DigiCrumbs

Swagbucks Birthday Bash - Join the Fun and Earn Free Prizes!

2012-02-26T22:50:00.001-05:00

I have been using SwagBucks for a few years, and I love them! My favorite item to save for is the $5 Amazon gift cards. I'm always ordering something from Amazon and it's great to have a free gift card to help offset purchases.

In case you didn't know, Swagbucks is celebrating their 4th Birthday this Monday (2/27/12) with a big birthday bash! If you're already using Swagbucks, RSVP to the party and earn bonus SwagBucks during their birthday celebration. If you're new to Swagbucks, now's the time to join in the fun!

What are SwagBucks, exactly? They are digital dollars that you earn for searching the web and redeem for free prizes including gift cards. You won't get rich using Swagbucks, but you can earn quite a few gift cards in a year. I even saved my gifts cards up one year to pay for many Christmas presents.

If you are not already using Swag Bucks, learn more and sign up at Swagbucks.com.

Thomas the Train UNO Card Game - First Card Game

2012-02-25T19:32:00.000-05:00

Whether it's rainy and windy like this weekend or not, here’s what we’ve been doing a lot lately.

Playing UNO!

This card game was a little Christmas stocking stuffer from Grandma and Pappy and we're getting lots of good use out of it. My little guy loves this game. UNO is the first card game we introduced to him. The familiar favorite characters featured in this Thomas the Train version helped him instantly be interested in learning UNO and I love that the cards are large for toddlers. (If you're wondering where we found it, Thomas the Train UNO is available on Amazon)

UNO is great for learning numbers, colors, and having family fun. Since my little man already knows his numbers and colors, I really wish I would have tried playing this game together earlier, perhaps starting at age 2. Even now at 3, he’s learning the concepts of playing card games, taking turns, and good sportsmanship whether you win or lose.

The only problem is serious Thomas the Train fans, like my boy, may notice that not all the numbers correspond with the trains that have the same number. The designers probably choose to add a few girl trains to the mix to appeal to a wider audience, but my son noticed that number 2 was not Edward, etc. Maybe it’s not a big deal for others, but my son is into the details! :) Even so, he would not trade his Thomas the Train UNO for anything right now.

Digger Birthday Cake - An Easy DIY Interactive Birthday Cake

2012-02-19T23:26:00.001-05:00

My son gets super excited about anything sporting wheels, which gave us a lot of options for birthday themes this year. We already covered Rockets for his first birthday, Two-Two Trains for his second birthday, and this year we decided on Diggers, The Diggers Three (from one of his favorite shows, Bob The Builder), to celebrate his big third birthday!

I searched online for inspiration to see what others designed for construction themed birthday cakes. There are quite an array of impressive cakes that got me excited about designing my own digger birthday cake for our little man!

This year I dreamt up a DIY Digger Cake! I’ve never seen anything like it before, but decided it was totally fitting since my mom and I always design and decorate the birthday cakes each year. I decided it’s the boys turn to decorate this digger birthday cake, because I don’t know a boy who doesn’t enjoy digging in the dirt and they definitely have more expertise than me on creating a dig / construction work site. I’m the first to admit my plan was risky! I really had no idea if this was going to turn into a terrible mess or a wildly happy success. :)

Luckily for the sake of a very happy third birthday it was a tremendous success! Well, other than a minor “stick my finger in the flame of a very intriguing birthday candle” incident. There’s never a dull moment around here! No worries everything was OK, but I don’t think that will ever happen again!

I love that anyone can make this digger birthday cake! Unlike most birthday cakes that require special cake decorating tips to fancily pipe frosting, this cake is super simple and can be decorated simply with toys, standard kitchen equipment, and a little creativity. I especially love that it’s an interactive cake and really makes for a unique, special birthday memory.

Enough of an introduction, here are all the details for creating this fun digger birthday cake.

The Diggers
I knew I wanted to decorate with toy diggers, so we first did a little shopping in store and online to see what was available.

CAT Mini Machines - Perfect size for decorating a construction themed birthday cake!

We found a collection of assorted miniature sized diggers and construction vehicles just perfect for decorating a birthday cake. I was surprised to find exactly what I was looking for and knew my little guy would love playing with all these realistic mini yellow construction vehicles long after the birthday cake was history. They’re CAT Mini Machines and the packaging indicates they are for Ages 3+.

The Cake
Now that I knew the size of the toy diggers, a standard 9x13 sheet cake baked in my trusty Pyrex glass baking dish would be sufficient for this birthday cake.

The cake and icing had to be brown and chocolaty to look like real dirt and mud at a work site. I used Better Homes and Gardens Best Ever Chocolate Cake recipe which creates a moist and delicious homemade chocolate cake. This was the first time I used this chocolate cake recipe and it was a hit so we would definitely use it again.

I turned the cake out on a large piece of cardboard covered with freezer paper. I made a decorative border that I printed on colored card stock that included the big Happy Birthday wishes, which meant no icing piping needed for this cake...too easy!

The Icing
I used our typical butter cream icing recipe, the one on the packaging of the Domino’s Confectioners Sugar. To make the icing brown and chocolaty, I added Hershey’s Cocoa (no food coloring required) by the Tablespoon until I got the brown as dark as “dirt”. Tip: Count the number of Tablespoons of Cocoa powder you add in case you need to make a second batch of brown chocolate icing so the brown color will match.

I spread the icing on the cake randomly adding swirls and haphazard streaks. It was hard for me not to make it neat and perfect, but construction sites are far from perfect and always get rough and messy before the job is complete, so I tried hard to make it look like a bit of a mess...ha, ha!

The Toppings and Decorations
We prepared the “dirt”, “rocks”, and “mucky muck” as my son likes to call it. For “dirt” we ground up chocolate cookies (I used Organic Newman’s Chocolate Cookies, but Oreos or homemade would be yummy too) in the blender. For “rocks”, we pulsed a variety of nuts (almonds, walnuts, and pecans) in the blender. For “mucky muck”, we pulsed fun size Hershey Chocolate Bars in the blender to look like dirt, small boulders, and stones when complete...they look remarkably realistic. We dumped each into it’s own bowl and stuck in a spoon creating a fun dirt themed topping bar. I also made cute little signs on card stock that said “Dig In” and “Caution Matthew is 3” that were placed on toothpicks to be insert into the birthday cake as the decorators saw fit.

We shopped the playroom and dug out a few construction cones for extra decoration. I organized the toppings, signs, construction cones, and of course the star of the cake...the diggers and we were ready for the birthday celebration to begin!

Time to Decorate - DIY Style

Once the official birthday cake decorators (Birthday Boy, Daddy, and Pappy) were ready, we left the birthday boy hand out the mini diggers and have at it! I like this photo of all the boys hands working together to decorate the third birthday cake...it was so much fun!

Lots of laughs and big birthday smiles!

The Final Results
The digger birthday cake turned out amazing!

I love all the little details the boys incorporated in the design: dirt spilling out of the digger buckets, tire tracks on the icing, scoops of cake dug out, little construction cones and signs in all the right places. Now that we’re aware of these hidden talents, perhaps the boys can decorate a few future birthday cakes and give Mom and Grandma a cake break once in a while...love that! :)

I try to go homemade as much as possible, but this cake would definitely work with your favorite boxed cake mix and tub of frosting too...super easy and so much fun.

Happy Birthday!!!

Check out a few of our previous cakes creations (after clicking this link, scroll down to see all the cake posts).

Free Martha Stewart Living iPad Subscription for Print Subscribers

2012-02-18T01:19:00.000-05:00

You can get a FREE Subscription to the Martha Stewart Living Digital Edition for iPad for the remainder of your current print subscription term.

I’m loving Martha Stewart Living on iPad, it’s definitely one of the best interactive digital magazines available. The digital edition also offer creative interactive extras that aren't available in the print magazine...so fun!

Savings Tip: I just started getting Martha Stewart Living Print Magazine for FREE thanks to Recyclebank. If you are not familiar with Recyclebank, check it out. It’s a great website that awards points for learning about green choices and rewards you for participating in recycling. Although we live in an area where our recycling cannot be counted toward Recyclebank points, I still use the website to earn points. I have already earned a couple thousand points. It only takes 230 points for a free subscription to Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I’ve also cashed in points for high value coupons and may save up for a gift card next.

Sign up for Recyclebank to earn points toward a FREE Martha Stewart Living Subscription or other rewards or your choice.
Buy Martha Stewart Living Magazine Subscription
Download FREE Martha Stewart Living iPad App

Printable Coupons for $1 Off Kashi Products

2011-12-30T14:32:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of printable coupons for Kashi products available right now:
- $1.00 off Kashi GOLEAN Cereal
- $1.00 off Kashi GOLEAN Crisp! cereal
- $1.00 off one Kashi Soft n Chewy bar

I just printed these Kashi coupons along with a $1 off Barilla Pasta Sauce, $1 off Nivea Lip Care product, $1 off Bear Naked Granola, and a few others from Coupons.com.

Happy Savings!

Thomas's Christmas Delivery - Only $38 on Amazon!!

2011-12-18T16:53:00.003-05:00

Our 3 year old is a big fan of Thomas the Train and his friends. We have a growing set of Trackmaster trains, which he loves because they are powered but can also be manually pushed and pulled. We have been watching for new additions to his collection for Christmas, and today found Amazon had reduced the price on Thomas's Christmas Delivery to just $38 - this set was over $100 when it was first listed.

Better yet, Amazon is offering Free shipping that will arrive by Christmas eve if you order by Monday, Dec 19th.

The set includes a special Snow covered Thomas Engine, Three Cars, and Four different "stations" which each respond when Thomas passes by. Note that from the reviews this set needs 10 AA batteries to operate all of the features. This Thomas set will look great around our Christmas Tree, and should be tons of fun for our little one.

Link to Thomas's Christmas Delivery on Amazon

Christmas Tree Decorating Surprises - 3 Year Old Boy Style

2011-12-12T21:55:00.000-05:00

My son is really into Christmas this year, and has been super excited about decorating the tree ever since we set it up after Thanksgiving.

I like to make decorating the Christmas tree a family activity that we work on together while enjoying some minty hot chocolate and homemade cookies...fun and yummy.

My son keeps asking about putting “Christmas Balls” on the Christmas Tree. I told him we would decorate the tree together this week when everyone was home to share in the fun. He accepted my explanation and patiently waited to put ornaments on the tree or so I thought...

I later realized he took matters into his own hands, when I noticed a few little “decorations” he decided to sneak in. :) It’s definitely not what I would have planned to put on our Christmas Tree, but Trucks, Cars, or anything with wheels is very “in” right now around this house.

Sometimes the unexpected is exactly what is needed to brighten the day and make you smile!

Make sure to throw in something unexpected in your decorating this year. It just might be a highlight of your Christmas Tree.

Baltimore National Aquarium Discounts - Our Family’s Savings Finds

2011-12-07T01:03:00.001-05:00

via www.aqua.org

We recently visited Baltimore, Maryland and decided to take our son to the famous National Aquarium, a top attraction in the city. We scoured the web for discounts or coupons and found very little useful information. One website indicated that they offer discount coupons in brochures available at Maryland Welcome Centers. After calling a couple welcome centers, they informed us that they never had coupons to the aquarium and have been having trouble ever since someone posted it online. We found several “stay and save” packages at local hotels, which include aquarium tickets with a hotel stay, but the prices were not great deals. We were able to get discount tickets through my husbands workplace, but after doing the math it would still cost a lot of money for our family of 3 to enjoy a day long visit.

Since our son recently turned 3, he’s no longer free. Although he loves this type of activity in small doses, he does not have a “hang out at an aquarium, museum, or zoo for a full day” kind of attention span yet, so we weren’t sure it made sense to spend a small fortune taking him on this excursion now.

via www.aqua.org

We had almost scrapped our plan when we learned about Fridays After Five. From September 9th through March, all basic Aquarium admission tickets are only $8 for entry at 5 pm or later on Fridays. Dolphin and 4D shows can be added on for an additional $4 each. This is a huge savings, check out the current regular admission prices:

Aquarium Only Senior Admission Price (60+): $23.95
Aquarium Only Adult Admission Price (12-59): $24.95
Aquarium Only Child Admission Price (3-11): $19.95
Fridays After Five Aquarium Only Admission Price: $8.00

We were planning to go on a Friday anyway. For only $24 (admission for 3), we all had a super fun evening exploring the Baltimore Aquarium. Even though we didn’t pay extra for the dolphin show this time, we could see the dolphins in their underwater viewing area. My hubby and I both agreed that paying full price for a full day at the aquarium wouldn’t have been worth it for our family right now due to our son’s young age, but this discount price was definitely a great deal. There were lots of other families at the aquarium too and, not surprisingly, it was a popular date night destination.

Saving Tip: Save on Parking - The aquarium website lists parking garages that they validate for $3 off the daily rate, but the garages were still pricey especially when you’re only parking for the evening. We were able to park at a garage up the street that only charged $7 after 4pm, which worked perfectly for an evening outing to the aquarium.

Also Note: The Baltimore Aquarium does not allow strollers inside.

One of our favorite parts of this visit was the giant lively octopus that was putting on quite a show and attracting a huge traffic jam sized crowd of onlookers.

If you’ll be near Baltimore, definitely stop by the National Aquarium and check it out! If you’re going for the Fridays After Five deal, please be aware ticket availability is limited and the aquarium recommends advance purchase. They charge a small fee per ticket for advance purchase, but you’ll be guaranteed to get discounted tickets. This may be a worthwhile option if you’re making a special trip or are traveling from a distance. We did not purchase advanced tickets. There was a short line to purchase tickets, but we were permitted to immediately enter the aquarium. During busy times, tickets purchased may have a delayed entrance time (so you might drop someone to get tickets while you park the car, if arriving right at 5pm).

When we visited the aquarium closed at 8pm, but as long as you were inside they allowed you to stay until 9:30pm. In case you’re wondering, although there is a lot to explore and take in, we did not make it that long...that’s life with an active 3 year old. :)

National Aquarium. Baltimore Inner Harbor
501 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202
http://www.aqua.org
Hours | Admission Prices | Fridays at Five, Promotions and Discounts
(410) 576-3800

Printable Coupon for $.75 Off Muir Glen Organic Tomato Products

2011-12-02T13:57:00.001-05:00

- $0.75 off any flavor/variety Muir Glen product (FREE or cheap organic tomato products)

This is a high value coupon especially if your grocery store doubles, but if not Walmart often sells Muir Glen organic tomato paste for only $.97 making it super inexpensive to stock up.

There are a lot of new coupons available at Coupons.com right now since it's the start of a new month.
Happy Savings!

Pomegranate Turkeys - A fun and healthy Thanksgiving Favor or Hostess Gift

2011-11-23T17:40:00.000-05:00

Two years ago, we tried Pomegranates and learned how to easily remove their juicy seeds from the tough exterior. Now we look forward to enjoying this super food when they're available each year. We purchased four packs at Sam’s Club and can’t wait to enjoy them. So many people commented to me in the store that they love Pomegranates when they noticed them in our cart. I barely knew about this super fruit a few years ago, but I’m so glad healthy foods are becoming popular.

This year instead of just eating the Pomegranates immediately, I decided we could use them in a craft project as part of our Thanksgiving decor and worked to transform the fruit into Pomegranate Turkeys.

I first saw the idea on Martha Stewart’s TV Show and even found a turkey template available on her website. Rather than card stock, I used a brown paper bag from the grocery store to cut out the template. I like the natural look it gives the Pomegranate Turkeys and it's zero cost. :) I also chose to adhere our turkey embellishments with double sided tape rather than toothpicks that would probably pierce a few of the seeds inside and possible leak dark red juice on our table and place settings.

Pomegranate Turkeys would look great at each place setting on Thanksgiving. Rather than a favor featuring candy, I love that Pomegranate Turkeys are a healthy, yet tasty treat to enjoy after the holiday.

This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving with family, so we made a few Pomegranate Turkeys for hostess gifts with a simple message of thanks on the back of the turkey feathers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

FREE Burrito at Chipotle with $30 Gift Card Purchase

2011-11-23T17:12:00.001-05:00

Hold onto your receipt! Chipotle is offering a fun holiday promotion of a Free Burrito with the purchase of a Chipotle Gift Card.

Here are the details to get your FREE Burrito:

"Buy $30 or more in gift cards at any Chipotle restaurant between November 18th and December 31st. Then bring in your receipt on your next visit for a FREE Burrito, Bowl, Order of Tacos or Salad.

Last day to redeem receipt is January 31st, 2012. Must be original receipt, no copies. Limit one free menu item per customer. This promotion does not apply to gift cards purchased online or at other retailers. Gift cards must be purchased in a single transaction at a Chipotle restaurant and be accompanied by a Chipotle restaurant receipt to qualify."

We'll definitely be taking advantage of this offer as we're big Chipotle Fans. :)

FREE Kindle Books: The Everything Potluck Cookbook, Salads for Every Season, and More!

2011-11-23T15:55:00.001-05:00

Amazon is offering a free kindle book download of The Everything Potluck Cookbook by Linda Larsen. If you love new cookbooks like I do, download this one while it's available for free.

Remember, you do not need a Kindle e-reader to read this free book. You can read it on your Computer, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android. Prices may chance without notice, so verify the price before downloading. At the time of this post, the price is $0.00.

A few more free cookbooks currently available:

- Salads for Every Season: 25 Salads from Earthbound Farm: A Workman Short by Myra Goodman
- Dinners Made Easy by Stonyfield Farm

Also, check out the current Top 100 FREE Kindle Books at Amazon.com.

Related Posts:
- Kindle Fire - Amazon Enters the Tablet Party

Easy Homemade Granola - So Simple, Why Didn’t I Try This Sooner?!

2011-11-02T22:06:00.000-04:00

Making homemade granola has been on my to do list forever, but for one reason or another I never got around to it. I was bookmarking granola recipes like crazy when I found a simple recipe using only a small amount of natural sweetener that's a winner.

Granola is also a perfect recipe to make with my 3 year old with its short ingredients list and a simple scoop, dump, and stir process. I try to include him as much as possible when we’re cooking or baking, since he really enjoys it and always tries everything he helps make.

Easy Homemade Granola Recipe
Adapted from Food Network, Ellie Krieger

Ingredients
3 cups old-fashioned oats
½ cup chopped raw, unsalted walnuts
½ cup chopped raw, unsalted almonds
½ cup chopped unsalted pecans
½ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. I like to use a refillable Misto or similar spray container. I made this recipe twice so far and forgot to spray the baking sheet the second time I made the recipe. It still turned out great with no sticking, so I skip the spray.

2. Combine the oats, nuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt, if using in a large bowl.

Mommy's happy helper! That's crockpot chicken broth going on the background...always multitasking. :)

Hands really are the best tools in the kitchen!

3. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. I set a timer for every 10 minutes and use the same silicone spatula used to combine the mixture to stir it up and spread it evenly on the baking sheet.

4. Put the baking sheet on a cooling rack and let cool completely.

5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

After I made homemade granola, I realized this is more of a method than an exact recipe (although it’s delicious as is). You can add your favorite ingredients (spices, dried fruits, nuts, etc.) to make your own special flavor combinations. I definitely want to try substituting pureed fresh fruit in place of the maple syrup...should be interesting!

There are endless uses for homemade granola. Use it to top yogurt, oatmeal, applesauce, ice cream, waffles, or just eat it plain with a splash of milk. I wish I would have tried making my own granola sooner. I typically have all the ingredients in the pantry and it’s one of those recipes that we’ll make again and again.

Anybody else have a favorite granola recipe or any favorite ingredients to throw in homemade granola?

Printable Coupons for Muir Glen, Cheerios, Filippo Berio, LARABAR, and More!

2011-11-01T22:08:00.000-04:00

Happy November! It's the start of a new month and that means new printable coupons are available at Coupons.com. Take a minute to print coupons that will help you save money on your grocery bill, before they reach their print limits.

Here are a few coupons now available:

- $0.75 off any flavor/variety Muir Glen product (FREE or cheap organic tomato paste)
- $1.00 off Any Filippo Berio Olive Oil
- $0.75 off any Cascadian Farm product
- $1.00 off 4 any flavor LARABAR or JOCALAT bars
- $0.50 off Honey Nut Cheerios cereal (My son calls these Honey Bee O's, a once in a while treat. I mix them with regular Cheerios so they aren't so sweet)

and many more. Happy Saving!

Happy Halloween - Three Little Piggy’s Style

2011-11-01T22:01:00.000-04:00

Mesmerized by the delicious Chipotle Booritos!

Since we had snow over the weekend, it was a pretty chilly Halloween night. We decided to leave it up to our little guy if he wanted to go trick or treating or go to Chipotle for a Halloween “Boorito”. We were so happy, he picked the “Boorito”!

Since his costume was a cute little lion this year (fitting for our annual trip to Boo at the Philadelphia Zoo), we didn’t have any farm inspired costumes for the $2 Boorito’s at Chipotle. After throwing out a few ideas, we broke out the craft supplies and decided to be the Three Little Pigs.

These piggy's may not be our finest crafty work, but it was fun and we all worked together to quickly make our farm inspired costumes. We colored paper plates pink, cut piggy ears and snouts out of pink card stock, and taped on big googly eyes. We were even going to put them on popsicle sticks for official masks, but decided to just hold them up for the sake of time.

Our son was having so much fun with our last minute Halloween switch-a-roo. He held up a completed piggy face and then popped his head out and exclaimed “Piggy-Boo” (aka his Halloween version of peek-a-boo). Too funny and too cute!

What a memorable and fun last minute Halloween activity, complete with $2 Chipotle Burritos. :) Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!

Rescued Herbs

2011-11-01T21:56:00.002-04:00

Yikes, it snowed here over the weekend! For Pennsylvania this is way too early for snow, but at least we were warned. I brought in all our citrus trees and plants to safety. I even rescued a cup full of fresh herbs from my outdoor herb garden.

All the colorful fall leaves have not even fell to the ground yet. I have never seen snow covered fall trees before! Hopefully this doesn’t mean we’re going to get an extra snowy winter this year. It really didn’t feel like Halloween with snow!

Next I need to find a few good recipes to throw some fresh herbs into. I also want to try growing fresh herbs indoors on my kitchen windowsill during the cold months...someday. :)

Product Recalls - The Website and Mobile App to Check for Recalled Products

2011-10-06T19:13:00.000-04:00

Do you pay attention to food recalls? According to an old issue of Shape magazine: 41 percent of Americans ignore nationwide food recalls (source: Rutgers' Food Policy Institute).

I definitely pay attention when I'm aware of a food recall that may affect our family, but never really knew where to go for accurate, up to date information. The article indicates that you can check the list at www.recalls.gov.

I just checked out the website and I'll be honest I usually think we're OK, because we try to avoid processed foods, but interestingly there have been a lot of fresh fruits and veggies recalled too.

Recalls.gov also offers a mobile app that allows you to have important product recall safety information on the go. This will be especially useful if you're interested in checking for recalls on something you may want to buy. I haven't tried the app myself yet, but it also says that it shares photos of recalled products and informs you on what to do with recalled products in your home.

This won't be a site I check everyday, but I'm glad to know where to go for recalled product information.

What I Am by Will I Am - Inspriational Song

2011-10-04T22:20:00.001-04:00

My 2 year old son loves scrolling through watching YouTube videos. This video is one of his favorites and I’m a fan of the song too.

It’s actually a segment from Sesame Street! The song What I Am is by Will I Am from the Black Eyed Peas. Here are the lyrics:

If what I am is what's in me
Then I'll stay strong - that's who I'll be
and I will always be the best
"me" that I can be.

There's only one me, I am it
Have a dream I'll follow it
It's up to me to try.

Chorus 1
Oh! I'm a keep my head up high
Keep on reaching high
Never gonna quit
I'll be getting stronger.

And nothing's gonna bring me down (No!)
Never gonna stop, gotta go.
Because I know
I'll keep getting stronger.

Bridge 1
And what I am is Thoughtful
What I am is Musical
What I am is Smart
and What I am is Brave
What I am is Helpful
What I am is Special
There's nothing I can't achieve,
Because in myself I believe in Oh...

Chorus 2
Gonna keep our heads up high
Keep on reaching high
Never gonna quit
Just keep getting stronger.

And nothing's gonna bring us down (No!)
Never give it up, gotta go.
Because I know
I'll keep getting stronger.

Bridge 2
What I am is Super
What I am is Proud
What I am is Friendly
What I am is Grouchy
What you are is Magical
What you are is Special

There's nothing I can't achieve.
Because in myself I believe in Oh...

Chorus 3
Gonna hold my head up high
Keep on reaching high
Never gonna stop
I'll keep getting stronger.

Nothing's gonna bring me down (No!)
Never give it up gotta go, Oh... Yeah...
I'll keep getting strong--er.

I love the beat, love the music, love the lyrics. It’s so cute watching my son play air drum and make big muscles throughout the song. I wish musicians would make more songs that appeal to everyone in the family like this song does. PBS and Will.I.Am should really sell this song via MP3, it would make a great fundraiser!

Disney Aulani, Oahu Hawaii - New Photos of the Completed Resort

2011-10-03T23:36:00.000-04:00

The new Disney Aulani Resort is open for business! I shared pictures of the construction progress at Aulani, the new Disney mega-resort back in September of 2010 while we were living in Hawaii. During our recent visit to Oahu, we got a first hand view of the finished Aulani resort and it looks gorgeous with an authentic Hawaiian theme.

On this trip, we stayed in the JW Marriott Ihilani next door and were lucky enough to get a room overlooking the Disney resort and actually got to enjoy a birds eye view of their evening entertainment from our balcony. Our 2 year old son was beyond thrilled to bounce and bop along with Mickey and the gang to a fun luau style show featuring live music and plenty of dancing. Another evening a huge outdoor projector was set up along with lots of beach mats for a movie under the stars, which sounded like Pirates of the Caribbean 3, a Disney film that was not yet out on DVD at the time.

We were a little concerned that Lagoon 1 at Ko Olina would become overcrowded and too busy to enjoy with the additional guests that a new resort brings, but were pleasantly surprised that it was not the case at all. Although there are additional beach chairs and guests swimming in the lagoon, it still feels quite private and enjoyable as a relaxing Hawaiian beach vacation spot.

Without making you wait any longer...here are a few pictures of the new Disney Aulani:

Disney's Aulani Resort and Ko Olina Lagoons, Oahu, Hawaii

Swimming in the lagoon in front of Aulani Resort!

Aulani Evening Entertainment - Movie Under the Stars

Aulani Evening Entertainment - Luau Style Show with live music, dancing, and Disney Characters!

Dancing along with Mickey and the gang!

Aulani at Night - Love the warm lights on top of their towers...stunning.

If you’re planning a trip to the new Aulani in Hawaii, lucky you! Let us know how you enjoyed your vacation!!!

Note to Disney, if you are interested in having a blogging family, stay at your new property and blog all about our experience with lots of high quality pictures, sign us up! :)

Koret's Children's Quarter in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

2011-09-30T15:47:00.000-04:00

As I was skimming an old issue of American Baby magazine, my 2 year old who was "reading" over my shoulder got super excited when he saw this picture of Koret's Children's Quarter a huge play park in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.

Photo of Koret's Children's Quarter in American Baby Magazine March 2011

The magazine says that it has areas for kids of every age including babies. There's also a carousel. Koret's Children's Quarter was established in the 1880s and is considered to be the first public playground in the country, a pretty impressive stat. My husband and I have visited San Francisco many times, but never stopped by this spot (not too surprising as we didn't have children when visiting).

Koret's Children's Quarter in Golden Gate Park is now on our travel list. The next time we're visiting San Francisco for longer than an airport layover, our family is definitely going to check it out!

Kindle Fire - Amazon Enters the Tablet Party

2011-09-28T21:38:00.003-04:00

In case you missed it, today Amazon announced a trio of new Kindle devices - the flagship is called the Fire, and sports a 7" full color touch screen, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and 3" smaller than the iPad. Amazon built its tablet on the Google Android platform, but it looks nothing like other Android tablets - the interface has been completely customized and integrated with Amazon's services. If you are a prime member ($79 a year gets you free shipping and video streaming), you can access all of those videos on the Fire, if you have purchased music through Amazon, you can stream it to the Fire and, of course, you can access all of your Kindle books. The biggest surprise in the announcement is the bottom line - the Fire is priced at just $199! At less than half the cost of an iPad or Galaxy, it will certainly be tempting for budget conscious consumers eager to jump into the tablet craze.

The Kindle Fire reportedly sports a dual core 800mhz processor (slower than Apple's dual core 1Ghz), and has 8GB of on board storage - to keep performance snappy Amazon thought out of the box and designed a web browser, called Silk, that relies on Amazon's powerful cloud servers to accelerate the web browsing experience. In the days of dial-up internet many providers used this trick to compress images and optimize pages before they were sent over the phone line - Amazon's demos of the Silk browser do look impressive.

If you are looking for a traditional e-Ink kindle device, Amazon has released two new models - the least expensive of which, a 6" device now sells for only $79 - with $30 of the original $109 price reduced by agreeing to "sponsorship" in the form of advertisements on your home screen and as screen savers. The next model up, the Kindle Touch ditches the navigation buttons in favor of a touch screen still made of the paper like e-Ink, and sells for $99, again after $40 taken off for "sponsorship". The pricing is impressive, given that a week ago the least expensive Kindle sold for $114. For those without high speed internet and wifi, the Kindle Touch is also available with free 3G for $149, Amazon pays for the cost of getting you on line to get your books, this is a great option for those who might not have a computer or internet at home.

We are big fans of Amazon, and use the Kindle App on our Apple iOS devices, with these new low prices and added capabilities, the Kindle is tempting! I don't think the Fire tablet will challenge the iPad, but the Barnes and Noble Color Nook, priced $50 higher, is a dead man walking. To me, competition in the tablet market can only bring cooler products at better prices - we will see were Amazon goes with their new tablet.

One note, if you think one of these new Kindles might make a great Christmas present, with the exception of the $79 Kindle, which is available now, they won't ship until Nov 14 and I predict they will sell what they can build before Christmas within a month or less! Bottom line, if you want one this year, I suggest you visit Amazon and pre-order now!

iOS 5, Finally Coming Soon!

2011-09-28T00:46:00.000-04:00

If you are a fan of iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, or the iPad), like me, you will be excited to hear that the latest and greatest version of the iOS, 5, is finally within sight. It seems like years since Steve Jobs first keynote about iOS 5 (in reality, it has only been about 3 months), and today Apple announced that they will be announcing something iPhone related next Tuesday, October 4th. It is likely that Apple will announce the iPhone 5, and I am definitely excited to see if the screen gets bigger and how much faster it will be. Alas, since we have an iPhone 4, we probably won't be upgrading to the new device any time soon, so back to the software!

Since the new iOS is so close, I wanted to refresh my memory on what was coming, a quick search found this excellent YouTube video by Apple. If you are an iOS user, check it out! For me, the coolest feature is probably one of the simplest - on the iPad you will now be able to swipe four fingers left or right to switch apps, and down to get to the home screen. It is so simple, in fact, that my 2 year old watched the video and tried to use the feature already! It was tough to explain to him it won't work until Daddy upgrades the software!

Happy 1st Day of School Gift

2011-09-27T01:06:00.003-04:00

It’s hard to believe it’s back to school time already! Since my son is only 2, I decided to put a little Happy 1st Day of School gift together for my niece to help her get even more excited about going to school!

She loves breaking out tape and wrapping gifts for others and she often enjoys unwrapping presents more than the actual gift itself. So I put one of my bright, shiny after Christmas wrapping paper finds to good use by wrapping up a fresh pack of vibrant crayons and a fun sticker workbook/activity book.

Something about a new pack of crayons just screams back to school time, plus it’s a great time to stock up (think Christmas gifts and donations) as they’re inexpensive right now. I especially love the educational workbooks by Roger Priddy. They’re bright, colorful, and full of fun educational activities that cover everything from basic addition to writing letters and number all while incorporating stickers and activity pages.

What a bonus, this wrapping paper is lined with a subtle checkerboard pattern making it super easy to cut just the right amount. I’m also glad it says it’s recyclable, which I wouldn't have realized since it’s shiny foil paper.

I didn’t have much luck finding any Happy Back To School printables, so I whipped one up using simple clip art and text. It definitely works for a simple, but thoughtful Happy 1st Day of School gift for a special little one.

Happy Back To School!

PS: We’ve been traveling again, so this is getting posted much later than planned. I’ll be adding a few Hawaii and possibly California travel posts soon as well as the usual fun. It’s good to be back home in PA, flooding and all.

FREE Kindle Book: The Everything Soup, Stew, & Chili Cookbook

2011-09-22T21:43:00.004-04:00

Amazon is offering a free kindle book download of The Everything Soup, Stew, & Chili Cookbook by Belinda Hulin.

I love new cookbooks and at this time of year I can't get enough healthy, warming bowls of homemade soup. With 300 recipes, hopefully this cookbook has a few new winners our family will enjoy.

Remember, you do not need a Kindle e-reader to read this free book. You can read it on your Computer, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android. Prices may chance without notice, so verify the price before downloading. At the time of this post, the price is $0.00.

A few more free cookbooks currently available:
- Dinners Made Easy by Stonyfield Farm
- Vegetarian Indian Cooking: The How-To Guide

Also, check out the current Top 100 FREE Kindle Books at Amazon.com.

FREE Twining of London Tea - 3 Free Twinings Tea Bag Samples in Flavors You Pick

2011-09-14T18:47:00.000-04:00

Twinings is offering 3 Free Twinings Tea Bag Samples in varieties of your choosing. There are over 50 varieties to pick from including about a dozen organic and fair trade options.

I love tea, it's great iced in summer and so warming in fall and winter. I selected a few new-to-me healthy green tea and herbal tea blends. I'm definitely looking forward to this fun sample. Enjoy! :)