it has become my routine to go around and pick everything up in the morning. Doesn’t bother me anymore….that’s our dynamic.

Do you have one sink or two? Do you wipe down the sinks every day? Do you have to get ready for work at the same time? While she’s blow drying he’s brushing? How about when you have to pee? Do you do it in front of each other? (Not in this house! Bodily functions are kept private by me!) What is your bathroom dynamic?

One company that understands the importance of the bathroom in a marriage is Quilted Northern. That is why they are here to help a lucky reader with the never ending problem of….”WE’RE OUT OF TOILET PAPER!”

Quilted Northern is going to give one lucky reader a years supply of toilet paper! (about 90 rolls) in their Master Bathroom Prize pack! With that you get  a toilet paper rose and a Quilted Northern recyclable bag (funny story, when I got my prize pack I smelled the rose like it was real…I thought it was!). Who doesn’t need more toilet paper?? I know that I always wait till we are down to the last roll…now, there always will be more!

Funny story…when UPS delivered my prize pack the box holding the rose was a bit crushed so I opened the box in front of him. He saw it was a toilet paper rose…made a weird face and said “Maybe they wanted to thank you for your tremendous business” like I ordered that much toilet paper! I was rather embarrassed and felt I had to explain…but telling him it was a blog thing didn’t make it much better….but I digress….The giveaway will run until Tuesday October 4th. Ready to find out how to enter??

The giveaway will run until Tuesday October 4th.

Mandatory entry: Tell me about your master bathroom in one word!

Extra Entries

1. Follow @afterthealter on Twitter. If you already do let me know you follow!
2. Tweet about this giveaway and come back here and leave a comment with the link to the tweet
3. Follow @QuiltedNorthern on Twitter.
4. “Like” After The Alter on facebook (be sure to say hi on the page! I’d love to “meet” you!
5. “Like” Quilted Northern on Facebook

Remember to leave a comment for each of these entries. I wish you lots of luck!

Disclosure: I’m a fan of Quilted Northern® bath tissue, and wanted to share this opportunity with my readers. This post is brought to you by Quilted Northern bath tissue. Please join the conversation at www.facebook.com/QuiltedNorthern or on Twitter each week @QuiltedNorthern.

Chic Mama is a site that caters to gifts for the expecting mama, and has BEAUTIFUL Diaper cakes along with other mommy accessories such as diaper bags, clutches, totes, baby gear and clothing for mom. All things that would make great gifts! The Demi Bella Tee doesn’t have to say Mommy of 1…it can of course tell everyone the number of kids YOU personally have. What I liked best about it was it’s soft feel, and long length. It was a perfect fit post baby, and will also be great once I lose the yucky baby weight… It’s made from 98% cotton/2% spandex super soft knit. AKA…very comfy!

Now for some fun news! Chic Mama has agreed to give one of my lucky readers their very own Demi Bella T shirt!! How fun is that? I think you’ll like it as much as I do! Now remember it doesn’t have to be for you…it would also make a great gift!

The contest will run for 1 Week! The winner will be chosen on Thursday December 23rd!!!

For the main entry, Go to the Chic Mama website and let me know what diaper cake is your favorite!

Extra Entries:

1. Publicly follow After The Alter on Google Friends connect: If you already are then let me know!
2. Follow @afterthealter on twitter. You can let me know if you already do!
3. Follow @TheChicMama on twitter. Come back here and let me know.
4. “Like” the After The Alter Page on Facebook!
5. “Like the Chic Mama Page on Facebook

Now remember you need to leave a comment for each type of entry. That means you could possibly have a total of 6 entries which means you’d need 6 separate comments.

Good luck! I hope you win! (yes you!) And then you can let everyone know before they even ask that you are a proud mommy of (insert # here!)

I was provided with a Demi Bella T shirt for the purposes of this review. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I usually do a question of the day over on my facebook fan page (ok, ok sometimes I forget), and on Monday night I asked what is the one kitchen item you can’t live with out? Well I got a bunch of answers, but one that kept coming up was the Kitchenaid stand mixer. Well I responded with the fact that it’s super expensive, and that I don’t have the counter space, but I wanted to admit to you my readers that I secretly want one. It’s true! I would never actually go out and buy one for myself for frugality purposes…and for the fact that I don’t know how often I’d use it, but if somehow one just fell into my lap I would in no way shape or form send it back. But like a sign from heaven, I saw a tweet from the blog Mayham and Moxie telling me (ok I know it wasn’t just to me but twitter can make you feel like you are the only person people are talking to) that they are giving away a Kitchenaid mixer! How great is that? It’s fate I tell you!

I entered the contest! (of course) and normally I do not post about contests or giveaways I enter, because I don’t always feel like my readers would care about something someone else is giving away, but I really think this contest would benefit you too! (but should you win instead of me, you have to promise to give me your winnings. Deal?)

My Grandma was the most wonderful baker. My favorite thing that she baked were her homemade blueberry muffins. I used to wait for her to visit, and she would bring a ton down for me. They were just so special, and she always told me that they were made with the most important ingredient….LOVE! As my Grandma got older it was harder and harder for her to bake her wonderful creations, and I asked her for her recipe. I felt that it was very important to pass this recipe on. I waited a really long time to try the recipe. For some reason I just knew that I could NEVER make them as good as my Grandma. Not to mention that the recipe is for 2 dozen muffins and the idiot I am I have trouble cutting recipes in half. (don’t mock me…you try cutting 3/4 of a cup in half. What is that??) So when is the appropriate time to bake 2 dozen muffins? Well I found a time and gave it a shot. Let me remind you that I DO NOT have the Kitchenaid stand mixer. I did everything by hand, and by electric hand mixer. Boy were my arms tired! But I figured if the women back in the day could do it all by hand then so could I (with a little help). But no matter what, whenever I bake my mind wanders to the idea that it would just be that much easier if I had the standing mixer. Just dump the ingredients in and they magically get mixed! Awesome!

How did the muffins come out? No where close to being as good as my Grandma’s…but I really didn’t expect them to. I brought some to my Grandma for her to try and she said they were good. But as only little old ladies can…she told me I put in too many blueberries! Thanks Grandma!!!

There you have it! I spilled the beans that I want the Kitchenaid mixer, but please do me a favor and don’t tell frugal Jen. She just gets all mad and puts me down….It’s just not worth the fight! And I think I should win because I’m doing this for my poor Grandma. (playing dirty aren’t I?) She would love me to give her muffins another try!

This week will give me a great chance to take a look back and see where my blog has come, and also maybe think ahead to some goals I have in the future. But the main thing going on this week is the giveaways! I have been really loving my growing blog following, and more than that I am loving the steady comments I have been getting from loyal readers.  I totally feel the love and support, and to be honest some of your comments have kept me sane! So keep em coming! What started out as a blog that was read by only people I know…now has become something a little bigger. I mean HEY..I have over 100 (ok 101, and nowhere close to being a huge number, but it’s big for me) google friends! Not to mention 617 Twitter followers. That means every time I Tweet my most random thoughts through out the day 617 could read them! Gotta love Twitter!

I am super excited for what I have planned for this week, so please check back every day to enter the the great giveaways! And of course…Happy Blogaversary Week to me! Who’s up for a drink to celebrate??? Martooni’s all around!

I am a huge fan of Meryl Streep. I think that she can play almost any character, in pretty much any genre and make a fabulous movie. If you add a bit of Alec Baldwin, and a touch of Steve Martin into the mix you have an AMAZINGLY funny cast, and the movie It’s Complicated which comes to theaters on December 25th! Christmas Day!!

The movie is about Jane (Streep) is the mother of three grown kids, owns a thriving Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and has-after a decade of divorce-an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Baldwin). Jane and Jake both find themselves out of town for their son’s college graduation, and thenn things start to get complicated. An innocent meal together turns in to the inimaginable- an affair. With Jake remarried to the much younger Agness(Lake Bell), Jane is now, of all things, the other woman. Caught in the middle of their renewed romance is Adam (Martin), an
architect hired to remodel Jane’s kitchen. Healing from a divorce of his own, Adam, starts to fall for Jane, but soon realizes he’s become part of a love triangle.

Ok..let’s just show you the trailer. I think these scenes speak for themselves!

It’s Complicated Movie Trailer

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AYhcdPtZnw[/youtube]

I am very excited to see this movie, and the wonderful people who contacted me about this giveaway are giving me 2 tickets so that me and Captain Awesome can go see it! (don’t worry, I promise to report back!) Ok, Ok, so I said there was something in it for you too! Well there is! 3 people are going to win an It’s Complicated Tote Bag filled with an Apron & T-shirt!

Don’t worry, they will be branded with the It’s Complicated Logo!

Winning stuff is fun right? Ok, so here’s how you win! You must do this for your entry to count.

1. Leave a comment telling me why you think this movie is going to be great. Yup it’s that easy to enter!

Extra Entries

1. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link to your tweet. Please include @afterthealter and @universalpics in your tweet!
2. Follow @afterthealter on Twitter and let me know that you are (be sure to leave your twitter name)
3. Become a Fan of After The Alteron Facebook and stop back here and let me know that you did.
4. Become a Fan of It’s Complicatedon Facebook and stop back here and let me know that you did.
5. Follow me on Google Friends

Also Universal Pictures is doing a FREE Advanced Screening of the movie. Check out their SITE to see if it’s playing at a theater near you!!! All you have to do is RSVP! It’s on a first come first serve basis so act quickly!  

Pretty good deal right? This contest is going to run from Today December 7th and run for 2 weeks. Winners will be picked by using random.org and will be announced on Tuesday December 22nd! Don’t forget to leave your email so that I can contact you if you win!

As anyone who knows me knows, I am a true Friendly’s fan. In all my Friendly’s going years, I have really only ordered the grilled cheese and french fries. It is my absolute favorite, and although everything on their menu looks appetizing to me, I never stray out of loyalty to my favorite grilled cheese. But since this opportunity was given to me, I decided it was ok to cheat…and try something new. So my husband and I went last night to check it out. They have a separate menu for the Create your own Friendly’s meal. For an entree their choices were an Apple Walnut Chicken Salad, Buffalo Bleu Burger, Cheeseburger Club, Tuna Salad Supermelt Sandwhich, Grilled Chicken Wrap, Crispy Chicken Salad, Honey BBQ Chicken Supermelt, All American Cheeseburger, or the Classic Turkey Club. I was secretly hoping to find the grilled cheese on the menu, but I stuck to the plan and ordered the Grilled Chicken Wrap and my husband ordered the All American Cheeseburger. I’m going to have to be honest here and admit that it still didn’t even come close to comparing to the grilled cheese and french fries. But even with saying that I also have to admit that it’s a great deal! We took our happy ending sundae’s to go. I got two scoops of vanilla with Reece’s pieces and whipped cream. Yummy!

Now for the fun part! The part where someone gets to win their own $10 gift card to try this great deal. Here is how you enter. You can do 1 or all 3. Do all 3 and you get 3 entries!

1. You leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is off the Friendly’s menu
2. You go on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a comment here with the link to your Tweet
3. Become a Fan on Friendly’s Facebook page. Then come back here and let me know that you did.

Then I will use a program to randomly pick a comment to be the winner! The winner will be notified on Monday July 13th.  Be sure to leave your e mail so that I can contact you and let you know you won. Then the people at Friendly’s will send you your own gift card! Sounds easy to me!

So go to Friendly’s and get some yummy food. It’s National Ice Cream month and I am told Friendly’s is having a bunch of great stuff going on to celebrate that. You certainly can’t go wrong with Friendly’s Ice Cream or the great $9.99 deal!

Ben and Jerry’s

Tuesday, April 21st is FREE CONE DAY at participating Ben and Jerry’s! Around the world, Scoop Shops are opening their doors from noon to 8:00 pm, to serve up a free scoop of your favorite flavor. Please check with your local Scoop Shop for more info!

Ok, that was Ben and Jerry’s ad, but here’s mine….FREE STUFF is AWSOME! Who doesn’t want free ice cream???

Dunkin Donuts

Tuesday, April 21s is Iced Coffee Day at DUNKIN DONUTS! Go to your local Dunkin Donuts and you can get your Iced Coffee for 50 CENTS! I am a huge fan of their Iced Coffee so I am super excited to get it for this price. Last year I think it was free on Iced Coffee day, but I guess I can shell out the 50 cents to get some this year.

You can even follow Dunkin Donuts on Twitter! Follow them HERE!