Make Your Own Chocolate Kit By Glee Gum {Review & Giveaway}

I am sure most parents look for fun things to do with their kids that teaches them something as well. Haley LOVES to do anything in the kitchen that involves baking or cooking, so I am always volunteering to make things when we go somewhere so she can help me. She loves to measure, stir, and occasionally lick the spatula when we are done.

Glee Gum offers three Candy Making Kits that you can make with your kids - Make Your Own Gummies (sour), Make Your Own Gum, or Make Your Own Chocolate. The kits come with a cool handout on where the ingredients in the kit come from, the history of that ingredient, and the process on how they figured out how that ingredient could be used. The kits are suggested "For ages 8 and up", and even though I knew Haley would need some help, I also knew that she would love making the candy.

Liberty Of The Seas Western Caribbean Cruise - Day 4

I know it has been well over a month since I posted about our Western Caribbean Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas, but I finally have some time to post about Day 4. My husband said I shouldn't even bother since it has been like 2 months since the cruise, but I know you guys have just been sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for this (come on, humor me), so here it is...

We were headed back home on Day 4, so we decided to have as much fun as possible on board the ship and we started our day off with the DreamWorks Character Dining. Now, if you are going to be on one of the DreamWorks ships, you definitely don't want to miss this, so make your reservations early. I'm not sure if you can make them before you set sail, but if you can't, try to do it as soon as possible when you get on the ship. We almost did not get a reservation for this fun breakfast.

Wordless Wednesday: I'll Let You Have Candy On The Way To School If You Smile For A Picture

Bright Starts Having a Ball Giggables {Review}

I am always looking for new things to entertain my children. I know that they tend to get tired of toys every few days, so I usually "rotate" our toys out so there is always something new to play with. When I heard that Bright Starts had a toy that makes silly sounds as it wobbles and rolls across the floor, I knew I wanted to try it with Kennedy. She loves playing on the floor and rolling balls around. She pushes them, and then crawls after them. If it giggled too, that could only be a bonus, right?

When the Having a Ball Giggables arrived, it took a few minutes to get out of the packaging. I was sent the Penguin Giggable to review, and I immediately loved how cute it was.

Gombby's Green Island Channel - An Educational Adventure For Preschoolers {Amazon Giveaway}

If you're a parent, then chances are you are constantly trying to think of ways to keep your child(ren) entertained. Whether you are in the car for an extended period of time, waiting at a doctor's office, or just trying to get a few minutes to yourself to get some housework done, keeping your kids entertained can be a chore in itself.

My kids are TV addicts, so when we pull out our phones or their Kindles and try to get them to play a reading "game" or some other educational app, they last only for about 5 minutes before they want to watch one of their favorite cartoons. I really don't mind them watching that stuff, but it would be nice to turn on a channel that is not only fun, but educational too. Thanks to Gombby's Green Island Channel, now parents can do just that.

Weekend Win It - January 26-27 {Giveaway Linky}

Welcome to Weekend Win It! This giveaway linky is a great way to spread the word about your giveaways, or find some great ones to enter! And remember...you don't need to be a blogger to enter these giveaways!

I have some great giveaways going on right now...

Giveaway: Winn-Dixie Ends: 1/30 Prize: $25 Winn-Dixie Gift Card

Giveaway: Firehouse Subs Ends: 2/3 Prize: $10 Firehouse Subs Gift Card (3 winners!)

Accessorize Your Beauty With Nery's Bowtique {Review & Giveaway}

If you have been reading this blog for a while now, then you know that Rylie is a girly girl. She loves getting dressed up and wearing pretty accessories. She has really been into headbands lately, and she especially likes to wear headbands with big bows and flowers on them.

When we were planning our annual visit to the Pumpkin Patch last fall, I just happened to see a picture of the cutest headband pop up on Facebook, and I knew I had to have it. It was a Candy Corn Cutie headband from Nery's Bowtique, and it matched Rylie's dress perfectly!

Five Question Friday - January 25th

Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. We're doing pretty good here...finally! Bryce finally kicked those sickies to the curb after 6 days with a high fever, and everyone is back to normal.

I posted last week that Bryce had croup, and then strep, but when he still had a fever two days after the penicillin shot he got for the strep, I knew something else was wrong. His fever was up and down through the weekend, and we pretty much figured he had the flu on top of the strep. The fever went away on Sunday (or at least we thought), so we tried to enjoy the day and even went on a bike ride just to get Bryce out of the house for a bit.

Save Your Favorite Monopoly Token! #tokenvote {Giveaway}

When I was a kid, I used to love playing board games. They kept my friends and I busy on rainy days, in the evenings when it was time to come inside, at slumber parties, and even on vacation. I still enjoy playing board games as an adult, and I can't wait until my kids are just a little older so we can all play some of my old favorites together.

One of my all time favorite board games is Monopoly. I have fond memories of buying up properties and trying to bankrupt my opponents. It was a game that was sure to keep us busy for several hours, and we always had a great time playing it.

Wordless Wednesday: Bright

Rylie's 5th Birthday Weekend

It has been a week since Rylie's 5th Birthday, and I feel like I'm still recovering from our super fun weekend. Well, maybe that's because I'm still tripping over Christmas and birthday gifts that haven't yet found their proper "homes". Yeah, I should have timed her birthday a little better, right?

Anyway...Rylie had a great birthday weekend, and I wanted to share a few photos from our celebrations. Well, OK, maybe more than a few.

The first event of the weekend was her party at our favorite birthday place. It's a gym that holds private parties on the weekends, complete with bounce houses, slides, trampolines, a giant foam pit, gym equipment, and Rylie's favorite - the rope swing.

HSN Has A New Look For A Better Shopping Experience {Giveaway}

Do you all remember the days when you actually had to go to the store if you wanted to buy something? You know, put on clothes, get in the car, and drive somewhere? Yeah, not so convenient. Then came Home Shopping Network, and even as a kid, I thought it was so cool to be able to shop through your TV...in your pajamas if you so desired.

HSN has come a long way since the 80s. You can still shop HSN from your TV (with your remote, no less), but now you can also shop from your computer, iPad or phone. HSN.com recently had a little work done, and they want you to say hello to the new face of HSN!

Pampers Swaddlers Now Available In Sizes 4 And 5 At Target {Giveaway}

Even though we no longer have diapers in our home, there is still one brand that I recommend to all friends and family who have babies, and that brand is Pampers. I tried a few different brands when Rylie was a newborn, and no diaper compared to the Pampers Swaddlers I kept going back to. We used Pampers exclusively in this house from the time Rylie was a month or so old until Bryce was potty trained.

We used Pampers Swaddlers while both Rylie and Bryce were in the smaller sizes, but as they got bigger, we had to switch to Cruisers and Baby Dry because the Swaddlers weren't available in sizes 4 and 5. (In fact, I don't think they were available even in size 3 back then.) While the Cruisers and Baby Dry diapers worked fine, I missed the blanket-like softness of the Swaddlers.

Well now your bigger toddlers can get that same softness, because Pampers recently launched Swaddlers in sizes 4 and 5, available at Target.

Monster Jam Returns To Orlando On January 26th

Has there ever been a time in your life that you wanted to do something really crazy? We all go through those phases, I'm sure. Well during my "crazy moment", I wanted to be a Monster Truck Driver. No lie. I guess I just thought it would be super cool to climb into a big ole truck and jump over more trucks. Talk about an adrenaline rush!

While my dreams of being a Monster Truck Driver never came true, I still think the shows are thrilling to watch! One of these days I will make it out to see the Monster Jam live.

Weekend Win It - January 19-20 {Giveaway Linky}

Welcome to Weekend Win It! This giveaway linky is a great way to spread the word about your giveaways, or find some great ones to enter! And remember...you don't need to be a blogger to enter these giveaways!

I have some great giveaways going on right now...

Giveaway: Winn-Dixie Ends: 1/30 Prize: $25 Winn-Dixie Gift Card

Giveaway: Firehouse Subs Ends: 2/3 Prize: $10 Firehouse Subs Gift Card (3 winners!)

Five Question Friday - January 18th

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a rough week around here. The sickies have invaded us, and so far, two out of the four of us have been dealing with the wrath.

Rylie's birthday party was last weekend (post soon to come...hopefully!) and with all of the crud going around lately, I had everyone drinking grape juice the few days prior to prevent anyone from getting a stomach bug. For once, everyone was well for her party, and we had a great time!

What the grape juice didn't prevent, though, was the croup and strep that Bryce ended up with, and the horrible cold I am currently battling. My poor little guy was so sick this week. You know he isn't feeling well when he actually asks to go to bed!

Wordless Wednesday: Sour Face(s)

Score A Touchdown At Your Super Bowl Party With Catering From Firehouse Subs {Giveaway}

It's that time of year again when our nation is gearing up for the biggest game of the year. Some will be attending the Super Bowl to cheer on their favorite team, while others are attending parties or watching the game on their big screen TVs.

If you are planning a Super Bowl party, chances are you are already thinking about what types of food and drink you will serve your guests. Why not make preparation super easy and mess free by having your party catered? Firehouse Subs has several catering options that will certainly make you score with your friends and family! And give you more time in front of the TV, rather than in the kitchen.

~*~Winners!!!~*~ Hickory Farms, Bammco

Congratulations to last week's winners!

Hickory Farms Family Favorites Gift Box

Happy 5th Birthday Rylie!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful, spunky and totally awesome little girl!

Wow. Five years old already! I'm amazed at how time flies...especially when you're having fun. We had some great times this past year, and you had a lot of fun experiencing new things. You started VPK and dance lessons, took several fun vacations, and even left the country for the first time.

Weekend Win It - January 12-13 {Giveaway Linky}

Welcome to Weekend Win It! This giveaway linky is a great way to spread the word about your giveaways, or find some great ones to enter! And remember...you don't need to be a blogger to enter these giveaways!

I have a giveaway going on right now...

Giveaway: Winn-Dixie Ends: 1/30 Prize: $25 Winn-Dixie Gift Card

Christmas Day 2012

Well, I promised I would wrap up the Christmas posts this week, so here is the last one...

I thought by taking the kids to Universal on Christmas Eve that they would be super tired and ready for bed when we got home. Yeah, not so much. I think they were too excited about Christmas to sleep. We already had the presents from us under the tree, but we needed to put Santa's gifts out too, and we were exhausted and ready for bed. An hour or so later, Rylie and Bryce were finally asleep, so we carried the rest of the presents downstairs and arranged them by the tree.

Five Question Friday - January 11th

TGIF! And thank goodness it's my Friday off, too! We have a big weekend coming up with Rylie's birthday party on Saturday. My baby is going to be FIVE!

We have been planning her Hello Kitty birthday party for a couple of months now. Look at these cute Hello Kitty invitations I found from funinvites on Etsy...

Christmas Eve At Universal Orlando

I spent the Sunday before Christmas wrapping gifts while Rylie and Bryce hung out at Mama's house. Brian and I wrapped well into the late night hours and managed to get it all done (and the presents hidden) so that we could spend Christmas Eve at Universal Orlando.

I figured that the park wouldn't be too busy on Christmas Eve since people would probably be out doing their last minute shopping and wrapping gifts. Boy was I wrong! When we arrived at Universal Orlando on Monday morning, it was packed! We picked up everyone's annual passes and then headed over to Islands of Adventure with the hopes of seeing the Grinch at some point in the day.

After a quick bite to eat, we made our way back to Seuss Landing to ride some of the kid-friendly rides. Up first? The Cat in the Hat! I believe there was a 45 minute wait once we got in line, but since every ride had long wait times that day, we decided to endure the wait. The kids didn't seem to mind...they were goofing off the whole time.

Support Your School And Your Wallet With Box Tops And Winn-Dixie Fuelperks {Giveaway}

The holidays are over and the kids are back in school. Hopefully everyone has adjusted back into "real life" and you have settled into your routine of school, after school activities, playdates, dance, sports, and of course, running errands.

Box Tops and Winn Dixie fuelperks! can help support your family's adventures! Because, after all, just running a simple errand can become quite an adventure when you take the family along. Am I right?

Gear up on Bonus Box Tops for the school year and fuel up on great savings when you purchase participating Box Tops for Education products at Winn Dixie.