Holiday Showcase Party

Earlier in the month our family hosted a dinner with some of our friends.  It's one of our favorite things to do, and we're so blessed to have friends that have children that our children truly enjoy playing with! In addition to enjoying a delicious meal, we were given the opportunity to have our children test and see some great gift-giving options from companies through Mom Select.  The products the children had the opportunity to play with were

• NEW Small Frys from Build-a-Bear Workshop
• Sneaky 3D Puzzles from Patch Products
• Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory
• Play-Doh Shape and Spin Elmo
• Playmobil Child's First Day of School kit
• Smart Mom Solutions

With the addition of our friends, the children's ages spanned from 9 years of age to 3 months old.  The toys the children played with were a hit.

Littlest N loved her Small Fry from Build-a-Bear workshop.  She carried her Small Fry,  Sassy Kitty, around the house all evening and slept with it that night.  She loved it.  Middle N.  received the Peace Bear and was excited to take it home with her.  The Small Fry collection is Limited Edition, and like the other Build-a-Bear collection, these too have customizable options for clothing and accessories.

Right after dinner, the "big" kids worked together to put together the Sneaky 3D Puzzles from Patch Products.  It was a lot of fun and they were anxious to put it together and took turns using the 3D glasses to see the finished product.  The bright colors and sea scape was a blast for the kids to put together.  They were able to put it together quickly and easily and were so proud to show it off when they completed it!





The biggest hit of the evening came not only from the delicious Christmas Cakes from Little Debbie, but from playing with the Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory and the Play-Doh Shape and Spin Elmo.  The children were so enthralled by the way the Mega Fun Factory is battery operated and has an assembly line that moves the playdoh through the "factory".  Elmo taught the preschoolers about shapes and colors.  This was a hit and I put this on my list to purchase for other little ones in our lives. Here is a video of the kids playing with the Play-Doh items, making some interesting creations (video wouldn't load...will try later)

Eldest N.  loved the Playmobil Child's First Day of School kit.  He's an avid Playmobil kid and was really excited to see this kit, one he hasn't seen before, and one he definitely wanted to add to his collection!  I was so taken with the Playmobil, that my boys will be receiving some from Santa this year!

The evening was a lot of fun and a great way to kick off the holiday excitement.  Thanks to MomSelect and all the participating companies for such a cool way to turn a family night into so much more!


This review was provided from Build-A-Bear, Little Debbie, Patch Products, Play-Doh, and Playmobil as a part of the MomSelect program. I was given the opportunity to review the product for my personal opinion and share with my readers. I was not compensated for my time or written review.  

~Amber

Pumpkins Galore

Today I took the boys on an adventure

Introduced the babe to the fall elements--can you say WINDY!?

All by myself...just me and MY three little pumpkins...

It was an adventure...but a fun one at that!

Forever Fall.

68 degrees.  Vibrant colors.  A sweet smell to the air.  Fall. We love it here!

 

It's Shrektacular!

If you haven't heard the news... Shrek the Final Chapter is out in full force in a theatre near you!   General Mills is celebrating the release of this one 'Shrek' of a finale by offering you some fantastic ogre-sized savings on the foods you love!

Our family received a Shrek-tacular prize pack  made up of a re-useable Shrek grocery bag, fabulous Big G cereals, Fruit Roll-Ups Minis snacks and Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffin Mix. The prize pack also included a $10 Shrek-tacular Savings coupon book with fun Shrek trivia, a Shrek water squirter, a Shrek highlighter and a $25 gift card that you can use to purchase tickets to see the new Shrek Forever After film!  It was awesome the our boys LOVED it!  This was all compliments of General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

CONTEST AND GIVEAWAY!
The best part of this is the awesome savings AND one of you can win one of these great prize packs for yourself!  Just become a follower of Mamathyme and leave a comment about how your family saves 'green'.  One additional entry if you post this giveaway on your blog (with a link) OR post on your Facebook page with a link to this giveaway. One winner will be chosen on Monday, June 13, 2010.  Be sure that your email address is included so I can contact you if you are the winner!  

Until then, To save even more green, visit www.everydaysaver.com/shrek to download coupons today. While you’re there you and your little prince or princess can get in the mood to see Shrek Forever After by taking a peek at the movie trailer. 

I look forward to hearing about your Shrek-tacular savings and how your family saves 'green'! 

~Amber

O Christmas Tree...I Want to Eat You!

One of the things I always enjoyed as a stay-at-home mom, was to make crafts, bake, and be creative with my boys and all the other kids who came to our home for a visit. Today I took the day off from work, due to some little visitors we've had for a long weekend (my niece and nephew are with us, while their newlywed parents are celebrating in Jamaica). Today to be creative, we made Christmas tree cupcakes...but it's probably NOT what you are thinking!

I bought ice cream cones--the small variety, although I think sugar cones would be the best option to look like a real Christmas tree. We filled the cones with yellow cake mix, and topped with green frosting and sprinkles.

Here are the directions we followed:

1) Placed the cones in a muffin dish top side up.
2)Make the cake mix as directed on the yellow cake mix box.

3) Filled the cones 3/4 way full and placed them in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean when placed in the center of the cupcake.

4) Remove conecakes from the oven, and let cool.

5) Flip over on a plate, frost, and decorate like a tree.

6) EAT & ENJOY! YUMMY!!!