Kids Cooking Party Theme Ideas

Having a cooking party theme for your child's birthday is really a fun way to introduce some healthy eating and culinary arts to their lives.  Kids seem to be embracing booking more and more thanks to the help of movies like Ratatouille.  Last year, my daughter had a party with that theme.  We had such a great time making little pizzas, cupcakes and other fun projects.


We started out having the kids decorate aprons and chef hats with foam stickers of their names.  This was a nice waiting game until all the guests arrived.  After that, we made little pizzas with dough I had bought from Publix.  I had a long buffet table set up to allow the kids to have a work station on both sides with the toppings in the middle.  Each one had their own rolling pin that I purchased at Michaels.  They were allowed to take those home too.

After the pizzas were done and cooking, the girls began decorating cupcakes with frosting and whatever toppings they wanted.  I bought matching favor boxes that were large enough to allow each child to take their cupcake home as I ordered a custom Ratatouille cake for the big event.

 

 

For her party, I coordinated the invitations, the stamps the apron, the shirt, the buttons and a poster to allow the other kids to sign as a memory item:

Cooking Party Template: Black and White 

Cooking Party Customized Apron

Autograph Customized Cooking Party Poster

Cooking Party Customized Button

Kid's Cooking Party Template

There are other themes to choose from as well.  We had a great time and the other parents thought I was crazy having such a huge mess in my house but it was so worth it!

Kids Cooking Party Invitation Customize

Blue Girls Cooking Party Invitation

Kids Cooking Theme Invitation

Matching Chefs Apron Kids Cooking Class

Don't Forget Zulily Kid's Chinese Cookbook Set w/ Apron Giveaway, Great Sales & Special Savings Code

If you have a kid, you are going to love this Handstand Kid's Chinese Cookbook Set with Apron and placement  from Zulily.  It's a great product and you can read and enter it here with the giveaway ending 5/18.


From now until 5/11, there is also a special savings for my readers at Zulily so don't miss out!


Just use code YOUNG10, you can save $10 off a purchase of $30 or more from 5/4 - 5/11!  That's a great savings considering the prices at Zulily are already amazing!


Current sales right now:

 

Many more great items!

Mamavation Sistahood Follow Along Week 5

This was a good week for me in spite of my husband's deployment to Kuwait on the 29th.  I did really well which was my goal while he was gone.  I know I needed to kick it into gear and with last week's comments from all the wonderful, supportive Sistas, it really did help!


This week was met with healthier eating, less Frankenfoods (as Jillian Michaels terms them) and more exercise.  I removed colas from my diet some time ago and am now working on eliminating Crystal Light.  We also saw a renewed interest in the kids in eating food and I was successful in getting both little girls with eating carrots and corn on the cob.  It's a start!


I am down five pounds this week and it was all by healthy eating and exercising!  I had to make sure I emphasized that as I know BoobieBoo will be reading and watching!  I can't get anything over her but I'm not complaining.


My experiences with the Sistas will pick up as I get situated with his deployment, my job ending in early June thus allowing more time.  I think the premise behind the Sistahood is amazing and so inspiration.  I'm grateful for them and this opportunity!  Thanks to all the Sistas!


This week's goal:


Exercise five days and take the girls on a walk around the neighborhood to help them understand the importance of all us being healthy.


Ensure that we all eat at least one vegetable and a fruit every day.

EXTRA:

Aquahydrate is sponsoring this week's blogging carnival. AquaHydrate, the first high-performance sports water, has a unique combination of ionic minerals and an alkaline pH in an ultra-pure water. When athletes drink AquaHydrate on a regular basis, they notice significant improvements in their focus, sports performance and ability to recover after intense workouts and competition

SISTAHOOD: 


If you are interested in pledging to the Mamavation Sistahood, Monday is the time to do it. Please go here for instructions. Invitations are done on Wednesdays over twitter.


Mamavation TV:


Join BookieBoo this Monday as they welcome our special guest Dr. Renna to Mamavation TV. Dr. Renna is the official physician nutritionist to the Mamavation campaign. She is both a pediatrician and nutritionist and specializes in helping families overcome obesity. They are doing a special Q & A session with her, so bring whatever questions you have. Your questions can pertain to your family, children, or yourself. Don't worry, she knows it all.

WOMENTORZ & Featured Inventors: Ficklets, Breast Chek Kit & Papillon Baby Bath Ring Seat

Starting today, in celebration of Mother's Day, I am going to run a series on WOMENTORZ and the wonderful women inventors that make up the products.

This week is WOMENTORZ itself as it's an innovative concept in helping women realize their dreams.  If you aren't familiar with WOMENTORZ, you need to check them out.

To read more about my featured sellers, click here.

Ficklets, Breast Chek Kit and the Papillon Baby Bath Ring Seat are all featured.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Mother's Day today!

London, Paris, Vienna, Copenhagen & Honolulu Oh My!

This post is for Ros at www.ficklets.com who after finding out more about me suggested I blog about my traveling experience.  My traveling started about 11 year's ago and encompassed some very exciting places.  I had a lot of responsibility in which I was lead in training physicians and nurses in new clinical trials for a pharmaceutical company.  The idea of presenting for the first time in a room of over 100 doctors, nurses and others in London was daunting but the perks were traveling with a really cool group of people and sight seeing.  I grew up in Indiana and never went anywhere.  In fact, I had never flown until I was in my late 20's and we embarked on a trip to Washington, D.C. on the corporate jet which was also equally exciting.

Outside of several domestic trips, I was lucky enough to take my first flight to Copenhagen, Denmark.  It was a remarkable trip that was very memorable.  As an American, we take a lot for granted and don't realize what occurs outside our little world. It would be nice if everyone could experience another country that is non-English speaking at least once.  People there are taxed 50% for governmental programs and when I asked one of my colleagues what he thought about that, he didn't mind.  I would definitely mind!  That was a beautiful experience seeing the lovely land of Copenhagen.


I also visited London and other areas within England several times.  It was the first time I was able to step foot in the country my mom was born.  I fell in love as soon as I saw it! I wear lots of black and at one time, I counted over 20 black skirts and you can imagine the rest of the matching wardrobe!  I fit in perfect!  There is nothing like the hustle and bustle of walking down Downing or seeing London Bridge.  I have to tell you that it is somewhat a let down as it's not spectacular at all.  The real London Bridge was dismantled and is not at Lake Havasu in Arizona so it's only a replacement.  The impressive bridge is London Tower and at night, it's beautiful!


I had a personal trip to Paris compliments of frequent flier miles.  Paris was magnificent and the thing I noticed, hardly anyone speaks English just like I experienced in the other countries that were non-English speaking.  I did the touristy thing and had the escort of a Belgium who spoke both English and French which was a big help.  I saw the Eiffel Tower, eccentric grave sites where celebrities were buried, the Louvre and a castle in the distance.  Again, all equally impressive.  One night, we visited a local bar/restaurant and it was interesting to see a day in the life of a French person.  Everything was pretty normal except the bathroom.  It was a hole in the floor .. that was it!  Another thing in Europe, they tend to put eggs on toast open faced a lot along with lots of cheese (room temperature) and when I was there, ice had to be requested.  I was looked upon as being very strange that I wanted a Coke for breakfast with ice.  


My trip to Vienna was amazing and the flight over was interesting.  We flew an Australian airliner out of Germany and the stewardess' were beautiful!  My male colleagues had a hard time containing themselves over it.  The earlier flight introduced us to non-Americans and they weren't too happy with us.  Everything had fish in it and I am not a fish eater.  It was obvious to me, I wasn't the only one that never left the country.  It was amusing and quite educational seeing the differences.  It was my first experience with a Russian mafia member or at least it's what the bartender told me.  I was at the hotel bar when a very drunk man wouldn't leave me alone.  The bartender, trying to shield me, gave the man flyers with pictures of naked women and numbers.  Prostitution and flyers pinned up in phone booths were pretty routine in many of the countries I visited.  It was all a definitely eye opener for me.  It was in Vienna when a large mass of Sheiks also arrived for some OPEC conference.  The thing about Vienna, there was no Hard Rock Cafe and that was when buying those shirts was the trend.  However, you could buy a shirt that said there was no Hard Rock Cafe there.  The people were so nice and friendly and very few spoke English.


My trip to Spain was scary as it was a solo trip and I stuck out like a sore thumb being blonde.  I was extremely intimidated since I knew no Spanish.  I ventured out once from my hotel, became scared and turned around and stayed in.  I finished my meeting in two days and bumped my flight to return home.  It was there that I forged a great friendship with my very dear friend Elena.  I will always remember Spain and her.


Hawaii...need I say anything!  I visited once and fell in love!  I visited a second time and fell in love with my husband-to-be.  It was the third visit to Hawaii that found me getting married and moving myself and children there.  We married on Sunset Beach almost four year's ago.  Visiting and living in Hawaii aren't much different but Christmas is the hardest part of it if you grew up in cold climates like me.  


It's extremely expensive to live there but the perks are waking up to paradise every day.  When I was pregnant with Dani, the girls and I would walk to the store as it wasn't far.  From our elevation, we saw Pearl Harbor and it never seemed to fail, we would get caught up in a flash rainstorm during the spring.  It was an incredible experience and I'm thankful to the military for giving us that opportunity.


This is for you, Ros!  Some of the places I've seen and I left out a lot!

Saving for the Holidays

Were you thrown off by that title?  It's getting closer to the half way mark to Christmas and no, it's never to early to start planning out how to save and make it the most frugal holiday season ever.  With my renewed goal of saving money this year, I've been planning ever since last Christmas.  This year will be different as hubby is in Kuwait, I will no longer have a job, the house will be on the market to sell and we will be relocating to a new area also called PCS'ing for those in the military.

The ways I save for Christmas are taking advantage of places like MyPoints, MyCokeRewards, Swagbucks and whatever else I can find to make a good deal.  When I shop, I go through MyPoints to earn rewards.  I'm almost at the level where I can cash in my points for a $100 Target card which will come in handy.  MyCokeRewards are slowly adding up and I should have enough for at least a $50 gift card to Nike or somewhere else by the time Christmas rolls around.  The same goes for Swagbucks.  Why not get some free money easy?

Another great way to find gifts which I learned from my readers is to enter giveaways.  I don't do well with winning giveaways but every now and then, I get on a frenzy and will enter some.  I plan to pick up the pace in a couple of months to see what I can win for gifts.

I have won a lot from websites such as TwitterMoms by entering giveaways and contests.  My latest wins are pretty incredible to say the least.  If you have a blog, create one and join sites such as TwitterMoms for all the fun giveaways and contests.

If you haven't signed up to be a member of the WBWord team, you need to.  I just cashed in three checks for $165 for some social media work by Warner Brothers.  Not bad work for that kind of money.

The Affiliate Ad network is another way that some bloggers can make some serious money.  I have not but then I have not immersed myself into the dealings of how to effectively work it.  I'm sure you can make the money but if you see from my blog, I have a ton of ads I provide my sponsors on top of a couple of paid advertisements and some affiliate ads.

Sites that allow your creativity to bud are other examples of making money.  If you can make some fun money while partaking in a hobby, you should.  I have a Zazzle account and have fun creating different items. I started out with political items and moved into business cards and invitations.  I have a variety of products and make nice spare money on the side from it.

Sweet 16 Pink and Black Polka Dot Invitation

If you have some other tips and suggestions, please leave a comment!

Ecomom Summertime Fun with SuperGoop! Sunscreen & Sunscreen Wipes

Summer is nearly here as indicative of our pictures above.  We enjoyed some beautiful sunny Georgia weather today when the girls were able to go outside and play.  One thing my youngest's allergist told me is to allow the girls to get about 15 minutes of sunshine before putting on sunblock.  Both girls are fair skinned so I have to be extremely cautious in not allowing too much sun exposure.   I received a complimentary pack of Supergoop! SPF 30 Sunscreen Swipes and Supergoop! SPF 30 Everyday Lotion to try from Ecomom.

The Supergoop! SPF 30 Sunscreen Swipes are perfect for facial application.  Made with zinc oxide, it provides powerful anti-irritating UV protection.  The green tea helps to reduce irritation and redness while combatting free radical damage to help prevent signs of aging which I need.  Vitamin E softens the skin and also protects against environmental damage.  No matter what age, all skin needs protection.

Supergoop! SPF Everyday Lotion is a sunscreen for day-to-day activities.  It contains the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E and with having an aloe vera base, it helps to calm and sooth sensitive skin.  PABA, oil and alcohol free is important to me as I want to protect my children as much as possible from harmful chemicals and products.  With the new SP3 technology, the lotion won't break down as quickly with sunlight exposure and is water resistent.

Both children tolerated the sunscreen and swipes just fine with no rashes or other signs of irritation.  Both went on easy and didn't leave a horrible greasy feel.  After spending over an hour in the pool, it stayed intact and neither one has a sunburn.

Overall, I really like the Swipes as a way to ensure that I don't get the sunscreen in their eyes while providing maximum protection since I don't have to be extra careful around the eye area.  Both products worked as stated on their sensitive, sunburn prone skin.  I would recommend both SuperGoop! products.

To learn more about Ecomom, click here.

Reisenthel Giveaway at Leslie Loves Vegetables 5/24

Here is another great giveaway at Leslie Loves Vegetables:

reisenthel products are extremely functional and versatile – perfect for everyday!

They use materials that are remarkably robust and durable. The first-class design merges with the product quality into a perfect blend of form and function. Their technical expertise makes sure that the products solve problems instead of causing them. reisenthel products make life just that much more pleasant and enjoyable!

One of the nicer things in everyday life: It works perfectly, brightens up your day, adds a refreshing dash of color, is extremely practical, intelligently designed and well made … it‘s a reisenthel product

I was Blessed to receive a loopshopper L for review! Comes in four beautiful colors and colordots print (adorable for summer!) The loopshooper has padded aluminum rings for comfort when your carrying on your shoulder!


Click here to enter or read more about the giveaway.

Win a CSN Store Cuisinart Griddler Jr at Leslie Loves Vegetables

The generous folks at CSN Stores are going to Bless ONE Leslie Loves Veggies Reader with a Cuisinart Griddler Jr in Brushed Stainless{$74.95 Value} Thanks so much!


This Griddler has a more compact build to fit comfortably on any countertop. It can be used three different ways to prepare a variety of favorites – steaks on the open grill, crisp-grilled sandwiches with the panini press, or burgers cooked to perfection, both sides at once, with the contact grill

FEATURES

• Three cooking options – can be used as a grill, contact grill or panini press (I have wanted a Panini Press for ages!!!)
• Removable non-stick grill plates
• Hinged, floating cover adjust to thickness of food
• Adjustable temperature control with indicator lights
• Cool touch handle
• Drip cup and cleaning tool
• Limited 3-year warranty
• Overall Dimensions: 5"H x 13"W x 12"D

This is super versatile and compact! However :) it's a full size grill! Oh yeah! Ya have three cooking methods

• Grill (open grill for double the space! Cooks veggies, meats, fish, chicken, you name it!)
• Contact Grill (Burgers, chicken steaks... etc)
• Panini Press (Yummy crusty hot grilled sandwiches)

Food cooks evenly because when the grill is closed (panini press or contact grill) the Cuisinart Griddler Jr has specially designed floating hinges that adjust depending on the thickness of the food you are preparing!


To enter, go to Leslie's blog by clicking here.

Adding Special Photo Touches to Gift Wrapped Packages: Martha Stewart & AdorableBabyClothing

Mother's Day is gone in terms of being able to send a gift on time and I already sent our gifts for the three mom's in our lives.  Luckily, Father's Day is approaching and this is a great idea to jazz up the presents for both my father, my father-in-law and my husband.  Since my husband is in Kuwait, he will miss out on the one on one pampering and love the girls would be giving him so thanks to Martha Stewart, we will bring it to Kuwait.

This great project is easy enough and we will have fun taking the special photos to adorn the package.  I think even dressing them up in little camo outfits or his favorite, mini fishermen.  AdorableBabyClothing.com has these cute little outfits:

To make your own Martha Stewart Photo Toppers or see some of the other great projects, just click here.

Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Product Reviews

Current events on product safety have bombarded our world in the recent past to include the recall of numerous baby products.  Product safety is crucial when dealing with items geared towards pregnancy, babies and children.  These three critical stages in life can shape the future of health and well being.  As a parent, I'm concerned about the products I give my children and want only the very best.  The internet has proven a great educational resource on what is healthy and safe and what isn't.  We just spent our lifetime not fully grasping what we ingested and in time, technological advances continued to improve production and quantity but not necessarily quality.  As I move forward on this educational journey on the realities of product manufacturing, I'm appalled at what is included in the very products we use every day.  When I find a business that is dedicated in improving our lives, educating us on the importance of organic and high quality products, I like to spread the word.

Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Products is one of those businesses that are dedicated to providing high quality, organic products for both pregnancy, child birth and beyond.   Earth Mama Angel Baby products claim to offer the purest, zero toxin, all natural, herbal organic baby products.  They don't stop with baby products but also have an array of products for pregnancy.

Earth Mama Angel Baby's again have the claim of all natural, herbal pregnancy products combine ancient medicinal plant wisdom with contemporary science based research to offer safe solutions and comfort through pregnancy nausea, morning sickness, heartburn, hemorrhoids, pregnancy anxiety, swollen feet, stretch marks and more.


Other products include Labor Ease, Postpartum Recovery, Breastfeeding, Baby Loss Comfort and teas.

There are numerous other resources from the site that are invaluable to anyone pregnant.

The Review:

We received the Pregnancy Kit for this review.  The products included Mama-To-Be Tea Sampler, Natural Stretch Oil, Happy Feet.  These Mama's Pregnancy Essentials  eases pregnancy's common discomforts.  USDA certified 100% Organic and Certified Kosher Mama-To-Be Tea Sampler has teas for nausea, heartburn, anxiety and labor ease,

The Natural Stretch Oil helps to deter stretch marks and relieve the itch of expanding bellies, breasts and hips.  This was a nice soothing oil that went on smooth and made the skin soft.  It's too early to know if it's effective and a follow up post will be provided.  The aroma is also pleasant.

The Happy Feet is a blend of organic herbs, salts and organic pure essential oils that help to provide comfort to those poor feet.  It has a pleasant aroma and feels good as it's being absorbed by the skin.

Happy Mama Body Wash is naturally safe for both mom and baby.  It's also ideal for those with sensitivity due to morning sickness.  The fresh ginger smell has been proven in other studies to help with queasiness.  This product is also USDA Certified Made with Organic ingredients.  The olive oil castile soap base provides a soft, smooth after effect.

All products were enjoyed by the reviewer.  The reviewer particularly enjoyed the fragrances associated with each product as it was not overpowering.  The bonus to every product was the USDA Certification which alleviates concerns of false claims.  Earth Mama Angel Baby is a trusted company with great products.

Great Baby Item to Win: Combi USA Cute Car Shaped Baby Jumper

Combi USA Adorable Car Shaped Baby Jumper

Having the cutest yet functional baby gear is important.  To find a product that provides a stimulating experience for your baby that is safe and fun is important.  The nice thing about Combi USA is all of their products have up to date safety information on their website.   With all the recent product recalls, it's important we provide our children with a safe environment and Combi USA helps to ensure parents of that.

The Combi USA line provides baby gear for all your needs starting with feeding products, car seats, travel systems, high chairs, play yards, walkers, jumpers, rockers and accessories.  The customer service experience is also equally impressive.


A Combi USA product can be yours!  Enter to win this great Combi USA adorable car shaped baby jumper!  You have a great shot at winning as entries are low and your baby will love this!  It's high quality, durable, functional and full of great features your baby will love.


Want to win it? Click here.


About Combi USA:

Combi, a shortening of the word "combination", refers to the combination of mother and child. Combi USA, Inc., established in 1989, is a subsidiary of Combi Corporation. Established in 1961, Combi Corporation is a Japan-based company that has carefully cultivated a firm and growing foundation of customer trust. For the past forty years, this trust has driven the brand forward as a leader in the juvenile products industry. Since its inception, Combi has remained true to its core commitment to establish healthy living environments for babies. Today, Combi provides safe, original juvenile products for nearly every setting of a child’s life.

Covergirl Blast: Smoky ShadowBlast and ShineBlast Lip Gloss Review

Make up can be a difficult item to purchase given the broad array of products out there.  The colors aren't always true to their appearances making accurate purchases difficult at times.  I had an opportunity to review both the Smoky ShadowBlast and ShineBlast through my role as a BzzAgent.

  

Containers:

Both products are in easy to carry and handle containers.  The ShineBlast twists off with a feature that ensures just enough of the lip gloss is left on the applicator.  The Shadowblast is a convenient two in one applicator that has pull off tops.  Both products are small and compact allowing for easy transport on those nights away.



Smoky ShadowBlast:

This two in one applicator provides a simple two step way to achieve the smoky look with their smart tool.  The precision tips allows accurate application and the two shades are expertly picked to compliment one another while giving the desired look.  Once you apply, you blend and smudge to perfection.  I thought it was very easy to achieve the desired look.  The Smoky ShadowBlast went on smooth and was not too dark or light.  I liked how they complimented one another.



ShineBlast Lip Gloss:

I found this one to appear to be darker in the container than what it appears on the lips.  I would have preferred the shade to be darker but I did like the level of shimmering effects it left behind.  It had a terrific fragrance too and unlike some lipsticks, it didn't taste horrible.  The ShineSculpt applicator has a contour that hugs the natural shapes of lips to ensure the right level of coverage.

I really liked the CoverGirl products and will definitely purchase them when I run out.

*Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this review.  I received complimentary products for the purpose of this review.

Prepping a House for the Market on a Budget with Wall Decals

Being a military family sounds intriguing for those who have not experienced life as a military family but I have to admit, it has it perks.  Relocating every three years is painful in some aspects such as finding a new place to live, having to get the children used to leaving all their friends and making new ones, worrying about a career and many other aspects not mentioned.  However, moving every three years definitely provides the ultimate spring cleaning exercise as if you do it correctly, you purge and sort.  You get organized and you clean as who wants the embarrassment of the movers seeing dirt.  I'm one of those ones who would clean before the maid arrived if I had a maid.

This is a busy year for us as my husband deployed to Kuwait last week for a year, we will be relocating to a new base, I will have to prep the house to sell in spite of being upside down on our loan and we're going to be grandparents.  Two of the changes we anticipated but losing so much on the house and becoming grandparents were somewhat shocking to us.  Nonetheless, everything has its reason and it will be alright.

As I embark on a first time journey of selling a house on a limited budget as I'm three steps (or I should say three weeks) from being laid off.  My goal is to get the maximum from my investments as we already sunk too much money in a house that should not have turned into a money pit.  My ideas include the wonderful world of wall decals.

My first choice is Dezign with a Z as I had a prior review this delightful company and found their customer service what I expect of a business.  Their selection is outstanding along with their website that helps to create a fun atmosphere.

The first room to tackle is the formal sitting room which is yellow in color and does not require a new coat of paint.  For this post, I will focus on ideas as the room is decorated with a large Japanese wall type shelf unit/cabinet.  It was brought over from Japan by my mother-in-law when they were stationed there many year's ago.

Our large open, high ceiling foyer, living room and entrance to the kitchen will need a new coat of paint.  I will also need to purge and reduce clutter.  One of the important keys to selling your house is to make it open and have the appearance of wide open spaces.  For this area, painting and decluttering is enough.

The kitchen needs desperate help which will not be inexpensive so I'm skipping that area.  So the next step is outside where I'll rely on some inexpensive shrubs and flowers to spruce it up a bit.  It seems the most inexpensive way to tackle the inside will be with wall decals.  Now to decide which ones will look the best.