What Not To Buy: Gift Giving Advice for Grandma

When I was a young girl, my grandmother never failed to shower me with gifts on every birthday, holiday or special occasion. I most loved the presents that were not purchased from Fleet Farm or the local thrift store, but I understood that my grandmother wasn't made of money. After all, she had 25 grandchildren to buy for. Shopping for all of us would have definitely broken the bank.

Now that I'm a mother, I realize how expensive kids are, and I would never expect Dawson's grandparents to buy million dollar birthday presents or designer clothing. However, I have to say that my mother seems to be following in my grandmother's footsteps.

Sometimes she gives Dawson presents from Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul (at least she's supporting good causes), Big Lots, and even a few rummage sales. Don't get me wrong. Some of her choices are great. Others are hideous.

For example, there was the time she bought three t-shirts for Dawson that won't fit him until junior high. Often she buys pre-worn clothing that way too big or is too worn out and I feel terrible when I have to send it right back to the Goodwill donation bin. (Stacy and Clinton should have a What Not To Buy segment especially for Grandparents.)

There was the a bicycle Grandma gave Dawson a year ago that someone left next to their garbage cans for pick-up. And once she gave him groceries. I'm not kidding. When Dawson opened the bag, bananas, outdated candy and fruit snacks were inside.

I don't want to sound like an ungrateful parent, because my parents don't have a magic money tree in their backyard anymore than I do. But sometimes I want to say, "Here's a list of affordable things you could purchase if you choose, or just send what you would normally spend on presents in a check made out to his college fund."

Except, I feel as though that may sound tacky. Instead, I could e-mail the link to the Grandkids Gift Guide to my mother to give her some help in the gift department.

The Grandkids Gift Guide is a helpful resource that allows Grandma (or Grandpa) to search for the perfect, age appropriate, thoughtful gifts for the special grandchildren in their lives.

Grandma can pull up the gift guide and search for the perfect gift according to age, gender, gift type and price, which saves her time and hopefully money. Plus, her grandchild is sure to love the specially chosen gift based on his or her interests.

When it comes to gift giving, of course it's the thought that counts. That's why the Grandkids Gift Guide makes thinking of the perfect gift a lot less stressful.

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How do you handle grandparents’ gifts at your house - are you a list-giver, cash-taker, or just extremely trusting? And what do you do when the gift giving goes terribly wrong? The Parent Bloggers Network is hosting a blog blast all about how to handle gift idea requests and other kids gift-buying dilemmas.

Click here details and participation requirements.

You Say Tomato, I Say Fresh & Simple

At la casa dei Dana Files, pasta is served quite often. It's quick and easy to make, tastes molto delizioso, and it's something that The Pickiest Eater Ever, aka Dawson, will eat without complaint. In fact, we've boiled so many noodles, and tried nearly every pasta sauce ever made, that one could call us Pasta Connoisseurs.

As much as we love penne and tomato sauce, it can be difficult to get a delicious dinner on the table, especially when our lives are constantly busy and chaotic. Not only that, I hate doing more dishes than I have to, so when the folks at Ragu sent samples of their new Fresh & Simple Pouches I was more than excited.

I know it sounds crazy to be giddy about pasta sauce pouches, but you have to understand my reasoning. In the summer we grow tons of tomatoes. To make sure that nothing goes to waste, my husband boils the many leftover tomatoes into puree and then freezes them in quart containers and heavy duty Ziploc bags. These frozen 'maters are excellent for making homemade pasta sauce, but I can't exactly microwave the plastic baggies without creating a gigantic mess.

I'm not saying I don't love homemade sauce, but sometimes the time it takes to thaw, heat, add garlic and herbs and simmer, is a pain in the rear. Not to mention the extra kitchen utensils, knives, cutting board and saucepan I need to use and wash later.

The Ragu Fresh & Simple Pouch is great for those busy days. I just clip the pouch open, pop it in the microwave for 90 seconds and pour right over my pasta. The only thing I had to worry about was boiling noodles and that takes 10 minutes (we love al dente).

The sauces come in three flavors: Garden Vegetable (Dawson's favorite.), Traditional Tomato Basil (Doug's favorite) and Tomato, Onion & Garlic (my favorite). An added bonus is that Ragu sauces are all natural which means no additives or preservatives, and every 1/2 cup of sauce has a full serving of vegetables.

Even I can't sneak the veggies in my homemade sauce without Dawson turning up his nose. With the Garden Vegetable sauce my picky eater didn't have a clue that he was eating something good for him.

For more info on Ragu and their All Natural sauces, click here. You can also discover some fabulous recipe ideas, like Shrimp in Red Pepper Alfredo Sauce. Yummo!

Hummingbird Jewelry from White Hot Magik

It's no secret that I love jewelry. I've got it all, from Avon to Lia Sophia. Some of my favorites are the handmade pieces I've purchased from Rebecca. My love of jewelry is probably why I became very excited when White Hot Magik showed a few photos of this awesome Hummingbird jewelry. And she's having a giveaway. Click here for details. Contest ends May 14 at midnight.

Delicioso: Tuscani Pasta from Pizza Hut

You may have heard the rumor last month that Pizza Hut was changing it's name to Pasta Hut. That was just an April Fool's joke, started only to introduce their new Tuscani Pasta. Yes, Pizza Hut wants folks to start thinking of it as more than just...well, pizza.

The nation's largest pizza chain has begun delivering pasta — something no other pizza chain does nationally.

There are two tasty Tuscani Pastas, Creamy Chicken Alfredo and Meaty Marinara. The price for the pasta is $11.95, the same as a large pizza with one topping, and will feed about 4-6 people. The pastas are baked in the pizza ovens and come with five breadsticks.

How do I know it's tasty, you ask? The folks at Pizza Hut asked me to try it, so they coordinated a delivery of the Meaty Marinara to my doorstep from our local restaurant. It arrived on time at six o'clock on the dot, and the aroma of this dish was so delish, I couldn't wait for my first bite.

I love that this pasta is baked. The noodle wasn't soft (as it could be from over boiling) and the meat sauce with cheese was better than making Hamburger Helper.

My husband was in love with the garlic breadsticks. They weren't over garlicky and considering we both had a couple we didn't care about our breath. Even little Dawson liked it. I think his exact words were, "Mommy, there's a party in my tummy!" I blame Yo! Gabba, Gabba! for that little phrase.

Pizza Hut is making dinner delivery much more convenient with their online ordering, too.

Just click here to find your local restaurant, place your order and select a delivery time. You can pay online with a credit or debit card so all you have to do is set the table and tip the delivery driver. Easy as that!

Want to try it yourself? Pizza Hut is giving away an order of Tuscani Pasta (your choice) to one lucky reader. Simply leave a comment on this post with your name and e-mail address before midnight (CST) tonight. One winner will be drawn at random.

Product Review: Ocean Spray Cranergy

Since I've become a WAHM, I feel as though I'm running out of energy earlier in the day than normal. I don't know if it's the combination of working, parenting and housecleaning, but lately I've been napping during the late afternoon. If I don't, I'll be a complete crabby-pants by the time my husband gets home from work, and it's not really fair for him to suffer through my tired and cranky whines.

I thought about drinking a high energy drink like Red Bull to keep me moving, but I remembered having a half a glass of that stuff a long time ago, and the crash I felt after it wore off was terrible. Not to mention how unhealthy that drink really is.

When Ocean Spray launched their new Cranergy energy drink I was really anxious check it out. I mean, we all know cranberries are good for us, especially beneficial in cleansing and purifying the body (I drank cranberry juice throughout my pregnancy, and I still drink it to prevent UTIs), and they contain powerful nutrients called proanthocyanidins (PACs) which research suggests can help prevent certain bacterias from sticking to the body.

The folks at Ocean Spray sent me two samples of their new Cranergy drink and my husband and I happily did a taste test. Doug chose the straight cranberry drink, while I had the cran-raspberry, and after the first sip we were in love.

We drink a lot of cranberry juice in this house (occasionally mixed with Vodka) and we were surprised at how Cranergy doesn't taste like the typical energy drink. It's not too sweet, not too tart, but not at all bland. We even exchanged sips to see how the other flavors tasted.

While I didn't feel an instant surge of energy, or become Super Mom, I did notice that I wasn't as tired by two o'clock in the afternoon. If anything, I felt as though I was drinking something very good for me. The drinks blend cranberry juice with five B-vitamins, vitamin C and green tea extract. One of the great things about Cranergy is that it is sweetened with Splenda, is non-carbonated and contains only 35 calories per 8-ounce serving, which is 50 percent less calories than leading energy drinks on the store shelves today.

This busy mama is definitely putting Cranergy on her grocery list. For more information about Ocean Spray Cranergy, click here.