We Love Zhu-Zhu Pets!

At my house we are huge Zhu-Zhu fans....really, like you wouldn't BELIEVE what I went through for Christmas to try and get these for my kids! It was madness! Anyway, I got a cute email from the Zhu-Zhu people about a tour their doing which you can find out about here. Unfortunately none of the tour stops are in my area but that's alright...there was a really cute recipe in the email that I wanted to share!

Since one of Nugget’s favorite things is butterflies, try Nugget’s Butterfly Cupcake recipe!

Ingredients

Frosted cupcakes

Miniature pretzels

M&M’s or candy coated chocolates

Black or red licorice

1. Prepare your favorite cupcake recipe or box mix according to the directions provided. Once cupcakes have cooled, ice them with your favorite icing recipe or your favorite canned icing. (For extra fun, you can tint the frosting a different color using food coloring!)

2. To create the butterfly: Place four M&Ms down the center of the cupcake. This creates the butterfly’s body.

3. Next, place one pretzel on each side of the body to create the wings.

4. Finally cut the licorice into small pieces, and place on the head of the butterfly to create the antennas.

5. Eat and enjoy!

Glee Gum Review and Giveaway!

What We Thought:

We received the Make Your Own Gum Kit which you see above and boy did we have fun with it! It was certainly a fun AND educational activity for the family.This would be a great rainy day project or just when you want to beat the heat and stay inside. I also think this is a good project for homeschoolers too!

I really like that this product is actually good for you! There's No Aspartame in Glee!
Like I said we had a blast! But be warned this is a super sticky activity. :)

Here's some info on the kits:
Our activity kits for children are fun and educational. They are great for science classes, birthday parties, scout troops, and home schools. Kids can make chocolate, chewing gum, or gummy candy and learn a lot in the process!

Here's a little info on Glee Gum which you can of course, buy premade:
Glee Gum is all natural chewing gum made with sustainably harvested rainforest chicle. It comes in SIX great flavors: cinnamon, peppermint, tangerine, bubblegum, spearmint, and triple berry. Glee Gum is the #1 healthy alternative to synthetic chewing gum and bubble gum! With no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners (no aspartame), or preservatives, it's easy to chew Glee-fully!

Visit Glee's Website here.

GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to the folks @ Glee Gum I'm able to offer one lucky reader a kit of their choice! How awesome is that!?

-Open to US residents only
-Ends July 15th
-Please leave a comment telling me which kit you would like to try along with your email addy so I can contact you if you win!

Extra entries:

-Want a few extra entries? Well you can "like" Glee Gum on Facebook or you can follow them on Twitter!
-extra entry if you become a follower of this blog

**review sample provided by Glee Gum

PR and Giveaway: Balloonatiks DVD!

What We Thought:

My kids loved this DVD! They loved the characters and were really entertained by the story. Seriously, they watched it about 10 times between the time we received it and now. I liked the fact that it featured "teenagers" trying to do the right thing.

It was cute, it was fun, and it got the stamp of approval from my kids!
Want to know more about the Balloonatiks?

Visit http://www.balloonatiks.com/ where you can find Balloonatiks characters, check out Balloonatiks gear, play games and have fun!

A Giveaway!

Thanks to the Balloonatiks people I can offer one lucky reader a chance to win a "Balloonatiks: The Collector's Set" DVD!

-open to US residents only
-ends July 1st
-please leave a comment along with your email so I can contact you if you win
-for 1 extra entry spread the word and leave a link :)

-for 1 extra entry become a follower or let me know if you already are :)

More Info on The Ballonatiks:

They're five ordinary teens mysteriously transformed into rubbery, shape-stretching super heroes who take on any of the evil-doers that dare to threaten Hot Air City. Meet The Balloonatiks -- Flator, Squeeker, Airbrain, Sparky, Bouncer and Leaky -- as they star in their very first animated comedy-adventures!

Produced in state-of-the-art CGI animation and a unique style of presentation, Balloonatiks: The Collector's Set is a long-awaited addition to The Balloonatiks' growing catalog of popular kids' entertainment, which already includes two paperbacks, a series of comics and games, and an interactive website.

PR: Bling Strands! (and a giveaway!)

What I Thought:

These are really neat! I received the purples ones in the mail and my daughter promptly made me put them in her hair. I have a few bits of advice on that but I'll get to that in a bit.
They are thin plastic "strips" that you basically tie on to one or two pieces of hair. At first I thought to myself..."this cannot possibly work or hold up!" Much to my surprise they are actually very tough. The ones I put in my daughters hair actually stayed in for about a week before we pulled them out. She loved them and everyone thought they were really cute. I brought her to the hairdresser (and we actually forgot one in her hair) who asked about them when she saw it.

Now on to my advice...read the instructions and if you don't understand them you should watch the video. It's not hard but if you don't do it right they will slip out. Tighten them from the end of the strip; if you don't they tend to curl. (but you can apparently treat them like hair once they're in. I'm not sure because my daughter doesn't use a flat iron or anything)
I think these would be good for prom, dance recitals, etc. They would work for any fun occasion!
Here is a picture (taken from the Bling Strands website) that you can see them in use. Here you can see they are being used as a dressy accessory.

For More Info Visit:

www.blingstrands.com
Giveaway!
Thanks to Lisa @ It's A Glam Thing I'm able to offer one package of Bling Strands to one lucky reader!

To enter:
-please leave a comment telling me what YOU think these would be good for.
-leave your email addy so I can contact you if you win
-open to US residents only
-ends July 1st

Extra entry if you become a follower just let me know in your comment!

Review and Giveaway! : Flowerz In Her Hair (hair accessories)

Thanks to Amy I was able to review these awesome hair accessories!

Here you can see my daughter in the crocheted beanie and an interchangeable flower clip.
We recently went to a boutique where they were charching $20.00-$25.00 a piece for the flower clips! Luckily, you can purchase them for MUCH cheaper through Amy's website...
Flowerz In Her Hair really has great prices and a great selection of items

We LOVED these pieces because not only are they interchangeable but because you can wear any of them by themselves!

I received a beanie, a black flower clip, and a white one. With just those 3 pieces we were able to create several different looks. I liked the vesatility very much! I should also mention that all of the sample products we tries out were very well made!

Here she is with the white and black flower attached to the hat.

A Giveaway!

Amy is offering a $20.00 E-Gift Certificate to her store!

In case anyone would like to go shopping, she's also offering a discount to TCBL readers!Use code: booklady and receive 15% off an order of $10 or more, also all orders over $10 ship for free.

If you'd like to enter this awesome giveaway here's what you need to do:

Visit Flowerz In Her Hair and tell me at least one item that you liked.

That's it!

-open to US residents only

-ends June 30th

-please leave an email so I can contact you if you win

Extra Entry if you become a follower or are already one...just let me know in your comment :)

A Yummy Treat!

I made something yummy and easy today so I thought I would pass it along!

Now I know that if you take your time and use a cupcake pan to hold your liners they would come out looking much nicer, but it's just for us so I wasn't to worried. :)

All you need are some:

Vanilla Wafers

No Bake Cheescake

Some type of fruit topping (mine is strawberry)

How I made them:

I put some vanilla wafers in a ziploc bag and smashed em up...

I then took the smashed wafers and put them in the bottom of the liners. Follow the directions on the no bake cheescake mix. (leaving out the graham cracker crust...you won't need it) Plop the mix on top of the wafers...top with fruit "spread" and decorate with a cookie! (you could also put a fruit or whatever else you want) Put in the refrigerator for about an hour and they're ready to go.

VERY simple and certaily something your kids could help you with!

I'm Back!

Well at least on this blog! I had taken a break to catch up with my book blog but I've decided that it's time to dedicate some work and posting to this one.

I'll start adding recipes again, but I'll also be adding product reviews, giveaways, and anything else that may relate to home and family. :)

So expect to see more from here soon!