If there’s one thing I’ll never have enough of as a parent, it’s time. It’s so much more valuable than money. Every night, my kids have somewhere to be and I have such little time to get them there. Finding the right meal to make for dinner is critical.

Fortunately, Three Bridges Pasta is making our lives easier with a variety options that are delicious, affordable and save precious time. As a bonus, their meals are easy to prepare, never frozen and entirely made from the finest natural ingredients. That’s great for a clumsy cook like me who wants to make something for my kids that doesn’t sacrifice quality for convenience.

Three Bridges prioritizes healthy and honest meal solutions, providing protein rich options to stay full longer. With Three Bridges, you can count on antibiotic-free meats and rBST-free cheeses. It’s clean eating made easy. Three Bridges also has gluten free pasta options available.

You can learn more about Three Bridges, including their breakfast Egg Bite options, at threebridges.com.

Thanks to Three Bridges for sponsoring this post.

Happy National Oreo Cookie Day!

I don’t know what Oreo means or how the name was chosen. All I know is I get a craving for an Oreo whenever I hear the word Oreo. So where do I find myself on National Oreo Cookie Day? At the store buying Oreos.

A little research online taught me that Oreos were introduced in 1912 and that Oreo is the best-selling cookie brand in the United States. A little time spent around our pantry taught me that Oreos are one of the first things my kids will sneak out for a yummy snack.

I love Oreo Thins because it’s so easy to eat so many. I eat them whole like potato chips. Regular Oreos, I prefer to eat one half at a time. But however you eat an Oreo, it’s just right.

Celebrate National Oreo Cookie Day the way it was meant to be celebrated – with a delicious Oreo. As a matter of fact, celebrate every day of the year with an Oreo. Treat yo-self. My kids obviously do (whether they have permission or not).

Disclaimer: I wrote this post in partnership with Oreo and Top Agency.

One of the best things about phones today is it’s so easy to shoot video on them. When my daughter was born, I had to lug around a video camera and choose carefully when I wanted to record. But now that I can use my phone, I shoot video everywhere. The only problem is editing all of the clips together into something more than erratic clips. Thankfully, I have Adobe Premiere Elements 2020 to help.

Adobe Premiere Elements 2020 has made it easy for me to go back and edit videos that have been sitting on my phone, like clips of my son playing soccer this year. It’s simple to make video edits, add audio, transitions and text too.

There are so many great features included with Adobe Premiere Elements 2020:

• Highlight memorable moments with beautiful effects, slideshows, and collages powered by the Adobe Sensei AI technology
• Learn quickly with tutorials
• Improve grainy low-light clips with the Reduce Noise effect
• Make time-lapse videos, animate skies in photos and more with the help of Guided Edits
• Bring together and customize the best scenes based on the style of your video with Smart Trim
• Easily make movies in the Quick Edit mode
• Find videos as effortlessly as photos with the Adobe Sensei-powered smart tags and automatic people recognition
• Create bounce-back and animated sky GIFs to simply share on social media
• Upload your creations to YouTube or Vimeo, burn DVD, and send them to your HDTV

Learn more about Adobe Premiere Elements 2020 here – https://bby.me/dgzqa

Thanks to Best Buy for sponsoring this post.

I love when new technology makes life easier, especially when I don’t see it coming. Well, I didn’t see the new Bose Frames coming, but I’m seeing better than ever now. And the future is bright.

Bose Frames is a line of stylish, audio sunglasses that deliver a truly remarkable personal audio experience without anything in or on the ears. Unlike existing open-ear products that use bone conduction, Bose Frames use a custom-designed speaker in conjunction with a series of patented acoustic chambers and ports to steer audio into my ears from the temples of the glasses.

Now, whether I’m watching my kids at the playground, soccer practice or just in the backyard, I have the option to watch them through my great-looking sunglasses while listening to music, podcasts or phone calls with my Bose Frames. They’re also perfect for my own walks through the neighborhood or wherever I go in the sun.

The overall result is unbelievable audio clarity and spaciousness that seems almost impossible given the product’s size. What’s really mind-blowing is how full and rich the audio can sound for the wearer, but how little of that can be heard by anyone else, even if they’re standing next to the wearer.

Choose from three timeless styles enriched with premium accents and materials, like gold-plated hinges. Alto offers a classic angular look with a Larger and Small size fit available, while Rondo is more distinct with rounded lenses and a smaller fit. I have the Alto Small.

The product’s form factor also enables me to remain socially available to others, unlike headphones which send a “I’m listening to music, don’t bother me” message.

You can get The Bose Alto Small sunglasses like mine at best buy here – https://bby.me/3k4la

Here are some more specs about the glasses:

• Built-in microphone – Make and take clear phone calls, access Siri and your Google Assistant with the seamlessly integrated microphone.
• Uniformly tinted – Bose Frames block up to 99% of UVA/UVB rays.
• Shatter- and scratch-resistant lens – Designed to survive life on the go.
• One-button control – Power on and off, accept and reject calls, play and pause music, and access Siri or Google Assistant.
• One app, complete control – The Bose Connect app gives you easy access to everything your product has to offer. Get tips, unlock Bose AR, and personalize your settings so you can spend more time enjoying the music instead of setting it up. Available on iOS and Android.

Thanks to Best Buy for sponsoring this post.

Halloween is one of the best holidays of the year. For all of the talk about tricks, it is almost 100% treats.

Candy is the most popular treat, but the greatest treat for me is spending time with my kids. I love encouraging their imagination when they choose what to be for Halloween. I love walking through the neighborhood trick-or-treating with them. And I love eating their candy when they go to sleep. (Shhh. Don’t tell them.)

This year, my daughter and I did something we’ve never done before. We made homemade costumes. Not only was it fun, it also provided great family time for us. The idea was sparked by a campaign this year by Laffy Taffy that encourages families to get crafty and make costumes with supplies found around the house.

We chose to make spelling bee costumes and all we needed was:

• Yellow Shirt
• Black Pants
• Black Fabric Paint
• Black Marker
• Cardboard
• Yellow Yarn

You can watch how we did it here:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

This year, my daughter and I did something we’ve never done before. #ad We made homemade Halloween costumes. The idea was sparked by a campaign this year by Laffy Taffy that encourages families to get crafty and make costumes with supplies found around the house. . You can also participate in Laffy Taffy’s ‘Spooktacular Family’ Costume Challenge. All you need to do is post a picture or video of your costume on Instagram with the hashtag #HaffToLaff and tag @LaffyTaffy in your post. Laffy Taffy will be judging the best costumes based on originality, humor, aww inspiring and creativity. #hafftolaff #homemadecostume #DIYcostume

A post shared by Chris Cate (@parentnormal) on Oct 28, 2019 at 12:56pm PDT

I don’t know about you, but I think we’ll be getting lots of Laffy Taffy candy this year when we go trick-or-treating!

You can also participate in Laffy Taffy’s ‘Spooktacular Family’ Costume Challenge. All you need to do is post a picture or video of your costume on Instagram with the hashtag #HaffToLaff and tag @LaffyTaffy in your post. Laffy Taffy will be judging the best costumes based on originality, humor, aww inspiring and creativity. You can also submit your DIY costume here.

Thanks to Laffy Taffy for sponsoring this post!