Pumpkin Fun with Mr Potato head

Pumpkin Fun with Mr. Potato head for Pumpkins

 We bought these Mr. Potato head for Pumpkins a few year ago at Target. The two Mr. Potato head for Pumpkins that we bought were the Angel, and the Princess.   We have used them every year for the kids.

It is easy for kids to put the Mr. Pototoe pieces into the pumpkin (the first initial holes must be made by an adult.  We uses a screwdriver).

What I love most about it is that you do not have to cut the pumpkin, so you don't have to worry about someone getting cut . There is also no candle or flame so it is safe for all kids (including special needs kids, like our Mare Bear). I think that these Mr. potato head for pumpkin kits are great for any Fall day.  I may have to pick up a few more tomorrow when they go on sale.

Costume parade: Princess Aurora and a Spider

Me with Mare Bear and Little Man posing for a picture after the Costume Parade.

Today was the costume parade at my daughter's school.  I remember doing the same thing when I was in school.  It is so much fun to see all the little kids dressed up.  The Pre-Kindergartners through 2nd graders paraded around the school while the 3rd graders through 5th graders put candy in their bags.  Some of the younger sibling of students joined in on the fun too.

Dressing up can be so much fun.  Children can dress up to be anything they can imagine.  Dressing up allows children's imagination to take them anywhere they want to go.  Dressing up also allow children to pretend play which is a stage of development that preschoolers should have.  Preschooler imagine are developing and growing and Dressing up in their favorite costume aids in that development.




Mare Bear is our Princess and as you can tell from the photo above she loves to dress up as a princesses too.   As for my little Man he was a little spider.  What is more scary than a spider, nothing (at least that is what I think)!  Little Man was not sure of all the kids dresses up in their costumes.  It was the first time he has seen people dressed up in costumes.  He did not get scared or cry, but he was not to sure about he whole thing.  
                                                                       

This photo looks like Mare Bear is Little Miss Muffet and she was startled by a spider beside her just like the nursery rhyme my grandmother used to tell me.  All she needs is come curds and whey.

Book review: Shadows on the Sand

As a member of the blogging for books program, I am asking to read books and then to write a review of what I think of that book.  This is a book review on the book Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper.  This is the book review I posted on the Blogging for Books website.  It is my own honest personal opinion of what I thought of the book.

If you are in the mood for a suspenseful romantic book, you will love Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper. Shadows on the Sand is about a 30 something restaurant owner, Carrie Carter, journey to open herself up to the possibility of love with one of her regular customers, Greg Barnes.  Carrie’s had to save her 10 year old sister Lindsey from a alcoholic mother, and her mother’s sexually inappropriate boyfriends by become a runaway at 16 years old.  Carrie ran away to the only place she knew, keeping her at a distance from men.  Carrie has tried to hide her feeling of Greg, but everyone except Greg seem to know her heart longs for him.  Greg has his own past to overcome as he deals with the loss of his wife, children, and job as a Policeman.  Greg’s horrible loss sent him into a downward spiral of drinking to hide his pain, that he has just recently overcome. 

  Weaved in the middle of the Romantic story of Carrie and Greg is a who did it mystery. It all starts with the disappearance and then murder of one of Carries dishwasher, Jase.  After Jase is found murdered, Andi, one of  Carrie’s waitress  starts to act strange.  A few days later Andi goes missing and everyone is left wonder where she went and why.  The mystery of Jase’s death and Andi’s strange behavior is more than enough to peak Greg and Carries interest and that is where their interest in each other begins. 

I enjoyed reading the book because it kept me guess as to who killed Jase..  I liked how the author would jump from 1^st person of Carrie to 1^st person of the killer and other main characters; it made the story more interesting and kept the plot moving.    This book was a page turner with each chapter ending with a cliff hanger. 

The overall theme of forgiveness of others before you can truly love someone is not only a biblical truth but one of my favorite theme to read.  I hope that you will enjoy reading this book as much as I did!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Water Brook Press as a member of their Blogging for Books program. All opinions are my own. 

Me Sampling Kashi on another blog

Hey ya"ll check me out!  A photo of me was captured on a friends blog.  She is a Mom Ambassadors  for a group called Moms meet ( check out her blog to learn more).  Anyway she was asking  me and other mom and their kids to sample Kashi's peanutty dark chocolate granola bars and to tell her what we thought of them.





She asked me what I thought of the Kashi's peanutty dark chocolate granola bar and I said " I thought it was excellent.  I like the way the granola and chocolate stayed together, it was easy to eat.  I do not usually like dark chocolate but their tasted really good".  


It is nice when moms can share products and give back honest feed back.  I know that I listen to other blogger mom about what they thought of a certain product and how the product worked for them.  Isn't that what blogging is all about!




 Check out Cummins Life blog to learn more.  If you would like more information or to sign up to be a Mom Ambassador for Moms Meet click here.  I checked out their website and I signed up to be a blogger Mom Ambassador, but I will just have to wait and see...


http://cumminslife.blogspot.com/2011/10/kashi-peanutty-dark-chocolate-granola.html

Daddy Daughter Date Night at Chick-fil-a

Update: My blog story was featured on the Chick-fil-a website: http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Story/Stories/1781

For little girls their daddy is their hero.  Daddy is the first man that they love.  He is also the example of the kind of man they want to someday marry.  Well, for our daughter my husband has set the bar very high.  He has shown Mare Bear how a lady should be treated not only by the way that he treats me, but also my the way that he treats her.

So last night was there 1st ever Daddy Daughter Date Night.  So where did they go?  Mare Bear's favorite place to eat  Chick-fil-a.  It is a wonderful quick serve restaurant that only serves chicken. Our Daughter was born with Rett Syndrome, and has a feeding tube, but love to eat at Chick-fil-a.   Mare Bear's favorite item on the menu is the kids meal with chicken nuggets and waffle fries.  We also believe in Chick-fil-a's philosophy of closing on Sundays.   (Mare Bear has Rett Syndrome to learn more visit Mare Bear's Page).  

Mare Bear and her Daddy arived at our local  Chick-fil-a. at 7:00.  They were greeted with the two (daddy and daughter) cow mascots.  The  Chick-fil-a was decorated in pink, each girl was given a pink carnation and a small Chick-fil-a stuffed cow.   They also served cake.  As a true gentlemen daddy paid for Mare Bear's dinner (all they had to pay for was whatever menu item they wanted).   After their dinner both daddy and daughter stepped into a limo and enjoyed as special limo ride together (this was her first limo ride).  Sorry none of the photos that my hubbie took with his camera phone came out.  They had so much fun together and I was just as happy for the both of them.

 To find out more about Chick fil a  daddy daughter date night check out their website http://www.daddydaughterdate.com/

Thank you to Chick fil a for hosting a daddy daughter date night!

What to do with your dinner leftover...Plan-overs

Planovers not Leftovers 

Are you and your family tired of leftovers or going out to eat.  Maybe you just don’t feel like making a big meal every night of the week.  What if I said that you did not have to?

All you have to do is make “Planoves”.  I first heard of this concept from a company called Pampered Chef ( I am not indorsing the company just letting you know where the idea came from).  “Planovers” are a great way to take food that you have cooked the day before and bring new life to it. 

So what’s a “Planover” meal?   Basically what you do is make extra of whatever protein you are cooking one night and save it the next night to make a new dish with it.  You can always add in any extra food that you have from the night before too.  
Let’s say you cook a turkey or chicken for you family of four with potatoes and broccoli with cheese.  Instead of baking four chicken breast you bake 8.  You take the 4 left over chicken breast and put them in a sealed container in the refrigerator.   

The next day you take out those four cooked chicken breast and leftover potatoes and make a chicken potatoes casserole or turkey bake potatoes with broccoli and cheese on top.

One idea that I like to do is to cook ground turkey.  One night we can use it in a pasta dish and the next night we can use the left over for Zucchini boats (pictured above).  The ideas for “planover” meals are endless.

For “planovers” meals to work you should always have the next day’s meal in mind.  You can do this by creating a weekly calendar of meals.  You can even ask your family for input so there are not any groans when they ask “what’s for dinner”.  




The recipe for Zucchini Boats can be found on my other blog.
Here is another good recipe Turkey Pot Pie.  

By Wendy Buxton

Support the Cause, Rett Syndrome

Support the Cause, Rett Syndrome

It is said that some cause you don't pick, they pick you.  The second that my daughter's doctor said our little Marebear has Rett Syndrome, we knew what cause had picked us.  (check outMarebear page to learn more)

Sometimes a cause can pick you because you know someone or read about someone that is effected by a disease or syndrome.  You feel so much sympathies for the person and you want to help, but you don't know how you can make a difference.  Well, don't fret I am going to give you somethings that you can do to help the cause you care about, and if you don't have a cause or would like another one, you can share our cause to Cure Rett Syndrome!

In case you did not know October is Rett Syndrome Awareness Month. One thing you can do to bring about awareness it to make ribbons.  You can either make them and sell them and give the money to the cause or you can give them away to bring about more awareness to your cause.  Every disease or syndrome has a ribbon color and since our daughter has Rett Syndrome, the ribbon we made is lavender (for Rett syndrome awareness).

To make a lavender ribbon you will need:
Lavender ribbon
scissors
glue (we used a glue gun)
a safety pin or ( we used a bar pin)

Cut your ribbon to about 6 inches long.  Then take the two ends and put them together and cut them at an angle.  Take the ribbon and criss cross the ribbon in front.  Like shown in the photo.  Glue the ribbon on the inside (so that he glue does not show in the front).  Take the safety pin and glue it to the back of the ribbon.  There you have it, you have made a Rett Syndrome Awareness ribbon.

 Here are a list of some things you can do to raise money to fund a cure for Rett Syndrome;

• Have a garage sale and give the money you make or a percent to Rett Syndrome research.
• For your or your child's birthday, have guest bring a donation to Rett Syndrome instead of presents.
• Have a cookie bake and give the money you make or a percent to Rett Syndrome research.
• Host a tea party and give the money you make or a percent to Rett Syndrome research.
• Attend a Strollathon near you.

If all of those sound like to much work you can go on my daughter's website and in the comfort of your own home you can give to her strollathon team.  All proceeds go to International Rett Syndrome International to raise money to find a cure for Rett Syndrome.  To see her strollathon page click here.

FirstGiving - Your fundraising

Purex is giving away $500 shopping spree

Purex’s “Freshen Up” for the Holidays

Purex is giving away a $500.00 Shopping Spree!

Win a Purex® Perfect New Look! Purex will be giving away a $500 shopping spree PLUS Purex with Zout detergent and Purex Crystals to keep your new outfits clean and fresh. There will be two winners!

US only. One entry per consumer. Ends 11:59 pm, EST, November 21st, 2011. For complete rules, click here.

Check out their website to enter:


http://www.purex.com/ww


I went to their website today and entered.  I would love it if one of my readers was blessed with winning the $500 shopping spree!

cute and stylish air freshener

Smell is one of the five scenes that people associate with a memory. I love to come home and smell fresh baked bread or pie. As It get closer and closer to Thanksgiving I start to think about pumpkin pie and cranberries. As a mother of 3 very active kids, I cannot always have a homemade pie in the oven baking, but with Renuzit Fresh Accents brand, I can have the fresh smell of cranberries all year long.

I want an air freshener that was stylish. I wanted to be able to use it as decor; I do not want to have to hide it somewhere where no one would see it. I also wanted one that has a cute design that I liked. More than anything I wanted an air freshener that would last about a month. I did not want to have to go to the store every week to replace the scent. Having a young toddler at home I also did not want an air freshener that I had to plug in or one that used batteries.


So now that I know what I want, I had to find an air freshener with those features. I decideed on Renuzit Fresh Accents brand.



First I opened the sent of "Winter Berry" and smelled a powerful, warm and comforting aroma of winter berry fill the air. The smell of winter berry fell on me like a cozy blanket. I placed the winter berry air freshener in the living room next to our dog in hopes that it would banish odors and leave behind a clean fresh scent of cranberries.  With in minutes winter berry scent filled the air and the smell of dog was gone.   


It worked just as well in the bathroom.

The snowflake design is on the other side of the holder .

The second scent I tried was festive snow. The scent of festive snow transform me from my livingroom to the Sierra Nevada mountains. The festive snow scent has a strong pine scent, combine with the scent of fresh mountain air.  If you like pine scence that you will most likely like the scent of festive snow.




Whatever room I put my Renuzit Fresh Accents air freshener in all other orders are gone and only the clean fresh scents remain.

Disclaimer: Renuzit brand provided free samples of Fresh Accents air freshener for this post. My participation is voluntary and my opinions, as always, are my own.

Thoughts about my three kids

It is amazing how different each of my children temperament are.

 My Oldest is what most people would call a brainiac.  He gets good grades without even trying.  He love being outdoors and had a great time with his local boy scout troop.  During the school year he and his dad go camping with his Boy Scout Troop once a month.  He also enjoys playing video game, but not so much that he is glued to the TV all the time.    Ever since he was little he had been caution about dangerous things.  He has just recently over come some of this fears of learn how to swim and going on fast roller coasters.

Our Mare Bear is our only daughter.  She is beautiful and kind.  She cannot speak, but says it all with her eyes.  She is easy going and goes with the flow of things.  She is a people watcher and love to look at people and watch what they do.  She knows people hearts by watching them and if she know they have a good heart, then she easily warms up to them.   She enjoys going to the pool and swimming around in her swim belt.  She also like to ride horses at the R.O.C.K.  She loves spending time with and rocking on the big recliner with her two brothers.

Our Little Man reminds me of our Oldest, but only in looks.  They look so much alike, that I could get their baby photos mixed up.  He is so adventurous and is always checking things out to see how they work.  He is a picky eater, but he will try anything when it come to danger.  He likes to be independent, but he always makes sure that I am not too far away.  He loves for me to hold him, but only for a few seconds then he wants back down.  He love to imitate what his brother and sister do.  It is so cute to watch.  I took the photo on the right when my Oldest was reading a book and Little Man climbed up beside him with his book, and started reading.  How cute are they?

Giveaway: Walmart Gift Card and General Mills Cereal with Star Wars Poster

CLOSED: Winner is 

midwestmomma3

Check our her blog:  http://midwestmomma3.blogspot.com

This is the Giveaway you've 


been looking for...


Calling all Star Wars™ fans! Now you can take the Star Wars adventures to new heights by bringing home STAR WARS THE COMPLETE SAGA on Blu-ray Disc. Relive the unforgettable moments and experience the spectacular adventure of STAR WARS The Complete Saga in a way only Blu-ray can deliver.

In honor of the release, select General Mills Big G cereals have a limited edition Star Wars good versus evil image on their packaging, which when combined creates a full panoramic poster. Exclusively at Walmart, look for specially marked boxes of Big G cereals, including Honey Nut Cheerios®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch®, and Lucky Charms®. Collect all three to create a Star Wars panoramic poster showcasing your favorite characters, like Darth Vadar™, Luke Skywalker™, Han Solo™, Princess Leia™ and more. Marking the first time ever that the full Saga is available in one complete collection, the 9-disc STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA is available on Blu-ray now, courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. May the force be with you as you check out these Star Wars boxes at your local Walmart for a limited time only!

Find more information about Big G cereals at  www.WholeGrainNation.com This incredible collection unites all six Episodes together for the first time in stunning high definition with the purest digital sound in the galaxy. With over 40 hours of thrilling special features, including all-new content created exclusively for this release, you can journey deeper into the Star Wars universe and discover more than ever before. Feel the Force of STAR WARS The Complete Saga on Blu-ray own it now. Find out more information about Star Wars The Complete Saga at  http://bit.ly/starwarsinfo

I am so happy to be bless to giveaway not only 3 boxes of General Mills cereal, but also a $25 Walmart gift card too!  Thank you to General Mills and My Blog Spark.


Cereal Review: My kids love eating Honey Nut Cheerios.  They will eat them plain, as you can see my Oldest will eat them right out of the box.  Little Man and Mare Bear were so excited to try Lucky Charms cereal, and they loved the taste.  My Oldest says that his favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  I love the taste of Honey Nut Cheerios, it brings me back to my childhood.  I would eat Honey Nut Cheerios every day if I could!


PS.  We are going to use the $25 gift Walmart Gift card to buy STAR WARS The Complete Saga on Blu-ray.

Giveaway winner’s prize pack will contain:

•   One box of each of the following cereals to form their own Star Wars panoramic poster:
• Honey Nut Cheerios
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Lucky Charms
• $25 Walmart gift card

Here is how you enter:  

• Mandatory: Leave a comment stating Which Star Wars movie moment and/or character is your favorite? Star Wars The Complete Saga
• Follow me on Google for 2 additional entrees.  You must leave a post stating you are following me for each entree. 
• Share this Giveaway on your facebook page and leave a comment on this post tell me you have shared this giveaway on your facebook page.
• Rank one of my book reviews for an additional entree per book review.

            Book Review: God Gave Us You        Book Review: Mercy Come Morning

                           Book Review: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger

CLOSED: Winner is 

midwestmomma3

Check our her blog:  http://midwestmomma3.blogspot.com

RULES: Maximum of 7 entries per person. The giveaway will end on October 25th at midnight.  I will randomly pick a winner at random.org on October 26th.  I will notify the winner by e-mail and posted winners first name or user name on my blog.  The winner with have 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be chosen.  You must be 18 years or older and a US resident to enter.   

Disclosure: The cereal, gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. Nowamomof3 cannot be held responsible for sponsor's failure to deliver the product or service as agreed.

How to make a Minecraft Creeper cake

So for my oldest son's birthday we asked him what cake he wanted me to try to make.  At first he said a toilet bowl cake (which I might try to do later), but then he changed his mind after playing a video game called Mindcraft.  He decided he wanted me to make him a creeper cake.  What's a creeper, I asked?  He showed me the game and I was excited to see a creeper is not scary and it is made up of squares and rectangle, a beginner cake maker's dream.

First I baked 4 cakes in a square pan and 1 cake in a mini-loaf pan. Four of the mini-loaf cakes were uses as the creeper's legs (it has four legs).  Then I cut the four square cakes to fit and stacked them on the loaf cakes. 

HINT:  I put the cake in the freezer for a few hours to make them easy to frost.  

I used some left over pieces from the square cake to make the head. 

I added chocolate frosting between the layers to help them stick together.  I was a little worried a this point that the layer would be too heavy because the cakes were dense.  

We mixed the frosting to make it green (Creeper are green).

We frosted the head and body.

We added squares of white fondant to the body and for the face we used red fondant.

 This is when we noticed it was starting to lean to the left.  As we were trying to figure out what to do, the head almost came off, so we just went ahead and took the head off.   My Hubbie had the idea of taking the head off and putting it to the side.  That is when my Oldest came up with a great idea of making the creeper look like it died.

 We put red fondant on the head opening to make it look like it was blood.  

This is my oldest cutting the creeper head off!

This is what the Creeper cake looked like when we finished.  I had to put it in the refrigerator because the cake had defrosted and was too soft to frost.   I fixed up the cake the next day, but I forgot to take a photo before the boys devoured it.

Update: I also tried to make a minecraft cake Click Here to see the post.

No cakes were harmed wasted in the making of this cake.  We used the leftover cake to make cake balls.  I will show you how in a later post!