Princess Pre-K Pack

I am pretty excited to share this one with you!! This is my first Pre K printable pack. My daughter is obsessed with everything princess and I wanted to create her something she would love!

I would love some feedback, let me know what you think! Download it for free!

Download my version of Princess Pack for free!

I will first verify that you have joined my blog and then I will approve the download! Let me know of your following method (RSS feed, Google Friend Connect, ect...). You can either email me or send me a notification through google doc sharing.
Don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!

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$50 Paypal Giveaway is here!

 


Do you want to win $50 PayPal credits?

Wherever you are in the world, as long as you have (or you can create) a PayPal account, you can join and get a chance to win $50 PayPal credits from Sheryl of GEORYL (a.k.a Techie She or WAHWM) as she celebrates the birth of her newest blog, Geshery Online!

The “$50 PayPal Giveaway by Geshery” is brought to you by the following sponsors: Stay At Home Wife and Mother, Dens Online, Chika Bits, Travel Pixy, Bloggista Info Corner, Casthle and Nilla Vizion.

Enter this contest via the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please note that Geshery is the main host of this $50 PayPal Giveaway and I am only a co-host. The contest is open worldwide and ends on April 8, 2013. Winner will be notified via email and will be given 48 hours to respond (or another winner will be chosen).

Good luck!

Our Disney Trip 2013: Part 1

These pictures are a little late but I wanted to share our amazing trip with you all!!!

We went at the end of January and the weather was wonderful but slightly cold for swimming(we did anyways!).

Disney Beach Club

The Pirate ship with the slide!

We stayed at the Disney's Beach Club Resort, part of the Vacation Club!! The Villas were very spacious! Our favorite part... The pool!!!

How do they do that... the sandy beach pool? Surprisingly super clean too. Bella could sit there and build sand castles all day! Another thing I loved about the resort was that it was right off the Boardwalk and short walk to Epcot! Yes, we could walk to the back entrance of Epcot, without any lines and start in the World Showcase right by France!! One of the evenings Grandma and Grandpa offered to watch the kiddos and the hubs and I had a date night through World Showcase! We had coffee and chocolate croissants in France!

Animal Kingdom

We started off our first full day at Animal Kingdom! I knew the girls were really going to enjoy this park. We got on the safari ride right as it opened! This is the best time for this ride. I have been on this attraction more times I can count and this was by far the best time!! We got to see all the animals!

I saw this cure garden scape as we left the Festival of the Lion King!

 Bella really got a kick out of the African musicians! She became pretty shy when the guy started smiling at her.

Hollywood Studios and Epcot

We didn't really spend much time at these two parks. By mid day the kiddies were cranky and hungry and all Bella wanted to do was swim. Here are some of the photo ops I remembered to get.

If any of you get a chance, I highly recommend stopping at the Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground!! I've always loved this attraction and it gives the kids a chance to run around and blow off some steam in a giant backyard playground just like the movie!!! Bella really enjoyed this.

Ride along with the giant ant or climb in a "spider web"

Epcot

Bella wasn't too excited about the Sea's with Nemo and Friends ride. I think she was more afraid of the sharks. We sort of had to force convince her that it would be fun.

See her enthusiasm?

 Afterwards was fun... you can read all about it here.

It never stops amazing me at the little things she finds so much joy in. There was a fountain in Epcot, Bella thought it would be fun to just run through it. On a normal day I would have yelled and tried to stop her from soaking her clothes and shoes but today I was a little more carefree. I did manage to convince her to put her swimsuit on, but by that time it was a little too late...

Reminds me of something I have once done... although I wasn't so young:)

Stay tuned for Part 2 with Magic Kingdom and Character greetings!!! Oh there are so many pictures to share!

I cut my grocery bill and my pounds!

found here

This year I have been more health conscious with my food. There are so many articles and stories out there filled with reports and information, about what's bad for you and what is worse. I'm not going to lie, the paranoia is sinking in that the government is set out to poison us!! Maaaaybeeee that's a little dramatic, (or is it?) but why would we knowingly allow these foods... substances to be on the market? Sounds to me like neglect and carelessness for our people, but I'm not going to go into politics today... because once I start I don't stop and it's not pretty:)

This post was actually going to be about weight loss and look where it's taken me....

Anyways.... back on topic. For the past couple weeks we have been really tight on grocery budget. Like $50 a week tight, for a family of four, with a lactose intolerance, and diapers!!! I was worried that this lack of funds would lead to buying crap foods. It was actually the opposite!!!!

Snack foods really give you a lot less for more of your money. I loaded up on bananas and tangerines instead and spent less than I would have on fruit snacks and other kid snacks! We also purchased large bags of frozen vegetables! Frozen veggies can be pretty cheap and you don't have to worry about them going bad!!!

It was hard eating PB and J's everyday for lunch and pasta for dinner but we managed to dress is up a couple nights. You can get pretty creative in desperate times!!

link

The most exciting part of all of this is when I jumped on the scale last night and realized I dropped 4 pounds!!!! Maybe we will continue to shop like this if we are saving money and losing weight! So what I really wanted to talk about was living a sustainable lifestyle but I guess I went off on bragging about weight loss and budgeting. I will have to tell you about my backyard farm dream some other time.

Here is a what our shopping list looked like.... Make sure you do an inventory of what you already have. This helps cut cost and really maximize on what you can make. Sticking to a list helps you stay on budget and I estimated ahead of time the cost.

• Pasta, all sorts.... 3 boxes
• Pasta sauce, 2 jars(we love Classico) Has anyone tried the new creamy spinach one? To die for!
• Applesauce
• 1 head of iceberg lettuce
• 2 lbs of ground pork (sale)
• Tortillas
• Salsa
• 2 loaves of bread
• Jelly (we had peanut butter)
• 4 pounds of Bananas
• Bag of cuties
• Multigrain Cheerios
• 2 boxes of instant oatmeal
• 2 large bags of frozen veggies (carrots and mixed veggies)
• Juice (for the kids)
• Silk soy milk
• 2 dozen eggs

Things that we made

• Tacos
• Meatballs
• Italian Chicken
• lots of pasta
• PB and J's every day
• Oatmeal for breakfast everyday
• Snacked on Fruit
• omelets

BPA in receipts!!!

When I first saw this article in my daily Yahoo news, I was shocked. Then when I Googled it I found that this is not new!!! Where the hell have I been? I'm usually on top of stuff like this!

Did you know that those receipts we receive everyday from the grocery store, drive through... pretty much anywhere, are lined with BPA?!?! Thermal paper is dusted with it. Forget worrying about them in plastic, this stuff comes right off in our hands and we touch everything. I just picture my little baby sticking her fingers in her mouth and swallowing that awful stuff.

Because I'm not a scientist or a doctor (although sometimes I like to think I am), here are some links for some of the articles I did read.

NY Times
CBS News
Discover Magazine
sciencenews.org

For those of you who don't know the dangers of BPA it has been linked to cancer and obesity, just to name a few. I can't stop thinking about how I let my girls go through my purse and all those reciepts they took out. Why do we continue to allow these types of chemicals to be manufactured. Why are there not more strict regulations on chemicals that have been PROVEN to cause cancer and other problems? Does the government just not care about it's people? Do these manufacturers and mass producers laugh at the thought of what these products do?

$50 Paypal Giveaway!

 



Would you like to have more fans or followers for free?


If you're a blogger, sign-up to be a co-host of $50 Paypal Giveaway by Geshery to increase your social media influence. You can even win upto $20 Amazon gift card for yourself if you refer the most number of bloggers and participants to this event!


Sheryl, the blogger behind GEORYL: Welcome to Our World and who is also known in the blogosphere as Techie She and WAHWM, recently launched another website called Geshery Online. To celebrate this milestone in her blogging career, she will be hosting the $50 Paypal Giveaway by Geshery and invites you to join as a co-host of this contest.


Interested? Read more about this free blogger opportunity at Free Blogger Opportunity: $50 PayPal Giveaway by GESHERY.


See you there!

Neverland - Tinkerbell Party and Marshmallow Fondant!

Oh my gosh!!! Did you know that you can melt marshmallow? Did you know that when you mix it with powdered sugar it forms a dough like frosting... similar to how you would kneed pizza dough?!?!? I think I have found the easiest thing yet to decorate my birthday cakes and I am super excited to share with you!

What you need
A bag of mini marshmallows
food coloring or frosting coloring
powdered sugar

This recipe is pretty simple. I took half a bag of the mini marshmallows  sprinkled with some water to coat and tossed. Then I microwaved the bowl for two sets of 45 seconds, stirring in between.

I added a cup of powdered sugar to the mix and then poured in out on a bed of powdered sugar.
This gets messy!!!! 

Note: I recommend adding in the frosting coloring while it's in the liquid stage. I didn't do this the first time and I wasn't fun!

 I'm sorry for some of the blurry photos. the Hubby was on camera duty!!

This is the Tinkerbell Cake that I created from the Wilton Doll pan.

 I created this Pixie Hollow sign from Dollar Tree flowers, foam letters and wreath!! This is now hanging in her room over her bed! I love reusing party decorations!

 The flower pot was also created with materials from the Dollar Tree. I made three of them and placed them through out the party as center pieces!

Party favors include a pirate theme for the boy's (hook, tatoos, lost boys treasure) and a fairy spa theme for the girls (pixie dust, mini nail polish, mini nail kit, fairy rings). Everyone went home with their own Peter Pan story book!

 I had Bella help me with painting the treasure chest!! I found this one at Michael's for $15.

 I really wanted to create a pirate ship carved out of watermelon .. but they are not in season this time of year. So I created this pirate fruit bowl with a sail.

 Bella couldn't wait to try out her new bike.

And after the guests left.... They had to put blocks on the pedals because her legs are too short!!

Giveaway for 50 Facebook likes

Hey Y'all, I am trying to increase my facebook likes!! My friend Denise from Designs by Denise B offered to do a giveaway when I reached my goal of 50 likes!! So for all of you stopping by and you like what you see... Show some love on my page.....

If you don't already know Denise, she creates fabulous Boutique Bows and Jewelry! My daughter has even done some modeling for her... Take a look! Follow her on facebook (handmadedesignsbydeniseb)!

 

So I know you all love giveaways and for any of you with little girls this is perfect!! Show some love!

Coconut Chicken Tenders

Studio Movie Grill Coconut Chicken Tenders

Have any of you heard of the new movie theater Studio Movie Grill? It's a super modern, amazingly CLEAN movie theater that serves food and (alcoholic) beverages. My husband and I have been so many times because we found this amazing deal on groupon for 1 movie and free drink for $6!! This post is not a paid advertisement... I was not compensated for this post... just so you know. I just wanted to share the awesomeness of this place. It's a pretty great date night for the parents who have to fit a dinner and show in a couple hours!

One of my favorite items on the menu (and there are many) are their Coconut Chicken Tenders!!! OMG these things are so crunchy and so delicous! Let's not forget the option of sweet potato fries to go along!

So I tried to recreate this recipe on my own and I have to say... I almost nailed it!
We made these yummy bad boys last week and they hit the spot! I had to make them on two separate occasions to get the egg wash right. Here you go and I hope you all enjoy!

I  like to explain by stations... These are the three stations (in order) that you will have your chicken tenders go through. I bought a bag of frozen chicken tenders and actually cut them in half. This helped get them cook all the way through with out burning the crust. I would recommend completely thawing out the chicken tenders first!

Flour station...
Drop your tenders in a plate of flour. This takes off excess moisture on the chicken tenders and allows the egg wash and crust to stick better.


Egg wash Station.....
1 egg and 1/2 cup milk whisked together.
Dip your floured tenders in the egg wash and fully coat.

Crumb Station....
Dip your coated tenders in the crumb bowl and coat evenly.

50/50 of coconut flakes and panko bread crumbs. I like to chop the coconut flakes into smaller flakes but the choice is yours. I generally use 1 cup of each.
Seasonings.....
1/2 tablespoon Garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Mix all ingredients in the Crumb Station together.


Cook...
There are a couple methods for cooking your chicken tenders. You can bake them in the oven or pan fry them.... I pan fry then for the golden crispy crust. I usually do three tenders in a large fry pan with a nice coat of vegetable oil on the bottom. I turn the heat about half way. It takes about 1 minute per side. Test the first couple you do to make sure they are cooked all the way through. You may need to adjust the heat or oil level.

This recipe comes pretty close to the one I had at studio movie grill!!