With this last season of The Biggest Loser over, we are all wondering how we are going to lose those extra pounds we seem to gain at Christmas.  Have no fear, Julie Hadden is here.  Julie is the first runner up on Season 4 of The Biggest Loser.  Like me, Julie is a stay at home mom who put everyone else in front of herself.  In reading her book, you get to learn about how she learned to make herself a priority.

I am a person who believes things happen for a reason.  Julie didn’t win The Biggest Loser.  Instead, she lost by 8 lbs.  However, she was able to adopt a little boy (which wouldn’t have been possible if she had won due to a media tour should would have had to do).  Here’s the weird part — her little boy was 8 lbs when they got to bring him home!  Another weird yet cool thing that happened to her was that they had gotten rid of their second car to save money, so she could stay at home with her kids.  On the show, she won a challenge.  The prize?  A brand new car!

The book gives us a glimpse into what it’s like to be on The Biggest Loser (I won’t tell you how long they work out daily!).  Fat Chance also provides tips that we can all do.  I love the exercises that you can do standing in line at the grocery store, washing dishes, or even doing  laundry.  There are even some recipes for you to try!

This is great book to get you on pace for the New Year.  With it’s great tips and real life story, Fat Chance is a book you should read.

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There are certain scents I associate with the holiday time. For example, if I smell pumpkin pie, I think Thanksgiving. If I smell pine needles, I think Christmas. Glade must know this, so they came out with some great holiday candles.  Some of the yummy (and I mean yummy flavors) Glade has this year include Bayberry Spice, Homemade Gingerbread, Hollyberry Wreath, Peppermint Crush, French Vanilla, and Apple Cinnamon.  There is nothing better than walking into your house and smelling gingerbread or cinnamon. It’s a great way to set the scene for some holiday parties and just enjoying the holiday overall.

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Ever wanted to cook without the mess? Want to learn some new cooking techniques?  Food Network’s new game Cook or Be Cooked allows you to do just that.  You can work on all of your cooking skills without the cleanup!  It’s great for everyone from moms to kids to single guys.  The 30 recipes you make in the game can be made in your kitchen too (unfortunately with the cleanup).  There is even a multiplayer option, so you can show who’s king of the kitchen (they also have a cooperative mode tool but what fun is that?  LOL).

This is a fun game to play, and I love that the skills I have learned playing can also be used in my kitchen.  The added plus is that the recipes are really good too (and they are things you’d actually make)!  This is one time that there won’t be too many cooks in the kitchen!

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One of the most frustrating things I’ve come across is finding a belt for Madison. The kid needs an actual belt not just a pretty thing to hold up her pants (I wish I had that problem). The problem we were having was that I couldn’t actually find any belts in the stores that she could do by herself.  Step in Myself Belts.  These belts are a lifesaver in my house.  They are velcro, so Madison can do it herself.  Actually, Will my 2 year old can do it himself too.   It’s a great way to promote independence with your kids.  These are perfect for special needs too, because they literally can undo and do this belt with one hand.  They even have adult sizes (which I think is awesome since I can imagine how difficult a regular belt must be if you have arthritis).  Price wise, these belts are cheaper than anything I found in the stores (which Madison couldn’t do).

I can only highly recommend these belts.  My kids can do them by themselves, they are hardy, and the price is right.  What more can you ask for?

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This has been cross posted on Lisa Cooking.

My kids LOVE this. I just can’t say LOVE enough. Capitalizing LOVE doesn’t even describe it. Basically, what the Moo Mixer is a push button mixer.  However, it’s easy enough for both my kids (2 and 5 to use).  They actually fight over who can do their milk first (I also have chocolate milk lovers in my house too).  This is how easy this is:

Add milk:

Add chocolate:

Hit button to stir:

It is that easy! Granted, a spoon is much cheaper, but nowhere near as fun.  We actually hide it from the kids when not in use, because otherwise, all they would do is play with it.  I would recommend the Mr. Twister Moo Mixer for any house who has little ones that like chocolate milk.