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My second son Silar is my little aspiring chef. For his birthday last year I let him pick 8 recipes, since he was turning 8, and I would teach him how to make them. For him this was his 8th and final recipe and he did it almost all by himself! With Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice, it was easy for him to put this dish together for the whole family. 

Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice is ready in 90 seconds, all you have to do is microwave it. I decided I would teach him how to make Burrito Bowls with cilantro rice. Not only are they easy to make but they are a bowl full of clean eating goodness.

How yummy does this cilantro rice look? It’s so good, trust me!

This little darling makes my heart so happy that he loves to cook so much. If you kids love to cook, you need to check out the Ben’s Beginners contest. UNCLE BEN’S® BEN’S BEGINNERS™ Cooking Contest – now in its sixth year – has teamed up with Tiffani Thiessen, mom, actress, cook and lifestyle expert to get more families in the kitchen together. As the host of Cooking Channel’s “Dinner at Tiffani’s”, I definately want to be invited over to her house for dinner! Can that be one of the prizes?!

Through October 9th, parents with kids in Kindergarten through eighth grade can submit a photo of their family preparing a rice-based dish together using #BensBeginners to enter to win one of five Grand Prize packages, which includes $15,000 cash, a $30,000 cafeteria makeover for their child’s school and a hometown celebration. How amazing are those prizes?! 

Nothing like a little spatula fighting while dinner is cooking!

Here we are about to enjoy the finished product. 

And if you need more lime in your life, and who doesn’t, you can top this dish with some sliced limes.

If you need inspiration or some recipes, go to Uncle Ben’s online hub for more info!

With 4 kids it’s hard to be as adventurous as I used to but since we moved to Colorado, adventure is right in our backyard. This is a fall leaf looker guide to see the leaves change on a family friendly trek through Guanella Pass to Georgetown and Idaho Springs. 

Start:

Start on Hwy 285 and pass through Conifer and Bailey. Once you get to Grant, CO, turn on North, (right) on Guanella Pass. There is a little food stand where you turn as well as a campground. Guanella Pass is 22 miles and takes about an hour to drive.  But trust me, you will want to stop a lot! 

There are plenty of places to stop and all are clearly marked so it’s easy to find a place to pull over to take pictures.

You do not want to miss the Summit. You will pass a large lake and climb in elevation. You will notice the trees start to thin out and you will reach the Summit. There is a bathroom at the top if anyone needs it. 

The clouds were very thick for us but the view was incredible. 

Georgetown:

Georgetown is the first town you will come to and if you have kids you have to stop at the wooden playground. Anytime we travel on I-70 to the mountains, we try to make a stop at Foster’s Place playground. It’s at 10th Street, City Park, Georgetown, CO 80444. The town is not that big so it’s easy to find and right in the middle of town. If you have a lot of extra time, take a ride on the Georgetown loop railroad!

Idaho Springs: 

There are plenty of places to eat in Georgetown but if you want some seriously good pizza, drive 20 minutes down the road to Idaho Springs to Beau Jo’s Pizza. It’s located at 1517 Miner St, Idaho Springs, CO 80452. 

Order a mountain pie. It comes with a ginormous crust so when your done with the cheesy part of the pizza, you eat the crust with a little honey. Heaven!

Idaho Springs is only about 30 minutes from Denver. Hope you enjoy the leaves changing!

*I was given a gift card for this review, all opinions are my own.

My husband was out of town last week and I find the best way to get through the single parent status is to fill the days! One night we headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings to try out some of their limited time offers items on their menu. Here is what they are offering:

LTO Menu Items at Buffalo Wild Wings

1. Thirty-Fifth Weck Sandwich: You might recall that Buffalo Wild Wings was originally named Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, honoring one of the menu’s staple items – the Weck sandwich. In honor of its heritage, B-Dubs is bringing the Weck back with a twist. The Thirty-Fifth Weck Sandwich features a combination of tender sirloin, creamy au jus and dill pickles between a kosher-salt and caraway-seeded bun that’s begging to be dipped.

2. BBQ Mango Mashup: In a true student-turned-master story, this new LTO sauce was invented by a B-Dubs intern, and brings together three signature sauces into one: Sweet BBQ, Honey BBQ and Mango Habanero. The result is a strong sweet opening that builds into a gentle heat for a unique flavor experience that will have you licking your wing boat. In terms of heat level, it falls between Hot and Mango Habanero.

3. Blue Moon BBQ: If the fans want it, the fans get it. Earlier this year, fans voted with their taste buds (and keyboards) to bring back the Blue Moon BBQ sauce (originally available in ‘15). Made with Blue Moon and supplemented with the beer’s signature flavors of Valencia orange peel and coriander, this power player infuses BBQ with unexpected citrus and floral notes. And, for every bottle that Buffalo Wild Wings sells in its restaurants, they’ll donate $1 to their Team Up for Kids philanthropy program in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Isn’t this the epitome of taking kids to a restaurant? He was actually having so much fun he couldn’t contain himself. We got rid of cable TV a few months back so all the TV’s in Buffalo Wild Wings were like Disneyland to my kids. My older boys miss watching football and we made it in just in time to watch Monday Night Football.

They were out of the Mango wings (must mean they are popular) so we opted for the Blue Moon wings. One of my sons is a wing fanatic so we gobbled them down. They are perfect because they are not to spicy where we both enjoyed them.

Keep in mind these options are available until Oct. 29th so get in a try them!

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

The Rug Doctor Pro-Deep is my new best friend. Seriously, I want to hang out with it on a weekly basis. Over the summer my 4 kids and 2 dogs destroyed my carpet. We already needed new carpet because when we moved in 2 years ago the owners put in white carpet. White carpet with any amount of kids does not go over well. 

And guess what Denver friends? We are one of the first markets to try out the brand new Rug Doctors! When I say brand new, I mean I was the absolute first person to check out and use the Rug Doctor that I rented today. The new systems are available around Denver and I rented mine at the King Soopers in Wheat Ridge, at 3400 Youngfield St. I have to give a shout out to Chavonne who helped me renting my Rug Doctor. She explained how they just received these new machines in. She was very knowledgable and helpful on which one I should choose. There were two to choose from. The Pro-Deep is something you would want to rent if you were doing multiple carpeted rooms. upholstery, area rugs and other soft surfaces. The other option is the Pro-Portable Spot and Detailer System. It is light and portable and easy to use. You would want to rent this one if you were detailing your car or using it for a smaller space as it has power on the go.

I went for the Pro-Deep because as you can see in the pictures below, I was in need of some deep cleaning. Our carpet was so gross we even got 2 estimates for new carpet. I have debated on pulling up the carpet and installing wood floor or hiring a professional carpet cleaner.  We have thought of everything to try. But all those options were expensive!

We plan to replace the carpet one day.  For now, we decided on cleaning the carpet. Take this into account…hiring a professional carpet cleaner on average costs $250 per visit. Renting a Rug Doctor Pro-Deep and buying the cleaning that goes with it is around $55. Plus, depending on the area I had done, I got all 3 of our rooms cleaned in 1 1/2 hours. The last time we had a professional clean our carpets, it took 3 hours. 

Talk about saving money, you can use this coupon to save some money off your next rental!

They also have different Pro formula solutions. I chose the Pet solution since my dogs did most of the damage to our carpets.

Room 1:

This is the look of guilt. This dog is probably 95% responsible for how my carpets look. Thank goodness he is cute.

This room isn’t used very much but this carpet had stains from the previous owner. The Rug Doctor made quick work and removed the stains with ease.

So here is our results from room 2:

This was my 2 youngest kids’ rooms. Now before you yell at me for having such dirty carpets in my kids room, I actually deep cleaned them a few months back. I even try to spot clean every week when I notice a new stain but nothing seemed to help. I said a prayer for this Rug Doctor before starting to clean this room because it had its job cut our for it. I knew the Rug Doctor would clean the carpet and at least get up all the pet debris but I COULD NOT BELIEVE how it removed all the stains. 

I wonder how long is it socially acceptable for my kids to not walk on this carpet? I want to keep it looking this good 😉

Room 3:

This next room was a lost cause. This is my kids’ closet room. They don’t have their own closet because we are fancy. The reason why is we have this weird extra room upstairs that isn’t big enough for a bedroom. One day I realized this would be a perfect closet for the kids’ clothes. They barely spend any time in this room, so it’s amazing how gross the carpet had gotten. My dogs seem to think this room is their personal toilet. 

I had low hopes that all the stains would come up, but after seeing the previous rooms results, I was cautiously optimistic. The white streaks are just where I ran the Rug Doctor and will disappear. But can you believe the difference?! My husband is going to think I got new carpet!

So now you know why The Rug Doctor and I are best friends. Deep cleaning our carpets is a job I like to do while the kids are in school. Now I am going to share my Top 5 Things to deep clean while the kids are in school!

1. Carpets: Now you know how easy it is to clean your carpets with The Rug Doctor so quit making excuses and rent one asap.
2. The carpet in your car: I kept wondering if there is a company what would re-carpet my suburban because it looks as bad as my house carpets did. Now I can rent a Pro-Portable Spot and Detailer System to clean my car. 
3. Bathroom: You would think I lived in a locker room with the state of my bathrooms. The last disaster to hit my kids bathrooms was them deciding to wash our dog in their tub.  Now it is covered in dirt that has clogged up the drain. Is there a bathroom doctor I can rent?!
4. Furniture in living room: This room is where we spend all our time and it’s wear our friends hang out when they come over. You can’t imagine how much cereal can be stuffed into the creases of the couch. Thank goodness there is a Rug Doctor for that!
5. Yourself: This for you hard-working mommas who are too tired, broke, or too distracted to take care of yourself. Get a pedicure every once in a while, take a sauna and deep clean from the inside out, get a deep tissue massage or just hang out with your girlfriends over dinner. One tip to be able to do things for yourself is sell some things you don’t need. I am in a few local Facebook groups and when I find something I don’t need, like our stroller, I sold it in one of my groups and made $65! That paid for a pedicure for myself and my little girl and it was totally worth it. 

If you are in Denver you can either call your local store that rents Rug Doctors (Walmart, King Soopers or Safeway) and ask if they have the new systems.  Or you can email me or comment below. I will be happy to tell you which exact stores have them now.

 We had a girls’ night last weekend in Denver and ate at Senor Bear. It is some of the BEST food I have had in Denver. The fundido is incredible, the grouper and salmon are worth going back again. It’s amazing, you should try it. My last child had his 4th birthday party this past weekend. I feel like my kids are all getting older and might not want theme parties soon so he had a dinosaur party and I went all out. I found tons of dinosaur decorations including this sign!

 I can’t believe this is the view from my kids school. Amazing! 

 And my youngest started playing soccer and it’s the cutest thing I have ever seen. He is so proud of himself. 

And last but not least, our goldendoodle loves us so much he will force his way into my lap even when I am working.