Make #EffortlessMeals Tonight with Walmart!

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EffortlessMeals #CollectiveBias

Oh man, you'd think after a month of being "back to school", I'd get the hang of it again, but it's so hard. I feel like I'm always running around. Running from school to home, running out to the store get get whatever we've run out off, running back into the house to get dinner and bedtime done each night. I sometimes worry that I'm not being "enough" of a mom, because I'm so bogged down with errands and schoolwork, there are nights that I barely have time to make dinner, or I'm so exhausted from the day that I do't want to spend the time making a healthy dinner. 

Just last week, I was super stressed over the National Honor Society Induction at my school. As an adviser, I was busy. Every single night I was running out to the store to grab one more thing we didn't realize we needed. On Wednesday, I had to run in to Walmart and grab spoons for the cake we had ordered and figured I would just grab some fast food on the way home. I hate the drive thru but sometimes it's just too easy to say no to!

As I ran into Walmart, I was immediately drawn to the smell of rotisserie chicken and warm pizza. It's amazing how good it smells, especially after a 9 hour work day and another 2 hours of errands. When I saw the sign advertising their amazing price, I decided to forgo the drive thru and grab a rotisserie to make an easy, healthier, dinner.  The pizza also smelled delicious so instead of grabbing a Hot and Fresh pizza, I grabbed one from by the deli to have on Thursday night, since I knew Thursday would be hectic also!

Walmart offers an Effortless Meals option of pizza with a 2 liter of soda and while we're not huge soda drinkers, Emma loves having a special "Red Soda" on occasion. What's Special "Red Soda"? A Shirley Temple!

So we headed down the soda aisle and grabbed Sprite and some maraschino cherries. We went back towards the deli and grabbed the pizza, a fully cooked rotisserie chicken, and a 2 lb tub of coleslaw to go with!

The bright red Effortless Meals signs made it really easy to find the components for dinner! So easy!

Our favorite effortless meal with a rotisserie chicken is just some chicken with some veggies and a side of potatoes or pasta salad, but that night I really wanted something barbeque, so I decided to make our BBQ Chicken Quesadillas that the kids love! They are so easy! A side of coleslaw made it a perfect, effortless meal.

Effortless BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Need: 1 Rotisserie chicken

BBQ sauce

Cheddar cheese

Tortillas (I like wheat!)

1. Remove chicken from the rotisserie and shred with fingers.

2. Place a spoonful of BBQ sauce on the tortilla and spread on one half. 

3. Add 1/2 cup of shredded chicken on top of the bbq sauce.

4. Sprinkle a 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese over the chicken and fold in half.

5. Cook in oven at 350* for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges start to brown.

You can play with the ratios of your quesadillas! I don't like much cheese but you can add more! want more chicken, add it! I like to dip my BBQ Chicken Quesadillas into Ranch dressing but it's up to you!

It might seem strange, but I also love dipping pizza into ranch dressing!
On Thursday, I made Walmart's super easy, super delicious cheese pizza for dinner.  I paired it with some raw veggies and a cup of ranch dressing, of course, and the kids loved it!

I don't cut my pizza the normal way either... we make pizza dippers! So much easier for the kids to hold!

Two, simple, effortless, delicious dinners that were easy to make with only 1 trip to the store! With our busy back to school schedules, I know I'll be making both meals more often!
There are so many more ideas on their website, which do think you'll try first?

Go! Go! Smart Animals Grow and Learn Farm Review and Giveaway

Disclaimer: these toys were provided for review purposes but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

There are very few companies where I love every single product that they put out, but VTech has accomplished that feat.  I was lucky enough to see some of the really cool toys coming out for the holiday season at Blogger Bash, and I am thrilled!  With two kids, three years apart of opposite genders, it is so easy to get caught up in all the different toys. VTech makes my life so much easier by creating toys that spread across the age gap and are enjoyable for both my son and my daughter! Rather than buying them each a toy that only they like, I can get away with buying them each a toy that they like, but that the other likes too! It's like a two for one!

Last year, we had the chance to play with the new Go! Go! Smart Animals right when they came out and we've quickly accumulated a lot more!

We were thrilled when VTech asked us if we wanted to check out the new Go! Go! Smart Animals Grow & Learn Farm.

We love it and it fits seamlessly in with our other pieces! 

The Go! Go! Smart sets can be connected together for hours of play and I love that both kids want to play with it! Designed for 1-5 year olds means that one toy can, and will, keep both kids happy!

The Go! Go! Smart Animal Grown and Learn Farm has 7 Smart Points and the rooster plays music, sings songs, and says phrases, while the colorful barn introduces the 1 year old to colors and shapes, while it helps the 4 year old with her alphabet! While Tyler loves pushing the (included) rooster in the swing, the cutest part of the set is the growing garden!

It's Emmalee's favorite part. She "waters" the plants by pushing the watering can and they slowly grow!  We've already been looking at other pieces we can add to the set this holiday season, including the stable and the wagon.  I just know that on Christmas morning, there will be VTech Go! Go! Smart Animals and play sets everywhere!

VTech Toys wants to give you a jump start on your holiday shopping with a chance to win a set yourself! Enter below. Only open to US residents.

Entry-Form

Afterwards, be sure to check out the other great toys that VTech has on their site, like the Spinning Lights Learning Hippo, Ultimate Alphabet Train, Write and Learn Creative Center, or the Spin and Learn Ball Tower!

Providence Children's Museum

Summer is officially over but that doesn't mean the fun has to be over! We obviously won't have as many opportunities to be outside; the beach and splash pad are done for the year but we're always looking for indoor activities that will bring us through the winter!

We love The Cape Cod Children's Museum but figured we could try out another so we grabbed some library passes and headed off to the Providence Children's Museum!

The museum is only a short 20-30 minute drive away and is perfect for an afternoon.
There are many exhibits, including Magna-tiles, wooden blocks, complete with hard hats, a Space area, historical "rooms" that show the developmental time periods of Providence, and a boat that they can pretend to steer!

We have three favorite areas.
The first is the under 4 room call Littlewoods.
It's a gated area designed just for smaller kids.  There are marble ramps, a "cave" tunnel, and a "tree", complete with slide!
And that sign... love.

We also love the water area! We saved this for last because I had a feeling they would get soaked. The aprons are great but sure enough....

We had so much fun!

Hours
April - Labor Day
Open daily, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and select Friday evenings until 8:00 PM.

September - March
Open Tuesday - Sunday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Open select Friday evenings until 8:00 PM.
Closed Mondays except holidays and public school vacations.
Closed Thanksgiving Day and December 24 & 25.

And be sure to check out the local library-- we saved money on admission with a FREE discounted library pass!