easter egg fun with paas and heinz

Melissa 1 Comment

Its almost Easter time! (Already? WHAT?!?)

So this weekend we celebrated a little early, since we’re heading to a wedding next weekend, and made some amazing eggs with PAAS!  We missed decorating with PAAS last year, as we were out of town, so the kids had an extra special time. All you to is add one tablet and three tablespoons of Heinz White Vinegar to your PAAS Color Cup and one the tablet is dissolved, you add 1/2 cup water. GENTLY add the hard boiled egg to the water (your kids may get tired of hearing you say “GENTLY!” “I said, GENTLY!!” *CRACK*)

Sidebar: Did you know that if you add two tablespoons of Heinz White Vinegar per quart of water when your boiling your eggs (before adding the eggs) it prevents eggs from cracking? And it makes them easier to peel! WHY am I just finding this out NOW? Do you know how many inedible broken dyed eggs we’ve thrown away over the years? I use vinegar for everything around the house and I never knew this!

Anyway, this year PAAS has 7 new decorating kits to help you make amazing eggs. We had so much fun making eggs this year – as my husband, “This brings back such memories!”

paasheinzeggs

Our favorite was Deggorating Doodles, which uses food grade markers that you can draw with right on the shell with! Colin made the Easter Bunny on his:

paasheinzegg4(Sorry, he had to take off his shirt due to a minor spilling incident)

Ellie made “Spring”

paasheinzeggs3

This year, PAAS Easter Egg Dying Kits and Heinz Vinegar are bringing you the Easter Egg Decorator app (online for computers and in the app store) where you can decorate and share a virtual Easter egg with family and friends! And every time you do, Heinz and PAAS will donate $1 – up to $25,000 – to Make-A-Wish!!  Please please please take a moment to decorate an egg – it is free and only takes a minute – and you can help PAAS and Heinz give to kids in need! Here is the GORGEOUS one that Gracie and I made…

EggDecoratorHow cute is our egg???

Go make one of your own and help kids in need!!

disclosure: I received PAAS products and Heinz vinegar as part of a gift basket to facilitate this post. As always, all opinions are my own!

j.jill: spring into style

Melissa 31 Comments

**thanks to everyone who entered – and to Amy our lucky winner!**

Its (almost) Spring. Sort of. If I ignore the 27 degree temps outside in Philly today and just concentrate on the daffadils poking through the flower beds, I can imagine spring! Spring style is such a breath of fresh air after a winter of bundling up under sweaters and bulky jackets. Light fabrics, bright colors… its so refreshing!

This Spring, J.Jill wants to uncomplicate your life by offering a fabulous array of outfits for our spring styling!

It's never been so easy to look this good

I LURV this campaign! I’m in the middle of moving, working full time and managing three rugrats… I need everything to be as simple as possible!!! J.Jill’s uncomplicate campaign will undoubtedly have women everywhere falling at their feet in thanks for taking one less stress out of our lives by providing stylish, easy to mix and match pieces that we can build our wardrobes around.

Personally, I’m loving these the boyfriend jean in color ($79)! I’m totally obsessed with mint this year, how about you?

Fullscreen capture 3112013 22602 PM.bmpWouldn’t those be FAB for summer??

I also want a denim shirt that’s not too tight, that’s perfect for layering. I think that this Washed denim shirt ($59) would be perfect!

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OMG!!! POLKA DOT JEANS! I’m dying for polka dot jeans!

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I am so buying these….
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Besides making our lives easier, J.Jill will be partnering with More, Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple to give three lucky customers the opportunity to give the gift of uncomplicate to a deserving woman in their lives. Beginning March 14 through April 25, fans can nominate a woman whose life they would like to make less complicated by entering the sweeps through the J.Jill’s Facebook page – prizes will include one of the following: a catered dinner party, a special closet redesign or a complete style makeover; each prize will include a shopping spree at J.Jill.

But that’s not all…

Gift Card ImageWIN IT!

One lucky Girlymama reader will win a $100 gift certificate to J.Jill!! To enter, tell us how you are trying to uncomplicate your life right now!

Additional entries:

2. Like Girlymama on Facebook to keep up with what’s happening on our site (then comment here to tell us!)

3. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter & follow me on Twitter @MelissaAngert

I entered to win a $100 gift card to @JJill from @MelissaAngert #giveaway! Enter here: http://girlymama.com/?p=5839

One winner will be selected at random using the And The Winner Is plugin for WordPress and will be notified by email. Winner must have a U.S. Mailing address. For other contest rules, see our giveaway policies page.



disclosure: i received a gift card and one to share with my readers. as always, all opinions are my own!

my second favorite date

Melissa 1 Comment

Yesterday I had a date!

With my second favorite guy in the universe…

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We had Frappuccinos to celebrate the warm weather. We built Star Wars fighters out of Legos and had a war against the Empire. We rode bikes and played on the tire swing. We washed the car (which got a little messy). We read his new Cars book and snuggled.

It was perfect.

There’s nothing like taking time doing little things with someone who is really important.

what is the definition of dramatic?

Melissa 1 Comment

Colin: “What does ‘dramatic’ mean?”

Ellie: deadpans “GRACE.”

Of course, the entire family was cracking up. Even Grace!

Its funny cause its TRUE.

MAN I adore that girl, but she is dramatic! If she’s happy, she is ecstatic. If she’s tired, she’s falling asleep standing up. If she’s awake, she is dancing around the house. Its hilarious.  She’s been like this since birth. What’s even more hilarious is that she totally realizes this about herself and she hams it up even more, often while laughing at herself.

And she’s only 8! I’m sure that I’ll look back in about 4 years and remember when she was only this dramatic!

Angert_033WM

well, hello there, march!

Melissa

March? I swear that yesterday it was December.

We spent most of the weekend out of the house…. because we had 10 showings!! Woo-Hoo! That was super encouraging, as we were worried we would list the house and hear crickets chirping. That would have sucked. Meanwhile, we’re spending time around the town. Both because we can’t go home because of showings and because the house stays quite a bit cleaner when we are not in it. We’ve been hitting up the library and gym and coffee shop and barber shop and all those things we’ve been too busy for lately. After being SO focused on the house for several weeks, its actually really nice to get out of it for a bit and get some fresh air!

Our poor kitty cats are totally traumatized by having the house on the market. Not only are they seeing a lot more of their archenemy – the vacuum cleaner – but so many strangers trompsing though the house seems to be freaking them out a bit. When we get home, they’re either hiding under a bed or following us around like a shadow. Poor things!  I bet they are so confused! Wait until we actually move – they’re going to FREAK!

 

 

we did it

Melissa

You may have noticed that I haven’t been blogging much lately.  Or like, at all. I KNOW! Sorry. We’ve been working like CRAZY for the last three weeks trying to get it in tip-top shape, doing all of the things that we live with all the time and never bother to do. Like power washing the deck and dusting baseboards and scrubbing my kid’s handprints off the walls. (MUST they always touch the walls?) Or like cleaning the bugs out of the light fixture in the bathroom. I always think about doing that when I’m brushing my teeth or something, but I never seem to get around to actually doing it.  Yesterday we finished spiffing things up and TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

forsale

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be over here breathing into a paper bag. And collapsing in a puddle of exhaustion and sore muscles.

ten days

Melissa

We will have our house on the market in 10 days. TEN DAYS.  Somehow this has come so much quicker than we anticipated. When did the middle of February get here? SLOW DOWN!

(breathes into a paper bag)

I’ve made lists upon lists upon spreadsheets to get ready. I’m sure you are shocked about this. What is it about crossing things off lists that is so incredible satisfying?

list making

I’m not the only one right? RIGHT?

Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be the whirlwind over here. If you have some spare time and really want to paint and throw my kids 2,873,253,197 stuffed animals into boxes, be my guest!

ringling brothers circus built to amaze is AMAZING!

Melissa

Last night, we went to opening night of The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Presents Built to Amaze! show in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.  The circus spectacle will run from February 13-17 with a total of 11 shows at the Wells Fargo Center. This show is fun, fast and full of excitement. When the show started, I watched Colin’s jaw drop as he had his very first experience with the circus – it was precious! How could you not be excited – music is pumping, acrobats are hanging from the ceiling, elephants and horses are parading around, motorcycles, clowns… the list goes on!

circusDuring the opening act, Colin leaned over and asked, “Can we come here again?” That’s a good sign!

And it just got better from there!

circustwoand even better!!

circus three

We had an amazing time at the Built to Amaze show! Highly recommend!

Circus performers from across the globe create the perfect blend of athleticism and bravery, where power meets fearlessness and amazement has no bounds.  Magnificent elephants, ferocious tigers, astonishing acrobats and awe-inspiring aerialists are engineered into one spectacular performance.

Celebrate the tradition TODAY and experience it’s modern flare of twists and turns where excitement and suspense are so intense you’ll be tempted to cover your eyes. From the blueprints to the band, the crates to the clowns, the hammer to the high wire, witness the spectacle as we measure out the perfect mix of marvel and majesty in an imagination equation where the impossible comes to life. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents Built To Amaze!

And be sure to get there early – you might even meet a new friend!

clown

 

I’ve got a great discount coupon code for readers. Here’s the scoop – basically they will do 20% off tickets with the code MOM. You can enter and order tickets for the Ringling Brothers Circus here.

 

disclosure: We received tickets free of charge to facilitate this promotion.  All opinions are my own.

box tops for education pantry stockup *giveaway*

Melissa 83 Comments

*Giveaway is now closed! Thanks to everyone who entered!*

I love the Box Tops for Education program and I’ve seen first hand how effective it is as a school fund-raiser.  You may not know this but the General Mills program began as an experiment on boxes of Cheerios in California back in 1996 with first year earnings of only $1 million. Since that experiment  Box Tops for Education has grown to include more than 240 participating brands providing needed cash for 90,000 enrolled K-8 schools. At the heart of the program is more than 75,000 volunteer Box Tops for Education coordinators who motivate local school communities to collect the 10-cent coupons which are redeemed for cash schools use for whatever they need most. Over the years, American schools have earned over $525 MILLION from Box Tops for Education.

To celebrate this milestone, this winter, the program is offering a variety of bonus Box Tops on more than 50 million packages at grocery stores and at btfe.com, allowing shoppers to DOUBLE their earnings with select products. With school budget cuts across the nation,  Box Tops for Education is now more and more important as it provides unrestricted cash to help schools with their basic operating needs and programs that would not be possible otherwise. Programs and supplies such as field trips, textbooks, musical instruments, playground equipment, classroom technology and arts and cultural programming.

“We are very impressed at how far the Box Tops program has come,” said Mark Addicks, chief marketing officer at General Mills. “To say that we’ve awarded schools more than $525 million through this simple program is amazing to us. However, it’s due largely to our participating brand partners and passionate coordinators that have propelled the program to this level.” On average, schools in the U.S. earn around $900 annually through the program, but many schools earn more than $20,000 by clipping Box Tops, participating in bonus programs and shopping 300 online eBoxTops retailers at the Box Tops Marketplace.

Get Social with this great program through these social media sites:  Box Tops for Education Facebook page,  Twitter  and YouTube.

WIN IT!

One lucky reader will win a Box Tops for Education Pantry Stock Up Prize Pack! 

pantry giveaway

The Pantry Stock Up gift pack includes:

  • New Peanut Butter Toast Crunch cereal
  • Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Dark Chocolate Cherry and Protein Salted Caramel
  • Fiber One Protein Bars
  • Progresso Recipe Starters
  • Food Should Taste Good Chips
  • Green Giant Fresh Box Tops for Education pencil pouch
  • Hamburger Helper Sweet & Sour Chicken and Parmesan Crusted Chicken
  • Betty Crocker Mac & Cheese and Au Gratin potatoes
  • Kleenex wallet pack and 184 count box
  • Scott toilet paper (4 roll) and paper towel roll
  • Avery dry erase weekly calendar
  • Ziploc bowls and bags
  • Yoplait Frozen Yogurt free product coupon

Here’s how to enter:

1. Please leave a comment below by February 22, 2013 telling me whose school you collect Boxtops for!

2. Like Girlymama on Facebook here and leave a comment telling me you liked our page

3. Tweet the following for an additional entry and leave a comment telling me you did so

I want to win Boxtops Pantry Stockup Prize #giveaway from @MelissaAngert. Enter here: http://girlymama.com/?p=5788

disclosure: I was provided with a stockup kit for my family to enjoy. Highly recommend the Fiber One bars. They’re yummy.

 

About Box Tops for Education

America’s schools have earned more than $525 million through the Box Tops for Education® program since the program started in 1996, including $47 million just since March 2012. More than  90,000 schools use that cash to purchase items such as computers, library books, art supplies and playground equipment. Schools can earn up to $20,000 by clipping Box Tops
coupons from 240 products and can earn eBoxTops by shopping online through the Box Tops Marketplace. To learn more and for a list of participating products, visit www.btfe.com.