Dairy Queen and FREE Ice Cream!!!

I may go to Dairy Queen almost every week.  I hate to admit that publicly.  I am not a fan of packing lunches and work full time.  I am trying, sort of, to get better but in the meantime my friends at Dairy Queen always have a yummy pick me up available.  When I am craving something greasy I love a good basket of onion rings, with ketchup, lots of ketchup.  When I am in the mood for something on the healthy side I go for a nice big Orange Julius smoothie.  The mango pineapple is my favorite, well and I like the triple berry as well. 

I should not be writing this at 8:30 at night, this is just making me hungry ;)

Right now you can save a few bucks and still go out for a blizzard after dinner with the kids and grab a smoothie on the way to work.  If your kids go through cereal like mine then if you are sure to pick up the cereal with the special Dairy Queen coupons on it you can win win like me. 

Specially marked boxes of General Mills cereal like Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Oatmeal Crisp contain these great coupons.  The boxes all contain two coupons.  The first one is for a free small Orange Julius drink valid April 1-July 31 2012.  The second coupon is for a free small blizzard valid May 1-31 2012.

Start collecting, the cereal is on sale all over the place.  How can you not love spending $4 on cereal to get not only the cereal but also get the $8 worth of coupons :)

Enjoy

Disclosure: I am participating in the Life Made Delicious Ambassador program and receive special perks as part of my affiliation.

Spring Break 2013

Spring Break is two weeks this year and that couldn't have made me happier.  I got lots of time with my babies that wasn't all baths and homework.  Not that I don't like bath time but sometimes fun time would be awesome.  I was able to take my holidays this year for Spring Break, other than a couple of days that my Mom is kind enough to take the kids for.

The first week we spent 4 out of 5 days down in Victoria enjoying the weather, each other and the quiet.  Well the inner quiet because it certainly was not actually quiet lol.  We fed some seals, touched starfish and sea anemones, fed some ducks, took the city bus, went to a bug zoo, ate ice cream and did some shopping.  I loved it and I am pretty sure the kids did as well.

This week started out with some more amazing weather.  Today we made some bath bombs, you can get the super easy instructions here, and we played catch and did a lot of gardening.  Man is gardening ever relaxing, I never knew.  I always grow lots of tomato plants, the kids love tomatoes but man weeding for over an hour, I was dreading it but it was actually really awesome.

When it was time to cook up some dinner for the starving kids I wanted something easy to make.  I despise being stuck in the kitchen when its nice out.  If I can be sitting in the yard enjoying a nice cold beverage I would way rather be doing that than spending all night over a hot stove. 

My girlfriend has been keeping my freezer full of prawns and I have been trying to come up with different things to make with them.  So far I am loving a nice fettuccine alfredo with diced mushrooms, and some peas and of course the prawns on top.  This picture is when I made it a few weeks ago and tonight I even did the garlic bread homemade instead of store bought :)

Any suggestions for other prawn recipes? 
Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Kinder Canada for Easter 2013

I am so excited for making some new memories this Easter.  Last Easter was the end to my marriage, a blessing in disguise, but still a rough holiday.  This year the kids and I are going to create some great new memories and some new traditions.  I don't get them back from their Dads until 1:30 and we are going to walk into the house to a great big egg hunt.  I am pretty excited. 

This is for sure on my to do list!  I have read a few reviews on it and it looks like a lot of fun and easy.  The only hard part is finding Kool-Aid hahaha.  I can't wait to decorate eggs, maybe the house this year, I haven't done that before but get pretty into Christmas so maybe.

The kids of course are most excited about the chocolate!  Why wouldn't they be, its chocolate!  I am stashing Kinder chocolate left right and center in my closet, but don't tell the kids.  I am fighting the urge to chow down and try to save it.  I think my plan is to hide stuff all over the house and the bigger things I will label with a K or a B so they know whos is whos.  I know Kristina is thoughtful and kind enough to leave lots of the little stuff for her brother and not take it all herself.

Support to Children’s Miracle Network: Sharing is caring. This is what the celebration is all about for KINDER Canada, who will be donating $1 to Children’s Miracle Network of Canada for every new friend of their Facebook Page from March 1st to 31st, up to $25,000.  Be sure to like like like.

Also the beloved Easter bunny Harry is touring Canada! Keep your eyes peeled, Harry will be making surprise appearances at family events in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary & Vancouver this March to celebrate Easter and spread the joy with FREE samples of Kinder® Mini eggs. Stay up to date on where Harry will be by checking the Kinder Canada Facebook page!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Pizza Hut is our new ritual

We have a new ritual on our Sunday nights!  Sunday nights is now the hardest night of the week for my little family.  Its hard for my kids when they come home from their Dads house, they are confused, needy, and oh so snugly.  I don't begrudge it, at all, don't get me wrong.  I can never have to many snuggles.  The only downside is that sometimes, when they have a not so great weekend, I literally can't get off of the couch.  I have one laying on me and one trying to lay on the other side of me.  Instead of fighting it and not giving my kids what they need I have come up with some alternatives to cooking a big meal.

I have started letting the kids decide what they wanted for dinner.  We either order in, or go to my parents, or sometimes my amazing Mama cooks us dinner and leaves it here for us to reheat when I get off work.  They have seriously been the best.  I don't know how I would have gotten through this last year without them.



Back to Pizza Hut.  For the last three, yes I will publicly admit this, we have ordered Pizza Hut.  Usually I like to change things up a bit but the deal they have going on right now is mind blowing.  To good to pass by.  For only $10 you can get a medium hand tossed style crust pizza with ANY three toppings.  That's right, any three toppings.  You can have shrimp, green peppers and tomato, or my personal child like favorite ham, pineapple, and extra cheese :)

Its only available for a limited time, so get it while you can, such a great deal!!  I can't order fast food for myself and the two kids for that price, and have left overs for breakfast, yup we get two :)  Will I see you there next week?  Maybe I should get more veggies next time :)  Tell your friends!

Happy Valentines Day with Disney Junior

Its the be my Disney Junior Valentine event! Celebrate Valentine’s Day early with Disney Junior Sunday, February 10 beginning at 9 a.m. It’ll be a morning filled with Valentine- and friendship-themed episodes from popular series including BRAND NEW EPISODES of Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Handy Manny. Catch the encore on Valentine’s Day at 7:30am and 5:10pm. If you missed it this last Sunday make sure to set your PVR for Valentines Day!

 

My kids are both pretty excited for Valentines Day this year! Kristina always is :) Brandon is taking some chocolate eggs to school along with his Valentines and Kristina has decided this year (grade 5) to skip Valentines cards. I am a bit sad about it, I love the day full of love and cards, notes and chocolate. Heck I am single and still love it, its all about my two loves for me, my babies! They may just wake up to heart pancakes, and chocolate to go with their cards ;)

There is also a fabulous contest going on over on the Disney Junior site, their contests are always fabulous though! Its the Disney Junior Rockin' Ever After Contest!

The show features some of the most magical idols of all! Ariel, Bells, Rapunzel and… Merida from Brave! Jam to a Scottish jig as a group of royal contenders from the latest Disney-Pixar film Brave, competes to win the heart of headstrong, sharp-shooting Merida, making her ice debut! It will be a rockin’ remix of royalty when Disney on Ice brings a magical superstar line-up to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Your readers can check showtimes, venues and tickets here.

Make sure to take 5 minutes to enter here! You will have a chance to win four front row seats for the March 15th, 2013 Disney On Ice presents Rockin’ Ever After show in Toronto! This wonderful prize includes round-trip flights, two nights at a hotel in Toronto, a character meet and greet experience, and a prize pack of Rockin’ Ever After merchandise! Fingers crossed its one of you that wins :)

 

As always you can make some Valentine e-cards with your little ones here. I have a spoiler alert as well. Who remembers Bananas in Pyjamas? I love them :) Well they are coming to Disney Junior starting on Monday, February 18 to Friday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Disney Junior is throwing a pyjama party to welcome twin bananas B1 and B2 of its newest series Bananas in Pyjamas! The festivities take place daily at 7 p.m. and offer a sneak peek of the PJ-wearing duo’s zany adventures in brand new episodes.

“Disclosure: I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Some favorites from 2012

2012 was a big year for me and my family!  I ended my marriage, which was super hard but one of the best things I could have done for the kids and myself.  The kids and I have come so unbelievably far.  The relationships that the kids and I have with my parents are at the best they have ever been.  We are in the best place I think we ever have been.  I couldn't be happier.

When I was with my husband he did most of the cooking, I did some but when I did I was usually ridiculed so the last 10 months have been spent building myself back up and learning some great new recipes and figuring out what we like and want to eat everyday.  I love that the only one who gets the final say on what we have is me, I don't love that I am the only one who can cook but Kristina's learning :)

Now that we can cook with wheat we have a lot more options.  I had forgotten how much I was missing out on with the no wheat.  I am still experimenting with casseroles, I really missed those, and the slow cooker.  Life saver for those nights I work until 6:15, then have to grab the kids, do dinner baths and in bed by 8:00, now that's a rushed a long night!

So now that I have rambled on for so long, without further adu here is my favorites from 2012

Dijon-Parmesan Chicken



Barbecued Pork Tenderloin ( I omit the chipolte sauce because I am a wimp)



Fresh Berry Crisp (I added blackberries as well, so good, we have it once a month :)



Any favourites you want to add?

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!

Barbie and Hot Wheels Kinder Eggs are unveiled

There are some awesome new Kinder Eggs out their.  Have your little ones spotted them yet?  The amazing folks at Kinder came up with Barbie eggs and Hot Wheel eggs!  How do you fit a Hot Wheel into a Kinder egg?  I guess you will have to pick one up to find out ;)  Brandon is as much of a fan of the Barbie eggs as he is of the Hot Wheels ones.  I was surprised at first, but once I figured out why it all made sense.

 

Brandon is a boys boy.  He loves his Mama and is very attached to me but he loves the mud.  He loves going on walks and holding my hand.  He loves Kinder eggs, Hot Wheels and girls.  He loves the kids that go to his daycare, especially the girls.  The girls love him. 

Its official, at almost 5 I have a ladies man on my hands.  Brandon started taking his Barbie Kinder Eggs prizes to school for his little friends.  They loved the prizes but I guess Brandon's attention was even more fought after.  The teacher asked that we not bring anymore prizes to school for his friends as it was becoming to competitive and a bit of a problem for the teachers. 

I shouldn't have allowed it at all looking back, of course someone always ends up sad and left out, and that's not ok.  But I didn't think it would be such a big problem.  The toys were just going into the girls cubbies for when they went home.  Some days though when I show up to pick up Brandon or just to drop him off I can't believe the attention hes getting from the girls.  They are all crowded around him, asking for hugs and stories.  Its not the boys at all either, just the girls and he sure loves them back.

Keep your eyes peeled on the Kinder Canada facebook page as there are some great giveaways going on.  They are handing out the new Barbie and Hot Wheel Kinder eggs like they are going out of style!

Disclosure: I’m part of the KINDER® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Sofia the First season premier

Well the day we, well our kids, have been waiting for has finally arrived.  Your princes and princesses can roll out the red carpet for the series premiere of Sofia The First on Saturday, January 19th at 7pm ET.  We have heard lots about Sofia and now its finally time for the season premier!  Sofia has much to be thankful for this year - becoming a princess, her loving family, new friends (and let’s not forget that amazing room and wardrobe!).  Brandon and I read a great new book about Sofia and I love that he loved it.  I love that he didn't care that it was a princess book and he asked me to read it to him 4 nights in a row.

I know that he excited to see the premier of Sofia the First, we have it PVR'd because the kids are with their Dad this weekend.  He will be pumped when he gets to see that when he gets home!  There is another surprise that Kristina is going to freak over when she gets home!

Right before the Sofia the First premier will be Cinderella!!!!  That's right!  Cinderella, one of Disney's timeless classics, premieres on Disney Junior on Saturday January 19th at 5:45pm ET.

But wait, there’s more! Cinderella II: Dreams Come True will premiere on Sunday January 27th at 10:15am ET. If you loved sharing your special memories of Cinderella with your child on the 19th, you won't want to miss Cinderella II: Dreams Come True!


Its going to be a great weekend!  Set your PVR if you have plans and grab some popcorn!   I’m part of the Disney Junior Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight!

Well twas the night before Christmas when all though my house all was quiet.  The kids are out, I am sitting beside my beautiful tree reflecting and so thankful.  This last year has brought on a lot of changes for my little family but for the better for sure.  I am happier than I have been in a long time.  Tomorrow will have its challenges with being without the kids for a while when they are with their Dad but because of my family I will be just fine.

Speaking of my family, wow, they have been so unbelievable good to us.  I love them so much and am so appreciative of everything they do for us and love that we live only a few minutes away.  The kids can't get enough of their Grandparents and Uncle, and for that I am thankful!

So Merry Christmas from my family to yours, enjoy!!

Printcopia

One of my favorite Holiday gift to give is something personal, and you can't get much more personal than a photo.  Whether its a family photo or a photo of you and your mom when you were little or maybe a picture of you are your best friend!  I know that I would prefer a personal gift to a box of chocolates or something but its hard for everyone to do.

I have a great canvas wrapped up under my tree right now for a special someone.  I can't wait for her to see it.  The quality of the canvas print I received from Printcopia was awesome!  I love that there were so many different options available.  You could wrap the sides with more of the picture or you can mirror the image on the sides and more.  I love that there are more ways to personalize something that starts out so personal!!

The shipping from Printcopia was unbelievably fast and it came wrapped up so nice.  There was no way it was getting damaged on the way to me.  Lots of bubble wrap and cardboard, but no Styrofoam which I love because Styrofoam is horrible.

Because Printocopia was so great to work with I wanted to tell you about some of their other great sites that they have.  Their sister companies sell vinyl banners, car magnets, and lawn signs!!

This is it for me until January, time to spend the most time I can with my babies before Christmas is all over!  Have an amazing holiday Season!!!