A to Z for Moms Like Me

Enchilada Nachos

2013-05-24T06:30:00.000-06:00

We went all crazy the other day and wanted to try something a little different. With the availability of Macayo's enchilada sauce in the local grocery store I was bubbling over with excitement to try new experiments. So we made us some enchilada nachos!
Easy cheesy, nacho, saucy!

Just pour some tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, sprinkle cheese on top of them making sure you get a good covering of all the chips.
Then spoon on some enchilada sauce. Putting it on by the spoonful is easier to control how much each chip gets so you don't end up with any soggy mess.
Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

All my family enjoyed them! It was a great snack- ok we had them for lunch, that's kinda healthy right?

Teacher Appreciation gift

2013-05-22T07:20:00.000-06:00

Last week was teacher appreciation week and I wanted to give all the teacher's at my kids' school a thank you (and of course a Tupperware gift). Not wanting to break the bank though for 25 teachers I came up with this easy, probably cheesy, but cute gift.
I put a citrus peeler and a couple of York peppermint patties in a bag, tied it with a ribbon and a note that says "I have a 'peeling' you were 'mint' to be a teacher! Thank you for all you do!"

I then went to the teacher's break room on their lunch break and made them a cake in the microwave with the Tupperware stack cooker. It was a big hit!

I'm glad I could do something for them! I remember what it was like to be a teacher when I taught high school sign language. Little thank you's are always appreciated!

Children's books on Amazon

2013-05-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

It's official!! All of my current children's books (11 for now) have be published on Amazon.com! As a special promotion you can get one of them free each day for 11 days. These books were written when my oldest (now 11 year old) was a baby. I wanted a simple book to help teach her important things while giving her a passion for reading. Well it worked! She is now my kid that will read the thick books like the Harry Potter series books are in just a few days. While uploading these books I read them to my 15 month old and she loved them, and even giggled at them.
The books are as follows:

They are about 12 pages long, some of them rhyme. They are all simple and the pictures were even created by yours truly! (I'm no artist like my brother- but for kids stick figures work!)

You can see all of my books available on Amazon by searching "JoDee Mason" or clicking on this link.

I hope you enjoy them! Please leave a review on Amazon since that is the best way for others to find them :)

Castle

2013-05-20T06:30:00.000-06:00

If you love a good murder mystery/comedy/romance show Castle is the show for you! Lets just forget for a brief moment that Nathan Fillion is the main actor and will have you swooning from the start. This show is about a murder mystery writer (Fillion) who wants to research his new book series by shadowing New York City's finest homicide detective Kate Becket (played by Stana Katic). What first begins as playful annoyance in the first season eventually turns into sexual tension then a romance for every fan to envy.
The character Richard Castle (Fillion) has some of the funniest pun and one liners that will keep you laughing during what would normally be a dramatic show. His quest for a story in every murder proves helpful in solving the case and finding the killer. While Detective Beckett (Katic) is the down to earth logical detective who's main concern is evidence and doing things by the book, which isn't to say she can't be talked into bending the rules occasionally.

Other main roles in the show include Castle's mother (played by Susan Sullivan) and daughter (Molly C. Quinn) and Becket's assisting detective's Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) who have a brother like relationship that's fun to watch.

The best part is you can view the latest episodes on Hulu.com. As of now none of the seasons are available on Netflix sadly.

Chili's copycat queso recipe

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

I love finding copycat recipes of things at my favorite restaurants! Since our move in April we are no longer close to a Chili's when I saw this copycat recipe for their queso I was thrilled! I made a few adjustments from the original recipe and my family all loved it.
I got the original recipe here from High Heels & Grills.

It was pretty simple- here's my version.

16 oz Velveeta cheese cut into cubes
1 can Hormel chili with no beans
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1 cup whole milk
Juice from 1 small lime

Cook on medium until cheese is melted (about 15-20 mins) and serve! We had it with the thin and crispy chips like Chili's has.

Planting Season

2013-05-16T04:00:00.000-06:00

After starting our seeds and letting them grow for a bit it's now time to put them into the ground. Now that we live in AZ the planting, growing, harvest season is a lot longer than it was in Utah. We excited to have a garden this year! These seeds include: pumpkin, squash, zucchini, cucumber, peas, beans, and watermelon. We also planted from seed into the garden: carrots & lettuce. We used planting boxes to try out square foot gardening- here's the process we did:

First we laid down some cardboard (we had plenty from our move) into the planting box. Then we poured the planting soil on top of it. The cardboard helps keep weeds from growing in the garden and also acts as a compost and food for worms.

After spreading the dirt evenly we then drew lines dividing the box into 9 squares. We ended up doing 3 rows instead because of what we were planting in them.
Then we transplanted our seed starts to the box.

I'll keep you posted as they grow! We used 3 planting box areas.

Wummelbox Review

2013-05-15T07:08:00.000-06:00

We were excited to get one of these Wummelbox's to review. This awesome idea is a box full of crafts and games sent to your house each month focusing on a different theme for each month. Years ago I used to get the Brighter Vision Learning Adventures for my kids that was similar in that each month you automatically got a shipment of learning crafts, books, and activities of different themes. I LOVED it! The products were such great quality and my kids loved it. Plus it was great educational material. Sadly Brighter Vision Learning Adventures are no longer around. So when I first heard about these Wummelboxes that are similar I was very excited.
The box that we received for our review had the theme of : Time Travel

It included everything you needed to do 3 different projects-

Make your own time Machine. There's a story included about how 2 friends find a time machine and go back to the prehistoric (cave man) time. The board, knobs, stickers, and even paint was all provided. My kids had so much fun, and even fought over who got to sleep with it!

The second project was the cave wall drawings. The materials for this project included a canvas to paint on, wooden circles and foam shapes to create our own stamps, glue dots, velcro dots, and the paint and brush we used from the time machine project. This project the kids probably had the most fun with. I let each of them create their own line of pictures and make up their own story to go with the pictures. It was fun to see what stories they came up with! Some were silly and we all got a good laugh in.
Brady's is the bottom line- his story went like this "there was a mammoth, he found a house, then he lost it, then he found it, then he lost it, then he found it ............ etc"

The last project was a hunter & gatherer game. It was probably my least favorite. It came with stencils of 3 different animal tracks that you traced onto felt then cut out, and a die. I used some chalk I had to trace the shapes. There is also a paper folding mammoth you make. It was a pain to get to stay together, and didn't stand up very well for the game.
The idea behind this project is you cut out the tracks from the felt, lay them in a row on the floor then roll a die that you have painted to have 3 color options on and whatever color it lands on is the only color of track you can step on to get to the mammoth at the end of the tracks.
It was an ok game, but over quickly and didn't seem to have my kids' attention like the other 2 projects did.

Here's some official information on the Wummelbox-

The high-quality materials in the sets are eco-friendly! Each box includes materials like cork, sand and reforested wood. Even the box is re-useable, becoming a part of each craft!
Each craft is designed to be used not once but over and over again (e.g. a car, a cashbox, a windchime, etc.)!
Each high-quality WummelBox contains 3-4 themed-based projects (Nutrition, Sound, etc) and is designed to inspire children age 3-8 to learn and explore the world around them.
Straight from Berlin, projects are developed by experts, refined by parents and approved by kids!
Each WummelBox contains everything needed to immediately begin crafting.
Each box is a retail value of $35.95

*product was donated to A to Z for Moms Like Me for this review*

Candy Bars unwrapped!

2013-05-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

It's become a new trend to have mini versions of candy bars unwrapped in a bag. Seriously, whoever thought of this deserves a raise! Such a great idea! Depending on the candy bar brand they are marketed as bites, mini, or pieces. The bites and mini's are pretty much miniature versions of the candy bar where the pieces are hard candy coated candies made in with the inspiration of a specific candy bar. What do I think?
Ok for this review I purchased a few different kinds- here's my conclusions:

Snickers Bites:
Each one is slightly smaller than the size of the mini individual wrapped ones, which makes them perfect for a quick easy snack on the go. And the peanuts help with hunger- or so that's what the commercials want us to believe :)

Rolo mini's:

I'm not sure life can get much better than rolo mini's!!! The coolest thing about these is when a recipe calls for rolo's you don't have to spend hours unwrapping them! Crack Brownies are now even easier to make! Aside from cooking, I love keeping one of the small bags of these in my purse. I think I may have an addiction.

Milkyway Bites:

Like the Snicker's bites these are a little smaller than the individually wrapped mini's. They are still just as awesome as you would expect milky way to be! If you have a peanut allergy, or just don't care for them, try these! I'm a milky way fan so my love of these is probably bias. But I think if they keep making these and rolo mini's losing weight is going to be hard!

These are the varieties of the pieces candies. Of these the Reese's pieces is nothing new. But I look forward to trying the rest. (however these didn't seem to appeal to me as much so I haven't got them yet)

The newest addition to the Pieces family is the Heath pieces. Although I like toffee, I have to say I found these a little too sweet. (and that's saying something!) So they're not so much my favorite. I'm thinking they may be good in something like brownies, or rice krispies or something. Maybe in cookies? Anyhow, these will probably never be in my shopping cart again.

Arrested Development is coming back!

2013-05-13T07:10:00.000-06:00

After years of absence the show Arrested Development is coming back!! The show ran for 3 seasons and was canceled after the 3rd season abruptly leaving viewers hanging since 2006. After rumors of another season until 2011 the hype seemed to die down.
Now it's been announced that the 4th season will be coming out on May 26th exclusively to Netflix! There will be 15 new episodes in the new season that will all be available on May 26th. There is also talk of an Arrested Development movie in development which will include all original cast members.

If you haven't seen this show before you can watch all 3 seasons currently available on Netflix. Basically it's filmed in a similar style as "The Office" with it looking like a documentary There is however a narration that gives viewers more information.

The story is of a dysfunctional rich family that has been living off the father's company money as their own personal money. It turns out the father was scamming clients and investors in his business using the housing development he was supposed to be building (but only 1 house ever got built) as a cover for his cons. Of the 3 sons and 1 daughter the only normal one is their son Michael who is also the only one with any sense of responsibility and work skills/ethics. (with the exception of his son George Michael who is just a teenager)

The other siblings and parents take advantage of Michael, while relying on him to save the family. This show is entertaining and keeps you laughing and in shock of some of the things these people do! I recommend watching it. My husband and I are watching the seasons from the start in preparation for the new season on the 26th!

Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

2013-05-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

There's not much better in the morning than a nice hot blueberry muffin with streusel topping! When I buy the blueberry muffin mixes I will only buy the ones with the can of fresh blueberries. (the others don't even have real blueberries in them but rather "blueberry bits"- see my post on processed foods) Today I wanted to try out my own creation of a streusel topping.
After making the muffin mix up according to it's directions and scooping the batter into the cupcake pan it was time to make the topping.

3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. nutmeg (literally just a dash)
2 T butter
Mix all together then sprinkle on top of the muffins. Bake according to the mix directions.

Adventures of rural living

2013-05-09T06:55:00.001-06:00

This is what happens when you combine missing clips, a squirrel in the engine and a Labrador. Since moving to AZ we've had a few adventures of rural living! We woke up one morning to our dog barking like crazy and when I looked out the window this is what I saw!! She had pulled the front end off my husband's car! It actually looks worse than it was.
Upon inspection we found that the front end was being held on by one little clip at this point. Luckily we had some screws and clips on hand that worked to fix it and it wasn't a complicated fix with any permanent damage.

Adventures of rural living!!

This was what happened a few days after we moved here. This case of oatmeal was left on our porch with a bunch of other boxes that we hadn't brought into the house and unpacked yet. Well a Javelina (similar to a wild pig in looks at least) came up to our porch and got into it making this mess and giving me a good scare!

On the bright side, there have also been fun things we've come across and enjoyed doing. For example the kids keep catching lizards! They also learned the hard way that our dogs will kill lizards.

We've heard all sorts of scary stories about rattlesnakes and scorpions which I'm not looking forward to dealing with this Summer :( Let's hope the dogs keep them at bay!

Winger's Chicken Strips Copycat Recipe

2013-05-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Wingers is awesome. But I have to say, it's a little less awesome since they made some changes a few months back. They changed their breaded chicken strips to a hand breaded recipe which is supposed to be more fresh and better, but sadly the new breading is mushy and comes off the chicken too easily. Sad because before the changes my friend and I used to go there for lunch often. But now we just miss what it used to be. So- being who I am, I searched out and found a Winger's Chicken Strips copycat recipe! It's easy, and tastes just the way it used to be!

Let me give credit to "Chef in Training" where I got this recipe from! Thanks doll!

For this recipe you will need:
1 bag of breaded chicken strips (I used the Tyson ones pictured above)
6 T Frank's red hot sauce
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
4 T water

Bake the chicken as directed by the package. While the chicken is cooking combine the hot sauce, brown sugar, and water in a sauce pan and cook until the sugar is melted. Once the chicken is done pour the sauce over it. (I found it easier to coat the chicken once it was in a bowl) I was afraid the chicken would go soggy, but it didn't! And even the next day when I had the leftovers for lunch it was still just as scrum-diddly-umptious as it should have been!

I'm SO stocking up on this hot sauce and chicken!!! No more Winger's cravings for me! (ok their asphalt pie is pretty amazing still)

Disney's Shake it Up soundtrack review

2013-05-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Check out this fun, hip new music cd with lots of fun dance music. We got a copy of this cd to review and my kids really liked it. It has a variety of types of music (all with a good dance beat) from rap to hiphop to rock. It's a fun soundtrack to have on while we did our chores and cleaned.
Knowing it was from Disney I wasn't worried about the lyrics my kids would hear, and I didn't hear anything inappropriate when we had it playing. The kids recognized a song or two from watching tv and seeing mini music videos etc. so they liked that. We plan on taking it with us when we travel, and will continue to use it when we want to jam out at the house.

Here's some official information:
The collection of 12 dance tracks is featured on the third season of the hit show.

Shake It Up: I < 3 disney
Selena Gomez, Bridgit Mendler, Roshon Fegan and Caroline Sunshine, in addition to up-and-coming stars Coco Jones, McClain Sisters and more. The Shake It Up: I < 3 dancesoundtrack is currently available for $9.99 on both iTunes and Amazon.com.

"Shake It Up" is the #1 live-action TV series in its time period among Kids 2-11 and Kids 6-11. The show chronicles the adventures of best friends CeCe (Bella Thorne) and Rocky (Zendaya), whose dreams of becoming professional dancers are realized when they land roles as background dancers on the most popular teen dance show, "Shake It Up, Chicago!"

Do you Roku?

2013-05-06T08:45:00.000-06:00

Today's post isn't about a specific tv show or movie, but rather a new gadget that provides them. The Roku. With our new move and our quest to cut down expenses we came across this alternative to Dish Network or Direct TV or other cable/satellite companies. Do you Roku? One time cost, no monthly fee- I'm thinking we will soon!

So here's the rundown of what a Roku is- basically it's a device that plugs into your tv and uses your high speed internet (you have to have high speed internet for it to work) to provide streaming to tv channels to your tv for free! If you have memberships to online places such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. you can set up those accounts to play through the Roku and onto your tv as well but there are lots of channels that are free so if you want to avoid any monthly fee it is possible.

The device is a one time purchase. They range in price and quality from $49-$99 and offer 4 different devices. Depending on your TV (HD or not) and if you want to play games such as Angry Birds etc. that comes free with some Roku devices.

This is MUCH better than a monthly advertised price of a minimum of $24.99 which always ends up being more like $40 and that's the cheapest one! I think I will keep my money each month and watch the same shows on Roku or my computer thank you very much! That will end up saving me at LEAST $300/year!

If you have a Roku, please feel free to leave your experience, likes, dislikes in the comments!

Chili Taco Dip

2013-05-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

Like Chili? Like Taco's? Why not combine them!?! This weeks recipe experiment is just that. I'm not a fan of Mexican food, but my husband loves it. So the few times we do have it he's pretty happy. This recipe is my way of killing 2 meals in one hahaha It actually turned out really good and is something that is easy to make with ingredients you have on hand.
Brown your ground beef- I used 1 1/2 lbs for our family of 7
Add chopped onion to the beef as it cooks

Once the meat is cooked add 1 packet of taco seasoning and about 1/2 cup of water.
Add a large can of pork & beans (or pinto beans, or I imagine you could put in any kind of beans you like)

I then added about 1/2 c. of Macayo's taco sauce. You could add tomato sauce, salsa, or whatever you have on hand.

It all mixes together, then serve it with a little sour cream on top and Frito Lay chips for dipping. Amazing!

80's dress up day at school

2013-05-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

My kids had a 80's dress up day at school the other day. Boy did that bring back memories! Since I found out only the night before we had to improvise with what I could come up with. One of the first things I thought though was how so many of the styles available to buy now were already 80's styles!
Since we have recently moved from UT to AZ we now have a surplus of long sleeved shirts! So I had my boys find a long sleeved shirt and we cut fringe on the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt.

Kenzie was a little easier because I had hair to work with. We cut the fringe on her hair, then also cut some lines in the shirt itself. She wore a different colored shirt under it. Then we put her hair in a high pony tail on the side.

The kids all wanted to keep their shirts and wear them again! Guess that's what happens when styles become popular again. Kenzie wants to use hers to be a zombie for Halloween.

Strawberry Cheesecake Dip

2013-05-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

This was seriously the BEST thing I've made in a long time! And that's saying something since I like to think I make pretty good food most of the time. I had the idea to create a strawberry cheesecake dip a few weeks ago and finally did. My family ate this while playing games today and spending a little family time together. It's refreshing, and not too sweet. So this is my Pinterest experiment today!
Here's the recipe- enjoy!

16 oz cool whip
8 oz cream cheese
1 t. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar
-Mix all together until smooth, then pour into your serving dish. (I used a mini cold cut keeper from Tupperware, but if you were doing this for a party a fancy dish would be perfect!)

Finely chop 5-6 large strawberries
add the strawberries to one tub of strawberry gel (you can purchase this pre-made at the grocery store, or I believe you can make it too, it's basically the gel filling for strawberry pies)

Pour on top of cream cheese mixture.
Serve with graham crackers to dip with.

Hell's Kitchen is back!

2013-04-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite reality TV shows is back for another season! Hell's Kitchen, where if you can't stand the heat- stay out of the kitchen! This show separates the cooks from the chefs in an intense atmosphere where they are pitted against each other and challenged with physical, mental and emotional stability.
Usually by a few episodes in my husband and I can pick our favorites as well as the strongest ones we think will be in the final 5 or so. And we usually have our least favorites picked by then too!

Sometimes there's people on there that we wonder how they get along with anyone, or how they can even hold a job when they are so unprofessional and discourteous or have such an ego.

So far there has only been one season that both my husband and I were completely disappointed in the winner, and that was season 8 when Jillian Flathers was eliminated in the final 3. She was by far the strongest all along the competition and the one that eventually won didn't stand out that much as a leader and didn't seem to be extraordinary like the winners usually are. But, as with most of the ones kicked off towards the end I'm sure Jillian got some amazing job offers as a result of the show.

Hell's Kitchen is now in it's 11th season and with the twists and surprises Gordon Ramsay comes up with each season this show has the potential to run for many many more seasons! So I suggest you get caught up on some past seasons on Hulu! Plus- we were SO excited to see the return of Jean Philippe (aka JP), Hell's Kitchen's Maitre D'. We missed him!

My hubby and I talk about how awesome it would be to go to the Hell's Kitchen restaurant We're both really interested in trying: Risotto Beef Wellington, and the scallops! Those all seem to be the ones that have trouble off and on, and all 3 sound delicious! (we've never tried any of them before either)

That's one thing that I REALLY enjoyed about going on a cruise a couple years ago was the ability to try all sorts of foods! (plus the fact that they were included with your cruise cost was great too!)

We joke about what it would be like to experience Hell's Kitchen as a contestant, but there is no way I could compete! I may be a great cook (at least that's what I'm told) but so are a lot of the ones that get kicked off, and I don't know the techniques and terms of a lot of the things they do. Plus I don't know if I could handle getting yelled at every time I made a mistake without crying haha.

Cafe Rio Chicken Burrito Copycat Recipe

2013-04-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

Since moving one thing I have craved and missed is Cafe Rio! Their Chicken burrito's enchilada style are my favorite. When shopping we saw that the local grocery store carries Macayo's taco sauce, and enchilada sauce!! (If you've never been to Macayo's put it on your bucket list. They're the best and I don't even really care for Mexican food) So it was time for a new recipe experiment. The goal: to make a burrito as close to Cafe Rio as possible.
Since Cafe Rio has their chicken in a marinade that's where we need to start.
For this I put chicken breasts into a crock pot and added 1 can of the red enchilada sauce.
Cook on high for 4-5 hours until chicken is cooked and easily shredded.
Now it has a great flavor marinaded into it!

Before assembling the burrito you will need:
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can of pinto or black beans (whichever you prefer, we did some of each)
shredded cheese
2 cups of rice (cooked with 4 cups of water, I didn't season mine because it was almost forgotten, but I imagine it would be awesome to cook it in part chicken broth instead of the water and add some lime and seasonings)
Baking dish
Tortillas

In each tortilla place a scoop of the shredded chicken, spoon full of beans, spoon full of rice, and a little cheese. Roll up making sure to fold in the sides as you roll it.

Once your pan is full of burritos pour some of the green enchilada sauce on top, then sprinkle a little bit of cheese over them.
Bake at 350 for about 5-10 minutes (mostly just long enough to melt the cheese since everything else inside is precooked)

Mirabrands Review & Giveaway

2013-04-23T08:38:00.002-06:00

This week I had the opportunity to review a set of stainless steel snack bowls from Mirabrands. Each bowl holds approximately 1 cup (8 oz). My first thought when these were sent to me was "why metal?" what is the benefit of having a metal bowl over a plastic one? That to me is the #1 feature that makes these bowls stand out and be different than other snack bowls for kids. So I've spent the last week thinking up ideas for ways that make these bowls unique from run of the mill snack bowls.
First of all, metal takes on the temperature of it's surrounding and reaches those temperatures quicker than plastic bowls. So it would keep hot things hot and cold things cold easier. One of the ideas I thought of was the homemade yogurt drops (you can find the idea on pinterest). These are a great snack for kids, but have to be kept frozen or else they'll just turn into a runny mush. Keeping them in one of these containers (but will still need to be by an ice pack) will help keep them frozen for a picnic or traveling.

My next thought was how perfect these would be for camping! Because they are metal, they would heat up food relatively quickly over a camp fire. (don't put the lid near the fire though- it's still plastic. I can't believe I feel I need to post this warning, but you just never know with some people haha) So if you have a small child that is limited to what they can eat this would be great to heat up rice cereal, oatmeal, etc. while camping. I plan on adding these to my camping kit!

Here's some "official" information sent to me by the sponsor-

About the product:

Made of unlined 18/8 food-grade stainless steel
Non-toxic lids made of LDPE number 4 plastic
Free of BPA, phthalates, PVC and lead
Reusable

Now for some great news! Mirabrands has offered to give a set like the one they sent me to one of my readers/fans! Enter below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sister Wives TLC show

2013-04-22T06:30:00.000-06:00

There's a show on TLC that has provided answers to many curious about the polygamist lifestyle. Although polygamist religions and groups can differ, most people seem to be intrigued with the concept as evidence by the shows success. In this reality show "Sister Wives" viewers can see what daily life is like for those involved. We've all heard the nightmare stories about abuse, rape, slavery, and hell that some involved in the polygamy groups have suffered for, but that is not the absolute for all cases.
The Brown's show a positive outlook on what a successful polygamist family looks like. Through the ups and downs, financial crisis, jealousy, chid-rearing, religious beliefs and more issues married couples face multiplied by the input (and wisdom) of 4 wives. Here's my take on the show-

Kody is the husband who is outnumbered when it comes to common sense and reality. He seems to be a very fun-loving, easy-going personality that jumps in with both feet before checking the temperature of the water. Lucky for him he's got 4 babysitters in the form of wives to guide him along the path of reality and keep him grounded. Although happy most of the time he definitely has some ego and slightly more than normal vanity in his personality. All things aside though, he is a very devoted and loving father and treats his wives well with concern for their happiness and well being.

Mari was Kody's first wife. She's very practical, emotionally stable (at least on the outside), and professionally minded. She sews and has good taste in decorations from what I've noticed so far. She seems to be the resourceful one and keeps the family organized.

Janelle is the second wife. She is the financial brains of the family. She's smart, organized, quiet and easy to get along with. Although she tends to be less open and friendly don't let that fool you that she doesn't have an opinion on things!

Christine is the third wife and was the last wife until a couple years ago. She is more emotional and needy of the wives when it comes to time and attention from Cody and tends to have the most jealousy issues. She seems to be rational and social and was also the one who would stay home with the kids while the other adults worked.

Robyn is the fourth wife who joined the family only a couple of years ago (on the show). She has 3 children from her previous marriage. Another seemly shy wife who will also surprise you with her opinions. She's like a duck on the water- everything looks fine but the legs are paddling away under the water!

Personally this lifestyle is not for me, however I applaud them for their commitment and ability to raise their children in a loving and safe environment where both parents (and the support of other parent figures) are actively involved. They are clear in sharing that in order for their family to function it takes a lot of work. This family seems like they would be a blast to have as neighbors or to hang around with.

Disneyland M&M Rice Krispies Recipe

2013-04-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

ok so this is something you may be thinking is a super easy recipe that everyone and their dog (or mouse in this case) knows how to make. But really there are a lot of different variations. For example, some add peanut butter, some people sprinkle chocolate chips on top, some mix in other baking chips or M&M's, some use flavored marshmallows (found at holiday times). Some people like them crispy where some (like myself) like them soft and gooey. A few years ago while visiting Disneyland a friend and I got one of their delicious rice krispie squares. Ever since then I have craved them and make them every once in awhile.
So here's the recipe- first of all let me say the key to making these like Disneyland is to make them soft, super huge (thick) and add M&M's.

To get them big and thick like they sell at Disneyland I double the recipe and put it in one of my 9x13 Tupperware rectangle containers to set up.

In a LARGE pot melt 2 cubes of butter (this is part of what makes them soft)
once the butter has melted add 2 bags of marshmallows and stir constantly until they are all melted.

*this is where rice krispies can be finicky. You want to add the cereal to the marshmallows as soon as they are melted, and stir constantly! Don't add any more cereal than needed. They will set up pretty fast once the cereal has been added so you have to work quickly. Also, you don't want to cook the vanilla with the marshmallows and you don't want your M&M's to melt. So this next step takes some speedy moving!*

Turn off the burner, quickly add 2 t. vanilla extract, then instantly pour in a full 12 oz box of rice krispy cereal stirring constantly. Once the marshmallow has coated most of the cereal and before it's starting to set up/cool, add in 1-2 cups of M&M's. Stir only enough to mix in the M&M's then pour right into you pan to set up. If you stir the M&M's around too much they will start to melt and discolor the treat.

Let it set up then enjoy!!

This would be awesome to make when going on a trip to Disneyland and save some money!

Organizing Utility Closet

2013-04-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

I have to say- one perk of moving that I really do love is when it comes to unpacking! Because I can organize things the way I want and live under the delusion that they will actually stay that way. This time I labeled things so HOPEFULLY there is no excuse for Hubby & Kids not to keep things organized! (we'll see)
Can I just tell you how much I love these over the door shoe holders? They are the perfect way to keep things both organized and take up less space!
I prefer the ones that are clear so you can see what's in each pocket, but they also have solid colored ones if that's your thing.

I put this one on the inside of the utility door to hold all the tools and miscellaneous things a household needs. This time I went a step further and labeled each pocket so when the hubby or kids put things away they know right where to put them!
Here's a close up of some of the pockets.

I did leave a couple un-labeled for random things, or in case I think of something later I want in them.
Try it out!
I have one on my bathroom door, food storage door, utility door, and have used them in the past for games, kids toys, make-up, cleaning supplies, spices, and so much more!

Proof of cleaning!

2013-04-17T07:38:00.000-06:00

So today I now have you all as my witnesses that I do dust/clean! This is what we found when we moved. Our master bedroom dresser had a tv and cable box on it which hadn't been moved since we moved in 18 months before. It was obvious...
once we cleared off the dresser to move that I had been dusting the top of the dresser (at least the parts that I could get to). This dust layer was proof!

I couldn't resist the picture moment. Here is what the dresser looked like from a distance-

It amazes me to think that much dust had accumulated in our bedroom in only 18 months!

Octonauts Review

2013-04-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

We (the kids especially) were so excited to review these new Octonauts toys! They came a couple days before we moved, so keeping them in a box and not letting the kids play with them until after we got to the new house was torture. I was lucky to have got a picture of them here before the kids ripped open their boxes. (notice the eager little hand in the corner of the picture)
If you haven't seen the show Octonauts, you should check it out. It's a really cute cartoon that teaches kids about different sea creatures, problem solving skills, team work, and so much more. At the end of each episode they have a "Creature Report" song then they so a picture of the creature and talk about what they learned.

These toys included a Octopod Playset that is the home base for the Ocotnauts, a Compass that makes cute sounds from the show when you press buttons, a little "Cup-C & Shellings" which is basically a mini sub marine toy, a few figurines of different characters from the show, and a cute magazine with information games and stickers inside.

I know the flash got too bright on some of these pictures, but like I mentioned before, I was lucky to get any pictures! hahaha
The kids have loved playing with these. The little submarine one is taking up residency in our bathroom, but the others are played with around the house. There has been begging, pleading, negotiations, and debates over who gets what, and which items belong to which child even. Needless to say they are all fans!

*we were given these toys in exchange for our honest review*