I am a somewhat crafty gal, when I have time, I love to design, create, and hand make different stuff. Food and desserts are on the top of the list, but MJ likes to do a lot of hands on crafting, painting, gluing, cutting, collage, free hand drawing and more. I normally take to the internet for new ideas, but I have been seeing the same types of projects over and over.

Kiwi Crate offers a box full of fun, age appropriate craft projects each month, shipped straight to your house. Each crate comes with an inspiring idea and the materials to carry it out, sparking a love for art and creativity in your child! This is perfect for parents who’s children are very crafty and hands on. Kids get bored rather quickly with the same toys and projects, so when I am fresh out of ideas, the Kiwi Crate has something new in store!

Parents and educational experts come together to design each crate with kids’ needs in mind. How they think, learn, create, and have fun are all factors when projects are developed. Each project is developmentally appropriate and tested out by children to be sure they’ll love it! These crates are perfect for kids age 3-7 years old, although my daughter is 16 months and is learning while watching and somewhat participating.

Kiwi Crate Craft Box: The Colors Crate

MJ was lucky enough to test out the Colors Crate, it is complete with two fun projects and all of their necessities:

#1: Spinning Colors
Design and color different patterns. With a spin of your top, observe new colors and patterns.

A Colorful Inspiration: When we opened the box, we were greeted by a cute note and pair of scissors. The inside lid contains an overview of the fun that awaits!

The contents: Each crate has all of the required materials for the projects inside. Instructions are included, too.

My Spinning Colors: We created a fun spin top using primary colors to see fun color patterns and learn how they mix. We colored the circle with alternating blue and red triangles. When we spun the top, a beautiful purple showed!

We had a lot of fun with our Kiwi Crate, we have not tried out the stained glass but it looks fairly easy to do, most of all, FUN! It’s on the to-do list this weekend

Would you like to win a Kiwi Crate? If so, leave a comment on this post and tell me who in your household would love to receive one each month! For extra entries, you can send out a tweet, follow @mommy_GAGA on Twitter,  like mommyGAGA on Facebook, or follow my pins on Pinterest for extra entries. Leave a comment for each.

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Summer fun, summer sun, am I right? With the wonderful days and extended holiday weekends, we’re bound to have a barbecue, pool party, great beach days and best of all, family time!

Having a fun shindig this summer? Here are a few great food ideas and summer recipes for your party…

Summer Appetizers

Caprese Skewers with Balsamic Drizzle - Mini mozzarella cheese balls skewered with tender basil leaves and juicy tomatoes, drizzled with tangy-sweet balsamic reduction.

Grilled Peaches with Blue Cheese and Honey – These peaches were brushed with oil, grilled, filled with crumbled blue cheese and drizzled with honey.

Greek Shrimp Bruschetta – Combine some Mediterranean flavors with a classic Italian antipasto, and you get this highly rated recipe. Shrimp adds a new dimension to bruschetta and makes it a heartier accompaniment to a meal.   

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Herbed Goat Cheese – Take thin slices of zucchini, herbed goat cheese, olives and a few spices and grill to perfection. Yum!

Summer Foods

Spicy Mango Chicken Sausage – Homemade. Against the light taste of the chicken, the sweetness of the mango stood out, with the jalapeno lending a pleasing, mild heat.

Grilled, Spice Rubbed Flank Steak – this recipe serves as a great main dish, the spice rub on this flank steak sounds wonderful!

Tuscan Style Grilled Chicken Kebobs - These grilled chicken-and-vegetable kebabs feature the flavors of sunny Tuscany — lemon, rosemary, garlic, and oregano. Serve them with brown rice studded with sun-dried tomatoes for a rustic and satisfying dinner.

Grilled Fish Tacos with Roasted Chile, Avocado Salsa – This delicious recipe for grilled-fish tacos is courtesy of Emeril Lagasse.  He’s done it again, folks! These grilled halibut tacos are sure to please at your next summer event.

Summer Side Dishes

Savoy, Lime and Cilantro Cole Slaw – This sounds like a lime and cilantro treat! What a great twist to the norm, can’t wait to try it out!

Grilled Corn and Orzo Salad, Chili Lime Vinaigrette – This salad is perfect for your summer party, the smoky, sweet flavors of Grilled Corn Orzo Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette are the perfect accompaniment to any BBQ.

Cherry Tomato Salad – This simple salad is bursting with flavor! Garlic, oregano, shallots, parsley and feta cheese make this a summer must-have on the menu.

Roasted Corn with Queso, Cilantro and Chile - Piping hot corn on the cob is smeared with mayonnaise and dredged with Queso or Cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, chile powder, lime and plenty of salt and pepper.

Summer Beverages

Sparkling Pomegranate Punch – This bubbly, sweet-tart cocktail combines sparkling wine, dessert wine, and deep-red pomegranate juice.

Strawberry Basil Passion Iced Tea –  A refreshing summer beverage that tastes amazing, there’s something about the basil that sets it off rather nicely! Serve it at your next event, take it to the pool or sip some on your front porch. 

Fresh Strawberry Coconut Margaritas - This was achieved by adding cream of coconut to a traditional strawberry margarita, blend the goodness together for a sweet, margarita treat!

Triple Citrus Style Lemonade - This is refreshing lemonade – with a generous splash of citrus flavor from pink grapefruit and Valencia orange juice.

Summer Desserts

Patriotic Trifle – Wow your guests with this colorful, American version of a trifle. Hope it tastes just as good as it looks!

Mini S’mores Cheesecakes – No campfire needed for these! Bake these little marshmallow topped delights in your muffin pan and indulge!

Watermelon Pie – A delicious combination of colored sherberts and chocolate chips make this tasty treat.

American Flag Fruit Cake – Perfect for Memorial Day and 4th of July celebrations. Top this delicious white cake with frosting, cool whip and fresh berries.

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I have been totally into Project ME, my first actual “ME time” I set aside was earlier this month. I decided to go for a jog at the park, all by myself, childless. It’s not very often that I can get away with a trip to the park without the kids! I have really been trying to get into a good exercise routine, so I started running 3 days a week after work. Yay me!

The whole thing is pre-meditated. First, I have to work out on the days that I do not pick up the kids from school. Squeezing in a 30 minute run means planning meals ahead of time, leaving work right as the clock strikes and pre-packing my workout clothing in a bag. I normally pack whatever sweats and t-shirt happen to be clean, sometimes my husbands huge tees and basketball shorts are candidates!

Cute work out clothes for women? Yes please! In the quest for stylish and comfortable work out clothing, I would suggest Russell Athletic’s women’s line of performance activewear. I tried out a few pieces from the new line, the detail, comfort and style make this athletic wear stand out. I can wear them on a quick errand, to my son’s baseball practice and work out in them, too!

What I like about the Russell Athletic Women’s Active Wear line:

• Moms on the go with an active life-style, like mine, will be able to sport these outfits all day. No need to run home and change between events.
• The perfect fit. Not too tight, yet not baggy, loose or unattractive.
• Bright and fun colors. I do love a nice black pair of yoga pants, but the colorful tops really shine!
• There are different styles of tops and bottoms, some in cotton, some in a spandex/polyester blend with Dri-Power technology for performance.

I tried out both the semi-fit performance tank/capri pant set and a Dri-Power 360 round neck cotton tee/stretch capri pant set. I think the cotton set is nice for everyday comfort, but my favorite is the Semi-Fit Performance wear. I wore it a couple times so far and I like how they are fitted but not too tight. The top has an elongated fit and provides full coverage. Although I did not readily notice the Dri-Power moisture technology, it sure beats working out in a large, sweat-ridden t-shirt and my husbands big ol’ shorts! Also, I have no problem wearing these to the store or to lunch before a work out.

Hubs caught a few pictures of my jogging, I told him to get my good side, but there really is no good side when your working up a sweat!

Close up of the Semi-Fit Performance Tank…

The Semi-Fit Capri Pants are very comfy in any stretch position. These would make great yoga pants as well.

The waistband on the back of the Russell Athletic Semi-Fit Performance Capri’s has a little zipper pocket, good for keys, credit cards and small electronics. Got an iPod? It fits in here nicely.

For more information, visit Russell Athletic online, there are a bunch more selections from the new women’s line that look stunning!

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This post brought to you by Triad Retail Media. All opinions are 100% mine.

Between myself, my husband, and the kids, our laundry never ceases. With MJ in preschool and Baby Girl teething, it seems like the stains are becoming an extreme constant. You can forget about wearing white or light colored shirts, they even tend to get me messy somehow.

I refuse to buy new clothing every time a garment gets dirty, nor do I want to put a stained shirt on my kids. In a quest to find a great way to keep our family’s clothing stain free, I tried out Shout® Trigger. It’s got a triple acting formula that clings to the stain, penetrates the fabric and lifts the stain away, so it claims… Well, let’s put it to the test, shall we?!

Baby Girl has a white long-sleeved Gerber brand onesie that she managed to stain. She managed to drool all over the neckline, which was mixed with her dinner: lasagna, grapes and milk. Guess who forgot to put on her bib… yea, it was ME! We washed the onesie a couple of times, it was still a mess. I decided I would try soaking the stains using the Shout® Trigger for a bit just before washing again… Like new!

I’m sold. It worked. You can use Shout® Trigger on all of your washables, even colors, and in any water temperature. I have been doing all of our loads in cold water to save a bit on our gas and electric bill. Now to tackle MJ’s bright white baseball pants. Oh, the dirt stains he gets on those!

Any family’s laundry could benefit from Shout®. Would you rather soak, steam, and scrub each stain by hand? Nah, didn’t think so! Shout it out! The stain fighting ingredients and enzymes in the Shout® Trigger formula will do the work for you. Grab a bottle the next time you are at a Walmart store.

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I got a nice little Crate and Barrel pitcher set and a few varieties of Tazo Iced Tea Bags to try out. It was only right that I put the tea to the test, so I decided to see what I could come up with. Since summer is on it’s way, refreshing and cool is what I was after. I saw a strawberry basil lemonade somewhere and thought, “hey, wouldn’t that be great in Passion flavored tea?!”

If you love sweet tea, this is for you. A refreshing summer beverage that tastes amazing, there’s something about the basil that sets it off rather nicely! Serve it at your next event, take it to the pool or sip some on your front porch. Either way, you’ll enjoy it!

Strawberry Basil Passion Iced Tea

Ingredients:

1 Tazo® Iced Passion Tea Bag (pitcher size)
8 cups water (2 quarts)
1/2 pound strawberries, sliced
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh basil leaves
Ice (optional)

Make It!

Boil 4 cups of water. Add the Tazo® Iced Passion Tea Bag and let it steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea bag and add the sugar, stir until it dissolves. Put the sliced strawberries and basil in a large bowl, pour the tea mixture over it and let it sit and infuse for 10 minutes, or longer.  Transfer the tea mixture into a pitcher and add the rest of the water (4 more cups). Refrigerate. At this point, it’s done, but feel free to serve over ice and garnish the glass with a small strawberry or basil leaf.

The base recipe for the Passion tea came from the Tazo Tea box, I liked it so much that I posted a picture on Instagram! It’s caffeine free so I had no problem sharing with the kids. Try it and enjoy!

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This post brought to you by VTechKids. All opinions are 100% mine.

How many times has your child started playing with a toy, and about 3 minutes later, they get bored? MJ is notorious for this, he gets into something for about 10 minutes max and waits until I am in the middle of cooking or doing some type of household duty and says, “Mommy, what can I do now”? Child, find something fun to play with! Read a book. Build a fort. Anything!

We got wind of an educational, fun and time consuming toy that is packed with features galore. Switch & Go Dinos are absolutely perfect for MJ, he’ll be busy for a while with these! These toys are Vtech’s latest and greatest creation for children ages 3-8. There are four Starter Dinos, including Sliver the T-Rex, T-Don the Pteranodon, Tonn the Stegasaurus and Horns the Triceratops.

Why Switch & Go Dinos? Because they do some cool, interactive morphing from a dinosaur to a super charged vehicle, making the appropriate sound effects as you go! They are super easy to “switch”, just a few changes and clicks morph these toys rather quickly. There is an LCD screen that has the option to select different faces when in dinosaur mode and vehicle mode, the dinosaur and driver can be customized this way and actually come to life with the fun “roar” and “vroom”sound effects!

MJ and the Hubs were playing with Sliver the T-Rex. They had fun transforming him back and forth from dino to vehicle. The action buttons on the top of the device give fun facts about dinosaurs and fun driver phrases, too. In addition to a high quality electronics, kids can learn and be engaged with this 2-in-1 playing experience! Watch MJ and Hubs demonstrate:

Vtech’s Switch and Go Dinos were a real treat for my son, Baby Girl was into them, too! Check out Sliver, Horns, and the rest of the gang, they will hit store shelves this fall, yet they are all available now online. Buy today on Amazon and visit VtechKids.com for more information.

Moms of little girls:

I now know and fully understand the obsession with shopping for girls clothing. Before I had Baby Girl, I always complained that they had so many cute clothes, shoes and accessories available for girls, while the boys selection is just “blah”. Whatever, I thought. But then Baby Girl arrived. Now, I am SO glad that there are tons of cute options available for little girlies like her!

I got the cutest outfit from My Little Jules, an online boutique that carries some of the most darling clothes for girls. They’ve got a smidgen of cuteness for boys too, but oh, the girls section!!! From the tops, dresses and swimwear to the shoes and accessories, I had quite the hard time deciding what to order! Here’s what we picked:

And now, in action! Check out Baby Girl in her Le Top brand Razzle Dazzle Top and Bubble Shorts, I love her in hot pink! She’s also rocking some Livie and Luca Yellow Bloom shoes, I love these!

The Le Top outfit features the Razzle Dazzle top, which has 3 ruffled tiers with a cute pink circle graphic design. The shorts have a matching trim and are bubble style, so they are light and airy for the summer season. Cute + Quality = Perfect!

The Livie and Luca shoes are hand made with leather, they take great pride in the craftsmanship of their shoes. I can attest that they are of amazing quality, the pastel yellow adorned with a detailed pink flower at the toe give it a touch of cuteness. Plus, these open up nice and wide on the side of the shoe, so no more forcing in little feet.

Looking for other, popular brands? My Little Jules carries so much! You can find adorable, boutique style brands such as BabyLegs, Zutano, Oilily, Persnickety clothing and more. They are perfect for birthdays, holidays, and other occasions, yet comfortable enough as everyday clothing that kids can play in. Visit MyLittleJules.com for more information and to see their wide selection.

 
mommyGAGA is participating in the Shake, Rattle, & Roll Giveaway, featuring a variety of great products for kids of all ages! Once you have entered to win here, be sure to visit all of the participating blogs at the bottom of this post! Don’t forget to enter to win the Shake, Rattle, & Roll Grand Prize sponsored by Tommee Tippee! You will have the chance to win a Closer to Nature Audio Baby Monitor valued at $149.99! Visit Formula Mom to Enter the Shake, Rattle, & Roll Grand Prize Giveaway!!

One lucky reader will win a $50 My Little Jules Gift Card, right here on this post. Visit the Rafflecopter form below to enter, contest ends June 5, 2012. Once you have entered here, be sure to visit the linky below and enter the other giveaways on the participating blogs. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
  And now, for the rest of the giveaways…  

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Super WHY Live vibrantly brings to life Super Why, Alpha Pig, Wonder Red, Princess Presto and their puppy pal Woofster, who each take children on larger-than-life, imagination-stimulating adventures.  With help from the audience, the characters embark on magical, out-of-this-world journeys to explore what they’ve always wanted to be – from a ship’s captain to a rock star and more!  While singing, dancing and interacting with the characters on stage along the way, pint-sized fans (and parents, alike!) discover who really has the power to make dreams come true!

I’m excited, maybe more than my kids! So far, the closest show to us is in Louisiana (Aack!), but they plan to announce plenty more tour dates in the coming months. The Super WHY live tour kicks off on July 18th in Monroe, LA. Can’t wait till they add Southern California to the roster!

For more information and to find a show near you, visit www.superwhylive.com. Tickets are on sale now, go get em!

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