Mommy Day by Day

What? It’s Lent Again?

Posted on March 6, 2014 by mommydaybyday

All of the Catholics I know need to get a calendar. It seems that every year Ash Wednesday sneaks up on all of us. Everywhere I went yesterday I heard people saying, ” I can’t believe it is already Ash Wednesday!”

Shocking as it maybe, it was Ash Wednesday and off we went in droves get our ashes. Like every other busy mom in the world I tried to find the closest prayer service as opposed to the mass so we could be in and out and on with our busy lives. What I discovered was that some churches were doing literal “drive thru” ashes. People weren’t even getting out of the cars! I couldn’t believe it. Being some what old school I made my kids get out of the car and actually go inside the church. For some reason that seems okay to me even though it’s only a smidge better than the drive thru. What can I say I hate change.

Once we figure out how to get ashes we have to contemplate what sinful thing we would like to give up for the next 40 days. Twitter compiled a list of the top 100 things people tweeted about giving up for Lent this year.

2014 Twitter Lent Tracker: Top 100

Some of the ideas are pretty typical like food items like chocolate, sweets, fries & soda. Food is always the most popular thing to give up. Other top choices were swearing, instagram, selfies & facebook.

Clearly some people were not really paying attention in religious education class because they tweeted they are giving up religion and catholicism. However, since everyone on Twitter things they are hilarious I am sure those were in jest.

I think my favorite tweet was the person who is giving up snow. I think we can all relate to that one.

My middle daughter has decided to give up candy. Too broad of thing in my opinion. I tried to get her to be more specific like skittles or starburst but she is adamant. This morning she wouldn’t eat breakfast because all we had were Cocoa Pebbles, I know, I know not so healthy but not candy! However she refused because they are chocolate flavored and therefore: candy. Love having a heated debate while we are getting ready for school and work over whether or not cereal is candy. If it is chocolate flavored than clearly it must be candy. In the end she won and I think it is going to be a long 40 days.

Posted in Family, Holidays, Life | Tagged Ash Wednesday, ashes, Catholic Church, Christianity, drive by ashes, give up for lent, Lent, twitter | 2 Comments

Knox Blox Mickey Style #Disneyside

Posted on February 28, 2014 by mommydaybyday

Mickey Knox Blox

Growing up my mother always made a snack called Knox Blox. Knox Blox was an all time favorite at my house. Now that I am mommy I have continued the tradition and often make Knox Blox for my girls.

What’s nice is they are different and hardly anyone I know has ever heard of them. They taste just like jello but without all the mess. They are actually hard and you can hold them in your hand. People always think I am taking about Jello Jigglers when I tell them about Knox Blox but they are different. You can’t even find the recipe for them on the box of jello or knox! I always have to call my mother just to make sure I have the amounts correct every time I make them because I can rarely find my recipe cards.

I have been busy planning my DisneySide at Home Celebration and trying to find a unique way to show my Disneyside.

Mickey Cookie Cutters

I was struggling to find something different when I realized Mickey would make a perfect Knox Blox. make a perfect Knox Blox. Using the Micky Cookie Cutters provided in my DisneySide at home Celebration Kit I was able to make adorable Mickey Knox Blox.

The recipe for Knox Blox is super easy.

Ingredients:

* 3 small boxes of Jello any flavor- I always use sugar free which makes them a great snack for me too!

* 1 box of Knox clear gelatin

*4 cups of boiling water

Directions:

Pour four cups of boiling water into a 13X9 pan. Stir in the entire box of Knox, which contains four packages and all 3 boxes of Jello. The key is to stir really well and make sure all the jello dissolves.

Let harden in the fridge overnight or for several hours. When I make it in the morning my kids are constantly testing to see if it’s ready.

Then using Mickey Cookie Cutters cut out your Mickeys. They will peel right out of the pan. One pan made 12 Mickeys.

A great way to show your #Disneyside!

Mickey Knox Blox

Posted in Disney, Food & Snacks, Recipes | Tagged American Tourister, cooking, disneyside, disneyside at home celebration, Home, Jello, Knox, Knox Blox, Mickey, The Walt Disney Company | 1 Comment

A Jar Full of Memories

Posted on February 26, 2014 by mommydaybyday

Do you remember all the good moments from throughout the year?

Imagine you could keep a record of all the good things that happen to you throughout the year. Wouldn’t you love a running record of all the good times?

I certainly don’t remember all the good things that happen during the year. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to, it’s just life is so busy and I find myself catapulting from one event to the next. I am always trying so hard to keep the house of cards from falling apart rarely is there time for reflection or a look back at the good times.

Even when I do look back I am always my harshest critics and focus on what I could have done better or ways to improve. The bad times seem to stick out in my mind like a sore thumb and the good times kind of melt together and are forgotten.

This is why I loved this idea a “Jar Full of Memories.”

Get a jar, it can be any kind of jar- I prefer the clear plastic or glass kind, and write the year across it. For all of you DIY crafters out there you can even decorate and personalize the jar. My girls are crazy for Modge Podge and they are going to decorate their jars with a picture collage.

Then every day or as close to every day you can get, write down on a slip of paper something good that happened to you. It can be a little random act of kindness like someone held the door open for you or an amazing thing like you ran a half marathon, a niece or nephew being born or even finally being invited to Disney’s SMM Conference. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the good and focus on the positive instead of being brought down by the negative.

You can get fancy with pretty paper or just use strips of white or loose leaf paper. Whatever suits your style is the way to go.

At the end of the year you and your family will really have a great time going through and reading all the papers. It will be your personal highlights reel from the year. I think you will be surprised by all the good things that happened during the year.

If you want to go a step further you could take all the memories and put them in a scrapbook. I have grandiose plans of my girls and I scrapbooking our memories, but realize that might be a stretch. I still have honeymoon pictures in a box in the basement. However, even if read through the memories and save them in a plastic bag it will be a great memories to hold onto.

I can’t take credit for this fabulous idea I saw it for the first time at my sister-in-law’s house. She saw the idea on a show somewhere and wanted to try it out.

It does remind me a little of my grandmother who cataloged her whole year on her wall calendar. She would write little notes about events that happened on each day. I can remember being a small child and looking at her pretty script handwriting detailing her days. I always admired that she did that but as an adult have never been able to put it into practice.

In homage to grandma I will begin my 2014 Jar of Memories- Yes I know it’s almost March, but better late than never!

Grandma going strong at 94!

Posted in DIY, Family, Life, Motherhood | Tagged Craft, Jar, Jar full of memories, jar of memories, memories, Modge Podge, random acts of kindness, Scrapbooking, year in review | 2 Comments

Mustache Smash, Boomer & More: A Sneak Peek at Newest Toys from Spin Master #spinmasternytf

Posted on February 20, 2014 by mommydaybyday

Nick Grisolia, inventor of Zoomer.

I was pretty pumped the other day when I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Grisolia, inventor of Zoomer, the hottest toy from 2013. He is a pretty humble guy and didn’t let on that he was the inventor even after I gushed about what a great toy Zoomer is and how much my daughter loves it.

He was such a nice guy and refused to take full credit for Zoomer explaining that he works with a partner. I was glad to have the chance to talk to him about his latest toy Zoomer Dino Boomer at the Spin Master blogger breakfast last Sunday. It was a sneak preview of their upcoming toys at the NYC Toy Fair.

It is going to be another great year for SpinMaster with some fabulous toys on the horizon.

Here is a sneak peek from my sneak peek.

Zoomer Dino Boomer

Zoomer will now have a prehistoric friend, Boomer. Boomer has a great dinosaur roar and rolls around whipping his tail about all while balancing on two feet. Unlike Zoomer, he is not voice activated but rather operated via remote control. You can also play with him in autonomous mode by using the sensors in his nose. Boomer has several different moods and his eyes change color to indicate his mood.

I can’t wait for our Zoomer to meet Boomer!

Chatsters

I asked the representative at Spin Master how they came up with the idea for Chatsters. She explained she was born from a focus group of little girls. They were asked what they would like in a doll. The answer Chatsters. She is absolutely adorable, interactive and perfect for tech savvy girls. She communicates with you through her interactive glasses which are actually mini LED screens. In addition to interacting with you she will also respond to her dog, lipstick and other accessories. Her glasses can play mini games too. Since there is an app for everything Chatster will have her own app as well where you can discover her other features and she can even text you.(for free through the app, no data charges will apply)

Spy Gear

For the amateur spy in your life these two accessories will be a must have. These spy glasses actually take pictures! I would have loved this as a kid. You can take pictures with the glasses and then plug the memory card into your computer and print them out. So cool! Along with your Mission Impossible Spy Glasses is the microphone pen. You can use it as a pen as well as a microphone and it also has a red “lasar-like” light.

Mustache Smash

I love high-tech just as much as everyone else, but there is nothing like a good old board game. This game was awesome and rides the mustache craze which will make it a big hit with the kids. It’s simple to play and kids will have no problem learning the rules. Each player gets a mustache and wears it during the game. On the back of the mustache is a suction cup which helps you smash and keep your card. When the cards are flipped the first person to smash the card that matches either style or color of their mustache gets the card, player with the most cards wins.

Shark Mania

Another low-tech fun game. You have to move your person across the bridge before the shark attacks. At first I thought it needed batteries in order for the shark to travel across and break through but no batteries needed. You wind up the shark and it travels on a string. No batteries is a winner, loved this game.

Flutterbye

Flutterbye has two new exciting additions this year. Even Spin Master is showing their “DisneySide” by adding Tinkerbell to the Flutterbye Family. If you have never seen one they are pretty magical. With a push of the button she flies around the room and hovers over your hand. The other new addition is the original Flutterbye Fairy that now lights up when she flies.

Air Hogs Remote Control Helicopter

Although I have only girls we have tried out the remote control helicopter from time to time. The results are always disastrous, they fly up hit the ceiling and fall apart. Apparently our results were pretty typical so Spin Master now has a cage around the helicopter which keeps it from hitting the ceiling and other obstacles. It also enables the helicopter to roll up the wall or across the ceiling using the cage. It worked really well and was a lot of fun to play with.

Giveaway

To celebrate Spin Masters 2014 Toy Line I am giving away a Spin Master basket featuring Ten Khai Nights. To enter the giveaway sign up to follow the blog or like my facebook page. Contest will end Wednesday, February 26th and the winner will be announced on Thursday, February 27th.

Toys previewed here today will be available in Spring or Fall 2014.

Posted in Contests, Giveaways, Reviews, Toys | Tagged Air Hogs, board game, Flutterbye, Interactive doll, moustache, remote control helicopter, Shark games, Spin Master, Spy Gear, Tinkerbell, Toy Fair 2014, toys, Zoomer | 2 Comments

Skier’s Delight: Crock Pot Chicken Burritos #recipes

Posted on February 19, 2014 by mommydaybyday

Skiing is awesome and I love it.

However there are a few drawbacks. For one thing it is a cumbersome sport and there is a lot of gear. You have to bundle up in snow pants, long underwear, sweaters, turtle necks, neck warmers, gloves, etc. Then there are the helmets, boots, poles and skis. Then you have to pack snacks and lunch for the lodge. A lot of planning and a lot of schlepping just getting to the slope is an achievement.

So by the time you get home the last thing you want to think about is dinner! Of course it’s the first thing the family thinks about because echoes of, “What’s for dinner?” are heard throughout the house as soon as they snow clothes are shed.

Last time we went skiing my brother in-law made this delicious dish for dinner. It was perfect because he prepared it in the morning and it cooked all day in the crock pot. While we were swishing on the slopes our dinner was being prepared.

After a great day of skiing he put the burritos together, threw them in the oven and we had a great meal. This recipe was originally a Weight Watchers recipe which makes it healthy and easy. (One burrito is 5 points)

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless chicken breast

1 15oz can diced tomatoes

1 large green pepper thinly sliced

1 4oz an diced chiles

1 packet taco seasoning

8 whole wheat tortillas

1 15oz can enchilada sauce

1 red onion thinly sliced

4 cloves minced garlic

1 cup reduced fat Mexican style cheese (shredded)

Directions:

1.) Place chicken, diced tomatoes, chiles, sliced green pepper, sliced onion, garlic, and taco seasoning packet in the slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

2.) When you are ready to make your burritos preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then take two forks and shred the chicken. I have never since this done before and I was impressed how easily the chicken shredded.

3.) Take a tortilla shell and spoon about 3/4 of a cup of the mixture onto the shell, sprinkle with 1 tbsp shredded cheese and then roll up burrito style. Place the burrito in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining tortilla shells.

4.) Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the burritos in the baking pan. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

5.) Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes about 8 servings. We served it with white rice and sour cream, and it was a delicious after skiing dinner. Just watch the enchilada sauce it was a little to spicy for my crowd.