My Children and I are going to Participate in the Valentine's for Vet's Program this year and we encourage everyone to help participate! A special message of love from our children can help touch a soldier's heart that helped to protect us and defend our freedom!
Please address your envelope as "Valentine's for Veterans" and send it to your nearest Veterans Affair Medical Center. You can call 1-800-827-1000 or click here for the address of your nearest facility!! http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp?isFlash=1
Thank you for your support!
We would appreciate it if everyone could post a link to this blog to help spread the word!!
We are so excited to announce the winners of our PeachBlock Giveaway!!
Thank you Jamie at PeachBlock for donating all your wonderful items to our readers!
Thank you to everyone who entered and for all your wonderful comments that you gave PeachBlock! Please keep their store in mind when you need to purchase a gift for someone special!!
Our most popular entries were for the Fruitsy Heart Necklace, Candy Apple Necklace & Cupcake Cellphone charm!!
The Winners are:
Strawberry Waffle Hair Pin: Allison ~ (no email address & blocked blogger profile~ You have three days to claim your prize and then it will go to Mommyhood is Thankless if not claimed by Allison) Child Rainbow Bracelet: Michelle Candy Apple Necklace: Mom2boys Red and Pink Cake Ring: Chloe Ice cream scoop ring: Juicboxmom Fruitsy Heart necklace: Bunny B. Cupcake Cellphone charm: Rasberryswirlgirl Pair of Chocolate Hair Clips: Jennifer
Here is Ella's Congratulations & Thank you message!!
Yes, I have sewn lots of things before. I made all of Ella's crib bedding and I always sew baby blankets for gifts. I have never before sewn a dress for my little princess! I was so proud of my recent accomplishment that I could not wait to share the pictures with you!
She was invited to a birthday party at the American Girl store in LA. We have been wanting to go there for such a long time and I wanted it to be such a special experience that she would never forget! I decided that it would be more special to her if I made her dress, rather than purchasing one! We had such a fun time last week sewing it! Ella picked out the pattern and all the fabric.....pink....pink...pink!!She sat next to me almost the entire time it took me to make it! The end result was the happiest little girl!!
Hi Wonderful Glitterful Blog Readers! I got an email from a Mom looking for some advice from our readers! If you could please post any advice for her in the comments below it would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!
Hi Super BigMac Mom, I know you are a busy mother of three but I was wondering if can you post on your blog a request for any advice on toothpaste. My little guy hates toothpaste. He gags with the mint (whether its' bubble mint, fruit mint, anything). The only toothpaste that I found that he will tolerate is the grape toothpaste from Oral B however, it is so hard to find (In fact if I find it i will buy a case load).Do you have any suggestions for a fluoride toothpaste that taste great but not minty ? Thank you, Mommy in need of good toothpaste
Glitterful Felt Stories creates wonderful handmade Felt Board Stories! These stories are high quality Felt Story pieces that can be used to help make story time interactive for your children while reading their favorite stories and songs!
They can help create a passion and a lifelong love for reading!!
Felt Board Stories have been being used for over a century to help teach children! You can use these with your children at bedtime, story time or while on the go! It is our passion to encourage every child to develop a love for reading with our Glitterful Felt Board Stories!!
Mom Most Traveled is having an Adoption Celebration! Since we have two wonderful adoptive children we were so excited to donate some felt story products to this wonderful event!
Please visit Mom Most Traveled Blog and enter to win our products!! A 11x14 flannel board and one felt board story!! Her giveaway will run from January 24th - February 4th http://mommosttraveled.com/glitterful-felt-stories-giveaway/ While you are there you can read about our wonderful adoption story of our sweet love Ella! http://mommosttraveled.com/domestic-open-adoption/ Ps. We will also be hosting a giveaway on this blog in two days!! Come back on the 26th!!
This is my favorite London Broil marinade recipe!! I make this at least once a week and the meat has such a wonderful flavor! I always use my left overs to make steak sandwiches the following night! Marinated London Broil Recipe Ingredients: 2 medium shallots, minced 1 Tbl. thyme 3 Tbl. brown sugar 1/4 cup soy sauce 3 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbl. Balsamic vinegar 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 lbs. London Broil Combine all the ingredients into a freezer Ziploc bag and mix. Then add the steaks. In a Pyrex (just in case the marinade leaks) refrigerate overnight. The next night grill your London Broil and slice thin!! Enjoy!!
My kids had so much fun watching the Inauguration this morning! When Obama came out Tyler said, "WoW!" They have been cheering and chanting for Obama all day!! It was great to see a two and four year old excited about this amazing day in history!!
They dropped all their toys and watched the whole time! They cheered and clapped!
You can see Ella's excitement!!
Ella of course had to have her picture taken with Obama!!
(My follow-up to my earlier blog....scroll down to read)
I had such a great day!! I was able to watch the Inauguration with my two kids and was amazingly inspired!! When it was done I was off with my dear friend Karen (who I adore) to our local department store to get our free make-up!!
We had no idea what to expect...only knowing that we qualified for free make-up! We ended up having the best time together! It seemed like every women from Orange County was at the department stores collecting their free make-up! We had such a great time laughing and talking with all the great women that were in line! The lines were long, but we enjoyed the wait! Macy's was so wonderful that they provided all us women with free drinks that while we waited in line!! It was a major since of "girl power"!
The best part is my new free large bottle of Coco Chanel Body creme that I got!! I love it!!
After we were done we treated the kids to a trip to our favorite lunch spot....Chuck E. Cheese!!
Hope you were all able to take advantage of the free make-up offer!!
Remember it may still be available at your local department store....it is until all items are gone!
We were honored to be asked to write about our adoption experience! Adoption is something that has changed the life of everyone in our family.....and the most amazing experience we will have in our lifetime!
You can see us blogging our wonderful story of Ella's adoption on Mom's Most Traveled Adoption Celebration!!
I am sure there are going to be some long lines at your local department store, but if you are like me....I have spent tons of money at these places on these cosmetics! I cannot wait to get my free products!!
Go to the link below for details!!
Due to a class action lawsuit accusing the stores of conspiring to fix prices because the makeup and perfumes never went on sale. As part of the settlement, retailers are being required to give away $175 million worth of merchandise!!
You are allowed to choose one item from a list of 19 items.
Some of the brands are Lancome, Clinique, L'Oreal and Chanel. You can get your free items at Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Target on January 20th. (This offer is only while supplies last!)
Here are two fun songs to honor Martin Luther King Jr. along with your children.....and a super fun art project!
I am going to be singing these songs with my children and doing this art project on Monday!! Have a wonderful day celebrating with your children!!
Dr. King Had a Dream (Sing to the tune of Bingo)
Dr. King had a dream for p-e-a-c-e p-e-a-c-e He wanted people to be friends and live in harmony. *-e-a-c-e He had lots of love to share. *-*-a-c-e He spread kindness everywhere! *-*-*-c-e He wanted us to love one another *-*-*-*-e Dr. King had a dream for p-e-a-c-e!
Martin Luther King Had A Dream (Sing to He's Got the Whole World in his hands)
Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream He had the whole world in his dream. He had (child's name) and (child's name) in his dream. He had (child's name) and (child's name) in his dream. He had (child's name) and (child's name) in his dream He had me and you, in his dream He had me and you, in his dream He had me and you, in his dream He had the whole world in his dream.
I have a dream Painting Project
Supplies: Blue Paper White Paint Sponges Black marker
Directions: Let your children sponge paint on the blue paper some clouds. Then ask your child what is their dream for their future! When the paint dries you can write their dream on their cloud!!
Here is some information for all my local readers that might be interested in this fun activity!!
On Saturday, January 24, 2009, UC Irvine Athletics will hold a free health and fitness expo for girls in celebration of the national initiative, Girls and Women in Sports Day. This event will feature instructional clinics in soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, golf, cheer, and track taught by UC Irvine's student-athletes. The day will also include a health expo with vendors from the Orange County community promoting health and wellness.
After the clinics and expo, registrants will be treated to free admission as the UC Irvine women's basketball team takes on Cal State Northridge in the Bren Events Center. The clinics will run from 11:00pm-3:30pm, and the basketball game starts at 4:00pm. Registration for this event is free of charge and open to girls ages 8 through 12.
Since its inception in 1987, National Girls and Women in Sports Day has sought to celebrate the achievements and legacy of women athletes while encouraging participation of girls and women in sports. UC Irvine Athletics continues its dedication to be a positive force within the Orange County community in helping girls and women experience sport and fitness activities. Our goal for this event is to help foster a love for sports in young girls that will last them a lifetime.
Space for this event is limited to the first 200 registrants. Online registration can be completed at the UCI Athletics Camps website, found at www.athletics.uci.edu/ccp. All clinic and expo activities will take place at the Crawford Hall Athletics Complex. For more information, please contact Edie Gobel at 949-824-7587.
Well...this was an important date that I wanted to blog early about....so you can save the date on your calendar!!
Tuesday, February 24th is National Pancake Day!!
Ihop restaurants throughout the United States will invite guests to enjoy a free short stack of Ihop's signature buttermilk pancakes from 7am-10pm.
In return, Ihop guests are asked to donate what they would of spent on the free pancakes, or more, to their local children's hospital. To learn more then please go to http://www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/ Their goal in 2009 is to raise $1 million.
Girl Scout cookie's disappear fast so don't miss out!! Preorder your yummy favorite Girl Scout cookies today. If you don't know of a local Girl Scout then here is the information to order!
I wanted to share this great recipe with everyone!! You can make your own crayons into really fun shapes!! You will need to purchase a muffin tin with the shape of the crayons you want to make. They have star shapes, flower shapes, etc. Your local craft store is a great place to purchase one!
This is a great idea for birthday party favors!! For my daughter's birthday I am going to make the rainbow crayons, put them into a clear bag and tie them with a bow!! They should make fun education party favors!! I will post some pictures next month when I make them!!
Makes : 6 crayons Ingredients: About 3 cups of peeled crayon stubs in a variety of colors Other things you'll need: Fun shaped Muffin Tin Oven Directions:
Place peeled crayon stubs in the muffin tin, filling to 1/2 inch from the top of each muffin mold.
Put muffin tin in 250 degree oven
Turn off heat when crayons have melted, but do not remove tin!
Allow oven to cool completely before removing crayons
Tap bottom of tin to make the crayons pop out.
Tips:
To maintain the rainbow effect, do not move the muffin tray until crayons have cooled completely. If colors mix while hot they become one muddy color instead.
Use good-quality crayons for the best results~ sorry Roseart~ but Crayola works best
Our weather has been amazing here in the OC this week! We have been having temperatures in the 80's all week! Since we live five minutes from the beach we had to go enjoy this wonderful weather!! We have a beautiful park that is situated right on the sand!
We also made a stop with the famous Laguna Beach Bird Man!!
The water was so clear and for the first time in forever we could see Catalina Island!!
Here are some fun pictures of Ella and Tyler playing in the water!!
Enjoy!!
My favorite picture of the day!
Ella and the Birds, he will pose the birds in many ways creating wonderful pictures!!
If you come to Laguna Beach....you must visit our famous "Bird Man".
I love coupons and I hate for them to go to waist!! Although my children love Build-a-Bear, the last thing we need is another stuffed animal in our house!!
So, I have one $5.00 Build-a-Bear coupon that is good towards any animal priced $10.00 or more! This coupon is free.....and first come first serve!!
Be the first to blog in the comment below and it is yours!!
Yummy!! Here is another wonderful Salmon recipe for you to try!! We made it last night and it was fantastic!!
Baked Salmon with Capers
Yield: 4 servings 4 6oz pieces of skinned salmon 1 Tbl. fresh rosemary leaves chopped 1 Tbl. chives, chopped fine 1 Tbl. garlic, mined fine 1 Tbl. lemon zest 3 Tbl. fresh lemon juice 2 Tbl. butter 1 Tea. trocomare Combine the herbs and spices. Cover salmon well, then marinate 2-3 hours. Heat Butter Sear fish on both sides for 2 minutes Bake 3-5 minutes at 385 degrees Sauce: 1/4 cup orange juice 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 Tbl. dulce flakes 1 Tbl. raw honey 4 oz. extra-virgin olive oil 2 oz. pickled ginger 1 Tbl. capers Blend all ingredients until smooth. Lower blender speed. Slowly pour oil blend until completely combined. Sauce hot fish, and sprinkle with lemon zest!! Enjoy!!
With a little touch of fate I met a wonderful artist and store owner named Jamie. She has a very popular online store called PeachBlock! She creates beautiful pieces of art out of clay and turns them into beautiful jewelry, hair pieces, and charms.
My daughter Ella has a love for jewelry, so I purchased a cupcake charm bracelet and necklace for her. We were both in shock when we opened the package to reveal the prettiest jewelry we have ever purchased!! Jamie made them custom to perfectly fit her wrist and neck. She even included mini cupcake charms for her necklace in different colors for Ella to change them with her attire!
Since Ella got these pieces....she has not gone a day without wearing them! She loves them and keeps begging me to buy her more!
When you hold her jewelry in your hand you will be amazed at the amount of detail, time and love that goes into each piece! She is an amazing artist!
We would highly recommend Peachblock to all our readers! They would make wonderful gifts for children's birthday parties, and office co-worker, a Mother or a special friend!
They make wonderful gifts that every girl would love!!
PeachBlock has so generously donated many of their wonderful items for a giveaway!!
My family just finished up a super fun three day trip to Las Vegas! My husband is a very busy businessman and can only usually take small trips to avoid missing work. Las Vegas is one of our funnest little quick getaways that our family likes to take!
This was our first time going to Las Vegas in the winter. We usually go in the summer and spend the entire time at the pool. Coming in the winter allowed us to see all the fun things to do with kids in Vegas!!
We stayed at the Wynn hotel's new tower The Encore! It is a beautiful new hotel that does not seem kid friendly...but they were fantastic at accommodating our kids! They brought special kids baskets up for them with toys and amenities.
Ok, so....here are all the fun things that we did with our kids in Vegas!
They have built a new monorail (similar to the one at Disneyland) that goes to both sides of the strip. Our kids loved it! We took so many trips back and forth on it. It saved our feet from walking and the kids had fun doing it!
We went into the MGM Grand and they have a wonderful Tiger exhibit. You can walk through tunnels with sleeping tiger's right over your head!! They do a presentation for the children where they talk about the tiger's....very educational!!
The M&M factory!! A big hit with my kids!! They ran through the four flights of the factory amazed by all the M&M creations. We got to see how they are made and watch a free 3-D movie!
They have tons of video game places. Good and Bad. Good-the kids have fun. Bad-super expensive! We went to circus circus and I could not get out there fast enough!! So, we went over to the Gameworks....which was much better!!
They have a fantastic shark aquarium exhibit at Mandalay Bay that my children loved!! A must see!!
At Paris hotel we took an elevator to the top of their Eiffel tower! It was a beautiful sight to see and the kids stayed up at the top for over an hour looking at everything below!
Of course there are lots of shows outside the hotels....Volcano at the Mirage, Pirate Show at the Treasure Island and the water show at the Bellagio. They are all wonderful and fun to watch!
The highlight of our trip was going to the Hoover Dam! It was the most amazing sight to see! The kids spent hours looking at all their educational exhibits and they learned so much about history. A must for your kids!!
I have added some of my favorite pictures to share with you!
Please share your favorite kid friendly activities in Vegas in the comments below!
The Wynn Buffet had food for everyone...super yummy....and filled with kids!My three little kiddos super excited to be at Hoover Dam!One of our favorite fountains at the Paris Hotel
My Family!
My daughter Ella at the M&M factory....her favorite!
A super cool picture from our Hotel window!
My childhood favorite....that we found was back on our way there!
Here are some fun songs and finerplays to sing to your class when they come back to school on Monday. My kids and I have been having soo much fun singing these since the 1st!! Enjoy!! A New Year Calendar Song Tune: "She'll be coming round the mountain" There's a new year on our calendar today (2009) There's a new years on our calendar today. (2009) There's a new year on our calendar, A year to grow and learn much more. There's a new year on our calendar today.
Happy New Year Tune: "Are You Sleeping?" Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Good-bye to the old year! Hello to the new year! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Cheer the New Year Tune:"Row, row, row your boat"
Cheer, cheer, cheer the year, A new one's just begun. Celebrate with all your friends, Let's go have some fun! Clap, clap, clap your hands, A brand new year is here. Learning, laughing, singing, clapping, Through another year.
With the New Year here.....one of the most common resolutions is to diet and eat better. I recently got this recipe and made it for my family last night!! It was delicious and only 210 calories!!
Since My husband loves to go to Alaska to fish quite frequently.....we always have a huge freezer full of fresh fish. I am always in search of new fish recipes that the whole family will enjoy!!
Salmon with Cucumber Mango Salsa
Salsa
6 Tbl. fresh lime juice
2 Tbl. honey
4 Cups 1/4 inch cubes whole or sliced mangoes
3 Cups 1/4 inch unpeeled hothouse cucumber cubes
1 1/3 cups minced red onion
2 Tbl. minced and seeded green jalapeno pepper (I left out for the kids)
Salt
Salmon
1 tea. ground cumin
1/2 tea. salt, plus more to taste
Pinch of cayenne (again I left this out for the kids)
8 4 oz. salmon fillets, skin and bones removed
Olive Oil spray
Black pepper (Optional)
To prepare the salsa, whisk lime juice and honey in a medium resealable container until well combined. Add mango, cucumber, onion and Jalapeno, and stir until well blended. Seal the container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld. Season with salt to taster. Serve cold or at room temperature.
To prepare the salmon, mix cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch of cayenne in a small bowl. Lightly mist both sides of salmon fillets with olive oil spray. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over both sides.
Place a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the fillets until the outsides are just lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Then lower the heat to medium and cook until the salmon is a pale pink throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Season with more salt, cayenne and black pepper to taste, if desired. Transfer each fillet to a plate. Top each with equal portions of the salsa.
We have Free Ticket's to a Los Angeles Clipper's Game! The tickets are for a student that you know and deserves to be honored for their commitment for excellence in the classroom. It has to be for a student in the greater Los Angeles Community. The certificate that you will get will need to be filled out by you and sent into the Los Angeles Clippers to get your free ticket. It also comes with an award certificate for you to give to the child. Dates of the games available: Saturday January 17 7:30pm Wednesday February 11th 7:30pm Saturday March 7th 7:30pm Sunday March 15th 6:30pm Friday April 10th 7:30pm Details: You will need to send in the form to the Clippers at least two weeks prior to your selected game to guarantee seat location. Space is limited. They also have discounted seats to the child's friends and family members who would like to attend the game in support of the student. (all forms must include one paying ticket....upper level $20.00 and lower level $40.00) Seat locations are processed by the Clippers and are on a first-come, first serve basis and is subject to availability. Please get your form from us ASAP and send it in ASAP. To Get a Form: 1. Please blog a comment below if you know of a student and need a form. (required) 2. If you are not a blogger then please leave your email address, so we can contact you to send to the form 3. Last day to get one from us is January 8th Thank you for taking the time to help honor all the wonderful hard working students of the greater Los Angeles community!!
The Wynn Buffet had food for everyone...super yummy....and filled with kids!
My three little kiddos super excited to be at Hoover Dam!
One of our favorite fountains at the Paris Hotel
