It wasn’t that she cared so much about her tooth falling out it was really about her obsession with the Tooth Fairy.

For years she had watched her sisters put their teeth under their pillows at night and wake in the morning to find a dollar. Well mostly they would find a dollar but sometimes they would find nothing. Honestly the tooth fairy in my neighborhood is kind of irresponsible she forgets to come a lot… and a dollar she is a little cheap too. I think she might get fired one of these days.

Nevertheless Amelia was thrilled to discover she had a wiggly tooth. She was so excited so of course all she did for days was play with it. She wiggled and wiggled that tooth relentlessly until finally it came out. She was beside herself with excitement and couldn’t wait to put it under the pillow and get her reward from the Tooth Fairy; apparently she was unaware of the Tooth Fairy’s spotty record.

Immediately she ran off to put the tooth under her pillow so she would be ready for bedtime. A moment later she returns smiles and says, “Look Mommy I pulled out my other tooth!”

Mind you this second tooth was not wiggly at all.

She pulled it out!

On purpose!

My other two kids have had teeth that were so lose they were hanging by a thread and they wouldn’t even let you look in their mouths. This nut pulled out her own tooth! And why you might ask? For money of course! I guess she figured the first one came out easy why not double her earnings. After I congratulated her on her second tooth coming out I had to put a hold on all teeth pulling and made her promise to not pull out any more teeth.

Amelia’s new smile

I am thinking maybe she needs an allowance…

I was lucky enough yesterday to be part of a fabulous event in Manhattan called Getting Gorgeous with CVS Beauty Club 2013.

Getting Gorgeous is a company created by two blogging rock stars Audrey McLelland and Vera Sweeny. Audrey and Vera are social media mavens who have so many sites between the two of them I couldn’t possibly list them all here!

This fantastic event is invite only and I was thrilled to be invited. It’s a great venue to network with other bloggers and meet brands and learn about new products.

You couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous day to be in the city. The weather was perfect and there is nothing like walking through the city on a great day!

My morning started out typically enough. I woke up and believed I had time to do a thousand things when in reality I barley had time get myself dressed.

My train was at 10:35 and I picked up fellow blogging friend A Mom on the Move, at 10:27. She, like myself, was completely unaware of the time and casually eating her breakfast when I arrived. Realizing how late it was she threw down her roll and we raced out the door. Making the 10:35 was a pipe dream and we just kept driving past the train station and put our faith in GPS.

Driving actually turned out to be a great idea. Everything fell into place, very little traffic and we found parking. We were extremely pleased with ourselves. So much so we treated ourselves to a great lunch at The Blue Water Grill after Getting Gorgeous.

There were so many great sponsors at Getting Gorgeous. CVS Beauty was offering manicures, hair styling and giveaways. Chevy was hosting a stuff your truck contest and Bacardi was making cocktails- too much fun!

Here are some of the brands I met with yesterday

@CVSBeautyClub

Bacardi

Coolibar – @Coolibar

CVS ExtraCare – @CVS_Extra

Dial – @Dial

Downy – @Downy

Foster Grant – @FosterGrant1929

General Motors – @GM @DistrictDrive

Harlequin – @HarlequinBooks

Haute Tags – @HauteTags

Jade & Jasper – @JadeJasper2

Love Jac Cards @LoveJacCards

New Balance – @NewBalance

Puffs – @Puffs

Stokke – @StokkeBaby

Thyme Maternity – @ThymeMaternity

Tide – @Tide

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker. This clay baker is amazing because you can cook a delicious chocolate lava cake in the microwave in less than 15 minutes.

Many people were shocked because they had the same baker and never knew that it could be used to make a chocolate lava cake in the microwave.

As shocked as they were to learn you could bake a cake in the microwave, I was equally shocked to find out you could bake a whole chicken in the microwave in the same baker!! Honestly I never used for anything else besides cake… because if you have cake really what else do you need?

Now keep in mind I have never in my whole life cooked a whole chicken. I am the master of the chicken cutlet, but a whole chicken was completely out of my comfort zone. However, I decided it was time to jump off the ledge and try something new.

Off to the supermarket I went hoping that I would be able to find where they keep the whole chickens. I assumed they would be close to the cutlets and luckily I was able to find myself a bird. I chose a 6-pound bird and feeling successful I headed home.

Once I got home I was a bit perplexed. I cut off the wrapper and didn’t really know what to do next. This bird had insides Yuck! My cutlets don’t come with insides.

Luckily, the nice people at Stop and Shop who packaged the bird had placed all the insides in a nice bag, which I immediately removed and discarded. I really had no idea what I was doing but decided I should wash the chicken in the sink. Of course then I needed to disinfect the sink and counters because I am afraid of cross contamination.

From the sink I plunked it right into the Magic Deep Covered Baker. I sprinkled the chicken with McCormick chicken seasoning- again didn’t’ have any idea what kind of seasoning to choose. I basically just closed my eyes and grabbed one.

I put the top on the baker and set the microwave for 45 minutes. Forty-five minutes later I had a beautifully cooked delicious chicken for dinner.

At first, my husband was rather skeptical. He feels the microwave is okay for cakes but not for chickens. He refused to eat a chicken that was cooked in the microwave. Eventually he relented, but really only because there was nothing else to eat in the house.

The end result was magic…it was delish! It was as good, if not better than the rotisserie chickens that I buy at the supermarket.

Now if I could only get my magic baker to cut the chicken for me…  that would be something. You have never seen a massacre until you watch me try to cut up a chicken.

How to PLAY:

1. Follow your HOSTS:

Kimberly | Instagram: @anightowlblog | Vine: anightowlblog
Emily | Instagram: @mrsemshhh | Vine: emily emshwiller
Angie | Instagram: @blogali | Vine: Little Inspiration

2. Follow your CO-HOSTS:

Jennifer| Instagram: @jenafur20

You can find Jennifer here:
Blog :: Twitter :: Pinterest

***

Jennifer | Instagram: @mommydaybyday

You can find Jennifer here:
Blog :: Facebook :: Twitter

3. Link up your Instagram Web Profile:

Just link up your new Instagram Web Profile (http://instagram.com/username) -OR- your web viewer of choice in the linky below!

Note: this URL will not let you choose a profile pic from your feed, so be sure you have a picture you can upload from your computer if you use it! If you get a “Error: The requested URL returned error: 500″ error that just means it can’t find a picture to use NOT that your link is bad. Just click on “Direct Image URL” if you have one or “Upload from Computer”. If you still have trouble, try sticking with Followgram or Webstagram to upload your profile.

4. NEW! Link up your Vine Username and/or Video!

Add your Vine username (so folks can find you) to the list below! Or link up a Vine video so we can see your cinematography at work! This is new, so there aren’t web profiles just yet, but hopefully they’ll be out soon! How do you find your video link? If you post your video on Facebook or Twitter, you will be given a URL that looks like this: “http://vine.co/v/bJegq22datT.” Just link that up below with your username so we can find you! If you don’t have a URL to one of your videos, simply link up your blog URL, but make sure the title is your Vine username so we can find you!

5. Check out and follow a few fellow Instagram or Vine friends.

Tell folks you follow that you found them through the Hop!

6. Spread the word!

Tweet about it, share it on Facebook or post about it on Instagram!

Tweet

Now let’s link up!

Each 5X7 picture was printed on canvas and framed in a black box. The result a  beautiful and professional piece of art! The frames are thick, black, and sturdy and can be hung on the wall or stand on their own. I think that is a great feature because you aren’t limited to hanging your Snapbox you can also display  them on a table or flat surface.

I am super excited about SnapBox because I love to take pictures but rarely do anything with them besides post them on facebook or instagram. When I go to someone’s house and they have pictures displayed around the house I am always jealous because it looks so great, but I never get around to printing and framing photos myself.

SnapBox makes it so easy.  Pick your photo and you can upload it to their site from your picture files or your facebook photos. If you prefer you can email your photos to SnapBox instead and they will do it for you.

. The hardest part for me was choosing the photo since I have so many…

I have shared my SnapBox pictures with everyone and most people thought I had the pictures professionally taken but that’s not the case at all. All three pictures were taken with a regular point and shoot camera- nothing fancy. But that is what so great about SnapBox any snapshot can be turned into a work of art.

You can choose a variety of shapes and sizes. I love that they also come in 5X5  and 9×9 which are perfect for Instagram photos. Instagram has become my new obsession. I am obsessed with editing and adding frames to my photos to post on Instagram. With SnapBox I can actually turn those Instagram photos into canvas art too.

I am definitely thinking these are going to make great Mother’s Day gifts. This is my  favorite Instagram photo and I have already ordered it for my mother in-law for Mother’s Day. 

Giveaway

SnapBox has offered to give away an 8×10 or 9×9 photo to one of my lucky readers. To enter the giveaway please do all of the following:

Like SnapBox on Facebook

Like Mommy Day by Day on Facebook

Leave a comment here once you have liked both pages and on

April 18th a winner will be selected at random. The winner will be notified by email.

The Do It Yourself Hair Cut.

Amelia had been begging me to play Connect Four with her and she vanished to the playroom to get the game. I have been a parent long enough to have known better. She vanished for a pretty long time… never a good sign. But rather than read the signs I enjoyed the quiet time and foolishly thought she was quietly playing and had forgotten about our Connect Four match.

Finally, she came down the attic stairs Connect Four in hand a big smile on her face and her hair all messed up. Right away I noticed the blunt crooked cut of her bangs. “Amelia did you cut your hair?”

Immediately her hand flew to her forehead and her smile disappeared. Suddenly embarrassed she shouted, “Don’t tell anyone!” I laughed at her innocence because it didn’t matter whether I told anyone it was a haircut that couldn’t be missed.

I suppose cutting your hair is a rite of passage. I was thankful she didn’t hurt herself with the scissor. However, after I was thankful she didn’t poke her eye out, I was a little aggravated because Easter was in a few days as were her school spring pictures. Of course she couldn’t cut her hair in January when there are no major picture opportunities and hair is mostly hidden under hats and ski helmets.

When she realized I was upset she became so sad that I couldn’t even get that mad at her. She knew it was wrong and promised to never do it again. Encouraging her to keep her promise I threw in some motivation by promising to take away ALL her toys if she does it again.

I have tried to understand what possesses a child to pick up a scissor, a tool that they know is not to be played with, and think, “Let me chop of this huge chunk of bang!” Amelia has not been forthcoming in her reasoning and the truth is there is probably no logic to it.

Luckily big flowers and headbands are in fashion and I have been able to hide most of the chop job under a big flower. At home she walks around with her crooked blunt bangs and we have really gotten used to it. Actually it kind of matches her personality.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic film loved by all. Who doesn’t love watching Dorothy wander down the yellow brick road in search of the wonderful Wizard of Oz. Sadly Dorothy discovers that the great and all-knowing powerful Oz is just a mere mortal hiding behind a curtain and not a wizard at all. He explains to Dorothy that he really is a good man but just a bad wizard.

Did you ever wonder exactly how Oz became the all knowing and powerful Wizard of Oz? How exactly did he wind up in the Land of Oz in the first place? And why is he pretending to be a Wizard anyway? Disney’s fantasy adventure  Oz the Great and Powerful attempts to answer these questions in this prequel to the classic Wizard of Oz.

The film directed by Sam Raimi in many aspects stays true to the Wizard of Oz. Like the classic film it opens in Kansas in black and white. Immediately you are drawn into the life of  ladies man and carnival con artist Oscar Diggs ,Oz played by James Franco. We quickly learn that Oscar strives for greatness but is often disappointed himself and often  feels he isn’t a good man.

Desperate to avoid the wrath of the circus strong man who is chasing him in angry rage he escapes in a hot air ballon. Within minutes of his narrow escape he is whisked away by a tornado and lands beyond the rainbow in the vibrant Land of Oz. We are treated to a amazing 3-D landscape in full color as Oz meets the first of three witches Theodora, portrayed by Mila Kunis. Theodora is enthralled with Oz and believes he is the wizard they have been waiting for to fulfill the prophecy and restore peace to Oz.  Greedy and short on ethics Oz is happy to pretend he is the actual Wizard in order to gain the throne and riches of the Emerald City.

Unfortunately for Oz, The Land of Oz’s two remaining witches Glinda, Michelle Williams, and Evanora, Rachel Weisz see right through his sham and see him for who he really is. In the end he must band with the people of Oz to fight the evil witches and free the people and restore peace.

James Franco is vulnerable and loveable as Oz. You find yourself cheering for him and hoping he will transform into the good person he wants to be. He might not be a wizard but he uses slight of hand and smoke and mirrors to help save the day.

The movie was wonderful. Although the story is Oz’s there are several references to the original movie and several “ah ha” moments where you learn things like why the wicked witch is so wicked or why the cowardly lion is so cowardly. I love back stories.

And just as Dorothy met characters in Oz who echoed real people she knew in Kansas Oz does as well. Notably Zach Braff, his assistant in Kansas becomes the voice of Finley the flying monkey who becomes Oz’s companion in The Land of Oz.

One major difference between the prequel and the classic film is the absence of music. There are no memorable show tunes in this production but I believe it has more than it needs to be an instant new classic.

Oz the Great and Powerful gets three big thumbs up from my husband, daughter and I. I love movies that are enjoyable for the whole family. I was originally concerned it would be too scary but my 9 year old loved it and wasn’t scared at all. A great night out at the movies.

From the moment my oldest daughter was born my husband wanted to go to Disney. I had no desire to go and I gave him a million excuses for why we couldn’t go. It’s too expensive, the kids are too young to appreciate it, it’s an exhausting vacation, it’s too hot, it’s too crowded, and I don’t like to fly were just a few of the excuses I threw at him. The excuses worked for a while but eventually I gave in.

Finally, with great trepidation I agreed to bite the bullet and go to Disney. By this time my children were now 8,5, and 1.

Concerned because the baby was so young I recruited my mother and stepfather to come with us. Of course upon hearing the news my two sisters decided to join us. They are gaga over their nieces and didn’t want to miss their first Disney trip.

I removed myself completely from the planning stage and left it all up to BJ. Truthfully I really didn’t have any expertise to share. The last time I had been to Disney I was 8 and we drove from New York in a station wagon and stayed in a pop-up tent at the campground. It was so long ago EPCOT wasn’t even built yet!

Initially my husband drove me a little insane. He would spend hours on the Internet looking into everything Disney. He wanted my opinion on which Walt Disney World Resort we should stay in, what restaurants we should eat at and what dining plan we should get.

All of this I had no opinion on and frankly it was hard for me to wrap my head around it all. I basically agreed to everything knowing full well if the vacation turned out badly I would just blame him anyway! Seriously I did try to show interest while he created spreadsheets of which parks we would be at on which days and where we would be eating.

I believe this is what tends to overwhelm people about Disney. My oldest cousin who has four kids has often told me that Disney makes her feel disorganized. I was beginning to understand what she meant. I just didn’t understand it all… fast passes, quick serve dining options, park hoppers, extra magic hours it all just seemed too confusing.

Luckily for me, my husband persevered and planned a wonderful vacation. We ended up staying at the French Quarter at the Port Orleans Walt Disney World Resort and it was a perfect resort for a young family. The resort is on the smaller side, which was ideal for small children.

And I am sorry to say it, and as corny as it sounds the trip was Magical. I took that first walk down Main Street with my family and I have never looked back. I am completely hooked. Since that first time in 08 we have been back three more times and I can’t get enough.

Recently I was enthusiastically describing to a friend our latest trip to Disney that we took in the fall for my 40^th Birthday. He stopped me cold and turned to me and said, “Clearly you drink the Disney Kool Aid.” And what could I say he’s right! I went from reluctant traveler to Disney fanatic.

There is so much to do and see in Walt Disney World. From dining plans to park hoppers to Disney Vacation Club there is so much to learn about Walt Disney World. However, it really is not as confusing as I had originally thought all those years ago. It really is an easy vacation to plan when you know what you are doing.

Every week I will be sharing helpful tips on the ins and outs planning your Disney vacation.

And if you are a reluctant Disney Vacationer like me I urge you to take the plunge because it really is Magical- sorry I just couldn’t help myself!

Today only February 22nd get a free personalized mousepad with

promo code FREEPAD.

Of course I hear mouse and think Mickey. I quickly put together this cute Disney themed mousepad for my husband for Father’s Day. 

Click the picture below to get your free mousepad.

Free Mousepad – Offer expires 02/22/2013 (11:59 P.M. PST). Offer is good for one free photo mousepad at shutterfly.com. Offer valid for one-time redemption per billing address. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. For more details, please click here.

I am thinking Mother and Father’s Day Cards. Pretty nice deal free personalized cards! I think Grandma and Nanny would love this for Mother’s Day. Of course it’s a spoiler alert for them since they will read this!

Five free 5×7 flat or folded stationery with promo code 5FREECARDS from Shutterfly.com Offer valid 2/21 ONLY

5 free cards – Offer expires 02/21/2013 (11:59 P.M. PST). Offer is good for five free 5×7 folded greeting cards or five free 5×7 stationery cards at shutterfly.com. Offer valid for one-time redemption per billing address. Customer must choose only one of the two offers. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. For more details, please click here.