McGruff at Daisy Meeting

McGruff and his friends came to talk to the girls at their Daisy meeting. Princess A loved meeting McGruff and learning about safety. At one point she told the officer that if a bad person did grab her it was O.K. to kick and bite them but she would run super fast so they can't get her. It was nice to hear that my warning have sunk in, at least a little. It is scary to know that 90% of kids who are taken are taken by someone they have met before. It makes sense but is still scary. We also learned about 911, when to call and when not call. We got to listen to some calls that should not have been made. A lady called about getting her bird out of a tree, a man called about a high school football score (he had seen officers at the game) and the best was to lodge a complaint against aliens. Not illegal aliens, aliens from another galaxy. He wanted to make sure the sheriff's department knew the aliens had left something under the local hospital 200 years ago.

Double Scoop Ice Cream Cones!!

We just got home from Baskin-Robbins. This was the first time we made it to their 31 cent scoop night. The Princesses were just so excited to get double scoops (their first times.) Princess A picked Peppermint and Bubblegum.

Princess G picked Rainbow Sherbet and Bubblegum in a sugar cone.
Princess A made a pile of the bubblegum to save for later. Princess G gave the bubble gums a few chews and then just swallowed them.

This about as far as Princess A got and asked me to eat the rest. Luckily I was almost finished with my double scoop of Daiquiri Ice.

Princess G ate every last bite!

Princess A decided she wanted her cone back so she could bite the bottom off and suck out the last of the Peppermint ice cream. She carried the gum (in a napkin which I forgot in the car) to the car and shared some with her sister.

The 31 cent scoop last until 10pm so you still have time to run out.

Let me know if you go and what flavor you pick out!!

Grosgrain: Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Popsicles on a Very Cold Day!

Yes, it was cold enough for all those layers!

They had a few licks and said they were too cold!
They wanted me to finish them.
Instead I put them back in the freezer and told them to run around until they were warm.

Ragu Old World Style Sauce Review

We usually have spaghetti once a week (well sometimes twice if I make enough for leftovers.) I have not had Ragu in years. I tried Ragú Old World Style® pasta sauce, both Sweet Tomato Basil and Margherita. My plan was to make spaghetti. I was voted down, the girls wanted pizza! We used the Ragú Old World Style® Margherita pasta sauce on homemade pizza crust (I used my bread machine.) The girls picked cilantro, pepperoni and mushrooms for the toppings. It was so good! The sauce was just right and most importantly the girls kept eating and eating. They were not tired of pizza so a few days later we used the Ragú Old World Style® Sweet Tomato Basil pasta sauce to make pizza bagels. This time it was just cheese, sauce and baby bagels (that is what the girls call the mini bagels.) Again they loved the pizza and the Ragú Old World Style® pasta sauce. I still have some sauce left and will finally make some spaghetti, I am sure the girls will gobble that up too.

Thank you Mom Central for this review opportunity.

Volcanos

Princess A has been asking a lot of questions about volcanoes so when I saw our local library was having a program about volcanoes I signed us up. Princess G was probably a little too young but she still had lots of fun. Here they are exploring liquids with different viscosity. One bottle had water and the other corn syrup. They represent the different types of lava. Different lava makes different types of volcanoes.

They got to sort postcards of cone and shield shaped volcanoes. Princess G thought she got to keep the postcards (she is holding her favorite) and was a little sad to give them back.The best part was the exploding volcano.

I just love science and it is so exciting to see that in my girls!

Butterfly Nets, Frogs and Flies

I picked up two butterfly nets at Target (they were in the dollar section.)

The girls couldn't wait to try them out.

We did not see any butterflies to catch but Princess A found a frog.

We but it in the bug container that was from Princess G's birthday last year.
Princess G wanted something but the only thing I caught was a fly.

Then I caught another bug that was like a fly but also like a very small dragonfly.

Princess wanted to keep that bug.

Princess A decided to feed the fly to the frog. I got the fly into the container and before I got the net out the frog was eating the fly. We missed the tongue action but could see the fly wing sticking out of the frog's mouth. Princess A really wanted to see the tongue so we tried another bug. The frog was not interested. After a while we let the frog go.

Princess G watched the frog jump a few times and then decided to catch it herself. I then put Bubbles (the name Princess A named it) in the bug container with Leaf (the weird bug Princess G named.) Princess G was worried for Leaf but the frog was still not hungry.

The frog survived a lot of dancing and happily hopped away when we finally let it go for good.

It never ate Leaf but Leaf did get squished from all of the hopping.

Painting Birdhouses

The girls were so excited to paint their birdhouses. We even went and picked up some new colors (soft green, blue and a periwinkle), though they used the colors I already had. At the very end Princess A used some of the soft green. It was very sunny and warm so after about thirty minutes they decided to finish later.

It rained later so I am not sure when we will get a chance to finish painting the houses.

Home Depot Bird Houses

We finally made it to another Home Depot Kid's Workshop. The project was a birdhouse. Both of the girls made a birdhouse but Princess G got a splinter and missed the picture taking.

Daddy took her to the bathroom but never got the splinter out. He said it was really in there. I took a look and got it right out. Having nails is a good thing.

Playing Zoom Zoom

The girls watched Bolt again and have been playing 'Zoom Zoom' since then.

Princess A has a powered scooter like Penny and goes 'very fast!' Princess G has 'Zoom Zoom' shoes.
(A few times she was Bolt, too!)
Another version is that the 'Zoom Zoom' is in a pocket or something and they have to find it or get it back from the Green Eyed Man.

They race each other, 'Zoom Zoom' away from the bad guys, and just have fun!

Luau at School

Here are the pictures from the Luau from school I forgot to post.

They are wearing dresses my Mom bought years ago. Princess G is wearing her sister's dress and Princess A is wearing her cousin's. Princess G wanted to bring Camamol since he "loves parties."

The kids had a Hawaiian feast, pineapple, mango, macadamia nuts, and Hawaiian chips

So sweet!

To cute!!

After the food we learned about Hawaii, some Hawaiian words and a hula dance.

The dance was the Huki Now hula dance,

which Princess A remembered learning on our trip to Hawaii a year and a half ago.

A very fun day at school

(it was the second of the three days I volunteered at school that week.)

Wordless Wednesday: Reading with Daddy

Princess A and Daddy have been reading chapter book every night.

They just finished reading The Witches.

Grosgrain: Simple (yet beautiful) Skirts GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Simple Skirts GIVEAWAY!!!!

Bratz Ponyz 2 Review

The Game Factory also sent a Bratz Ponyz 2 DS game to review. Princess A was just so excited and could hardly wait to play it. Princess A did not even want me to help her get started, she just started playing. Every once in awhile she asked me for help. I played the racing game to show her how to go super fast (you have to swirl and she had been going in the wrong direction so her pony was really slow). She gets so excited each time she earns another accessory for her pony or earns five hearts on a game. (Five hearts is the highest you can score!) She has quite the collection of ballet shoes she earned for her pony to wear. She loves playing so much I even caught her playing the DS under her sheets tonight after I had put her to bed. Like most girls Princess A loves all things ponies and all things dress-up. I don't which part she likes better the dressing-up, the games or the adventure. She loves playing Bratz Ponyz 2 DS game and I suspect that other little girls will to.

World Championship Games - A Track & Field Event Review

The Game Factory sent me their new World Championship Games - A Track & Field Event for DS to review. Princess A saw the game and wanted to play before I even had a chance to open the package. When I finally got a chance to play myself I had so much fun. They have 13 events - 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m, 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin, 1500m, rifle shooting, pistol shooting and archery. I loved the running!! I played the other events but kept coming back to the running. I ran track in highschool and it brought back those memories. I had not been playing DS everyday but since the World Championship Games - A Track & Field Event came in the mail I have played everyday! Princess A has also played it a few times but The Game Factory also sent a Bratz Ponyz 2 DS game which she just adores. I will be posting that review here.

Scrapits Review

I won a beautiful keepsake from Scrapits. Shannon the owner is so sweet that she sent me two, one for each of the princesses. Since the girls adore anything princess I picked the Disney Princess background. I also got to decide if I wanted the Name Meaning Gift or the Day You Were Born Keepsake. I thought the girls would love the Name Meaning Gift the most. I picked up matching white frames to put the prints in. The Easter Bunny left the Name Meaning Gift prints out for the girls Easter morning. Princess A was very excited when she saw that her name was at the top of the print. I took the frames up to their rooms after the huge Easter egg hunt, I really did put out too many eggs but the girls loved it! I must say I really loved both of the girls prints and they look so sweet in their rooms. The girls are no longer babies but I can see how these keepsake prints from Scrapits would be great for a nursery and will still be great decor as they get older. If you are stumped for a new baby gift this would be perfect. (Of course you might want to wait until after the birth, those ultra sounds have been wrong before.)

Kid's Creations Swing Set

The weather has been so nice the last few days. We actually put sunscreen on yesterday and I put some on Princess A for school (they have recess on Tuesdays.) We have a small neighborhood park within walking distance of our house and the girls just love going there to play. It has swings, monkey bars, slides and a few other things to climb all over. We have a backyard and I would love to have a Kid's Creations swing set for the girls to play on. It would be so nice to play in the shade in the morning and late afternoon (the park is in full sun with no shade at all!) Plus it would be nice to be able to sit while they play for hours and hours and hours. I must admit I would playing on it too. Hey I am just a big kid. Yesterday was crazy sock day (sorry I forgot to take pictures) at school and I wore crazy socks and capri pants so you could see the socks. I looked so silly but I had so much fun too. Princess G wore silly socks too! I want this swing set almost more for me than the princesses. I had a metal swing set as a child and loved it. We played on it everyday, even in the dead of winter and in the rain, if we could sneak past my Mom. I love that the Kid's Creation swing set swing set does not sound that hard to put together since I will be doing most of it. I will have my husbands help but he is not that handy so he will be for the brute force and I get to supervise. Years ago my husband and his Dad spent hours trying to figure out how to put Princess A's crib together. I went to help and 15 minutes later it was done! Dad Blogs is having a huge contest to win the a Kid's Creations swing set. I would really love to win!! Go on over to enter. If sign-up please tell them Noreen sent you and leave a comment here letting me know you did!

Ride-ons at Mall

My girls just love those Ride-on things at the mall. You know the ones you put quarters into so they move. I actually have never put any quarters in (besides the horse at Fred Meyer's). One time a little boy was on the roller coaster one and didn't like it. The dad offered the girls the rest of the ride. They loved it and ask if I have any quarters to turn it back on most time we are there. Since they have more fun with just their imaginations I have yet to give in! When they were littler I would let them pick a ride or a bouncy ball at Old Navy's. They always picked the bouncy balls, well at least until the machine broke.
Even without the movements they still want to climb on every time we go past them!

They have to try each one at least once before we can leave. They have two spots at our mall with these and each has about six rides. Sometimes I cut through the J.C. Penny's parking lot as a shortcut that also bypasses the rides, making it an even better shortcut.

Princess A was on Television

Princess A nominated her teacher for the Teacher of the Week and she won. I found out on the Monday after we nominated her teacher. Friday the local radio and television station that sponsors the contest came to surprise her teacher and all of the students. Even Princess A was surprised as I didn't tell her either. (Princess A dressed up that day to see her pediatrician after school, I was dressed up a bit more than usual but I told her teacher I had a meeting later that day. Not telling her that meeting was 20 minutes later in her classroom.)
Princess A was interviewed and she was so excited while she was talking. They used the film footage but did not use her audio, instead the newscaster talked about her. I listened to her interview and she repeated almost verbatim what she dictated to me about her teacher for the entry essay.We watched the segment Friday afternoon and she looked so sweet. Princess A was talked about almost more than her teacher, even her teacher talked about Princess A. It was very cool to see my baby on the television. You can also see me and the top of Princess G's head.
All of the kids thought the surprise and the goodie bags handed out were great but the best part was Ronald McDonald! He entertained the kids and made lots of jokes. When one of the kids gave him a hug he said "You're squeezing the ketchup out of me!"

He came over especially to talk to Princess A. He asked about her teacher and told her how wonderful it was of her to nominate her teacher. Of course we had to get a picture of of my two girls with Ronald McDonald. Their Nana was almost more excited about them meeting him then being on TV, she has been wanting to meet Ronald McDonald since she was little.

Planting our Seeds

I let the girls pick out five seed packets each. They picked cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, butternut squash, sunflowers, and some other flowers I can't recall.

Princess G picked the sunflower seeds to plant first.
I forgot to save more egg cartons so we used some cups too.

Princess A wanted to ride her bike and only ran over to drop a few seeds in a cup or two.
Daddy was laying down soil and seeds on the bare spots of the lawn. The girls were excited to take turns watering the "baby seeds."

After messy part of planting the seeds was done I brought everything inside. We will probably get some freezing temps through April and part of May so the seeds need to be inside.
Princess G's favorite part is getting to use the spray bottle.

Princess A decided her sister shouldn't have all the fun and helped with the watering.

Easter Sunday

The girls were upstairs when we told them we just saw the Easter Bunny. The rushed down the stairs but just missed seeing him.
The Easter Bunny left their filled baskets where they were easy to spot.

Next it was on to the Easter Egg hunt!

The Easter Bunny filled about 60 to 70 eggs with Valentine's candy.

Here is the second Easter basket since their regular Easter baskets are not quite big enough for all of those eggs.

They both really believe in the Easter bunny and it is so sweet.

(Princess A asked me to call the Easter Bunny a few days before Easter and ask if the bunny would bring her a coloring book!)

Now for one of the best parts opening up the eggs and seeing the surprise.

They only had two kinds of candy, Sweettart hearts and mini Hersey bars, but every time Princess A opened and eggs she was so excited! She would exclaim "Mommy, I got another Sweettart" or "Mommy, more chocolate!" Even after 30 eggs she was still excited every time.

Princess G did not find as many eggs as Princess A. Princess A went through her eggs before she opened them and gave her sister some, especially the colors Princess G did not find. Daddy picked up flowers for his girls. I received my favorites, Star Gazer lilies.

Happy Easter!!

I hope yours was as much fun as ours!

Wordless Wednesday: Princess G and Hoppo

Princess G and Hoppo

Visiting the Easter Bunny

We took the girls to see the Easter bunny, don't they look so cute with matching dress and sweatshirts.Daddy hopped in line for the Easter bunny and the girls and I went to do the Easter egg hunt.
Princess G found the Golden egg (an egg with a dollar) in it but another kids dove and grabbed it just as she was about to pick it up. The parents actually cheered the little girl for practically grabbing it out of Princess G's hands. She started to cry so I gave her a quick hug and she went back to hunting.

Soon it was time to visit with the Easter bunny.

The girls each gave the bunny a big hug as we left.
We picked up some Daffodils as we left.
The last thing we did was ride the 'train,' which Princess A remembered was the same one from the Christmas Festival.

Easter Egg Hunt at School

This week I helped out three days at school. Monday was my regular day, Thursday for the luau (I will post pictures later) and Friday for the count by ten egg hunt.

The kids got to hunt for eggs and once they got five eggs labeled 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 they each got a ice cream cone cupcake.

We then gave the kids the rest of their eggs, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 (it was raining so we only had enough room to hide 5 eggs for each kindergartner.)

Princess A's teacher is so sweet she let Princess G make a bucket (they colored the blue paper Monday) and hunt for eggs. I helped put the buckets together at school and a few at home on Thursday. It was a week full of school but it was so much fun.

Yanni Voices Review

I still have not listened to the end of Yanni Voices since my girls keep taking it and starting the CD over. I really like this CD the vocals are achingly beautiful. My girls thought the first song was some kind of opera and for kids that is not a bad description. My Dad was always a huge Yanni fan and I remember listening to his music years ago. I really like this even more that when I was younger. The music is beautiful and the words are touching. My girls (3 and 6) just adore the CD and have been playing it over and over so I have listen too. The music just gets better each time I hear it.

Grosgrain: Born 2 Impress Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Born 2 Impress Guest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Ladybug Coat

Unilever: Making Life Better

Did you see the Making Life Better coupon insert last Sunday from Unilever? Unilever will send you, by mail, up to $20 back on your ham or turkey purchase when you buy $40 in Unilever products during the month of April. I already picked up my ham today. I will be saving the receipt and once I purchase at least $40 in Unilever participating products I will receive a check for what I spent on the ham today. Besides this great holiday deal they also have a website full of thing for "making life better." The main sections of the site are Food & Recipes, Beauty & Style, Home & Family, Vitality & Wellness, Tips and News & Offers. I looked around the recipes and I can't wait to try the Blueberry Bundt Cake recipe. I wonder if frozen blueberries would work?

So start shopping. you have the whole month of April to make your purchases. The Participating Unilever brands include:

Axe®, Ben & Jerry’s®, Bertolli®, Breyers®, Caress®, Country Crock®, Degree®, Dove®, Good Humor®, Hellmann’s®/Best Foods®, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!®, Klondike®, Knorr®, Lever 2000®, Lipton® Recipe Secrets®, Lipton® Tea, Pond’s®, Popsicle®, Promise®, Q-tips®, Ragú®, Skippy®, Slim·Fast®, Suave®, Sunsilk®, Vaseline®, and Wish-Bone®.

Thank you Mom Central for this review opportunity.

The Perfect Baby Handbook Review and Giveaway

Update with winners: Congrats to kathy55439, Katrina, urban craft, Lindsay V, and giggling kids. I sent you an email and you must respond within 72 hours.

The Perfect Baby Handbook is a tongue in cheek type of humor. I read it while my girls were having swim lessons and I got a few looks when I burst out laughing. The book lists a daily schedule for a baby that is by the minute and includes "12:33 p.m. ...Diaper change. 12:38 p.m. ... Declares the new diaper makes her look chunky." They have a section about teaching your child words by labeling everything in a park with post its. I am not doing this book justice. It takes the advice that we hear about raising our children and goes a step further to show how funny it is. For example they show wearing your baby but instead of just your baby you also wrap everything including Dr. Sears to your body.
I thought the section on the meaning of the color of your baby's poop so funny because as a new Mom you really do watch the color of their poop and try and figure out if it means they are healthy. Your Doctor even tells you to keep track of how many diapers they wet and poop in when you first take them home. Below is a fun video based on that section. Enjoy!


Don't take my word for it go out and pick up a copy for yourself or a new Mom you know, well one with a sense of humor. Even better five, yes 5 winners, of my readers can win a copy of The Perfect Baby Handbook right here.

To enter:

• Please visit http://www.perfectbabyhandbook.com/ and leave a comment.
• If you email is not easily available on your blog please leave in comment.
• US only.
• The contest will end April 14 at midnight PT.

Extra Entries:

• Follow my blog (one entry)
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• Please leave a comment for each entry.

Hawaiian Party

Princess A was invited to a school friend's birthday party and the theme was Hawaiian.

Princess A wore a Hawaiian dress that was her cousin's (her matching dress now fits Princess G) which my Mom had bought in Hawaii years ago.

Princess A did pretty well on the Pin the Tail on the Donkey game, I always wondered why it was a donkey. Why not a horse?

More dancing!

They also sang songs. The songs were all Hannah Montana and a group called Ashley and AJ, I think. Princess A had never heard of any of the songs but still had fun trying to sing. Now if the songs had been ABBA she would of known every word. A very fun party.

WAT-AAH! Challenge!‏

We took the WAT-AAH! Challenge!‏ We don't normally have soda and she had been asking all day to have some of it. I put the WAT-AAH bottles right next to the soda and told her she could get whatever she wanted to drink from the fridge. She was so excited that I was going to let her have soda what when she opened the fridge. Princess A saw the WAT-AAH and skipped right over the soda to grab it.

Princess A's First Race

Princess a ran her first race.

Here is her first race number (we are keeping it!)

As Daddy told her, it is important to stretch before you race.

Daddy had his own race to run but he ran with Princess A for her first race instead.And they are off!!!She did the mile in 11:16.

The age group was 12 years and under. She was the ninth or tenth runner across the finish line and the second girl. I think she did fantastic for her first race, especially since we had such a hard winter this year and she has barely had a chance to run around outside.

The local Fire Department had their fire truck out for the kids to play on after the race.Princess A got to 'drive' the big truck.

It was a wonderful day, even if it was foggy.

Princess A can't wait for her next race!

Wordless Wednesday: Park

They are pretending they are running a resturant.