Cake Pop- Review and C0NTEST

January 27, 2012 by 4 Comments

There is a craze making the circuits called “cake pops”. These are cake in the shape of balls, about the size of donut holes. These cake balls are then dipped in frosting/chocolate/anything then covered in some sprinkles, really, lol. It sounds simple and nothing special- but they are really quite good! Easy to make means BONUS!

Another thing you learn quite quickly is, without the proper equipment they are very difficult to make.
In steps the proper equipment, the Nostalgia Electrics Cake Pop and Donut Hole Bakery. This machine is about the size of a waffle maker and works in a similar manner. Make dough, put into designated areas, close machine, let it sit for a certain amount of time then presto! Cake balls.

We gave this machine a try last night and found it to work just as promised. I will say I cheated a bit and did some research online before trying this out. The instruction booklet has recipes in it for from scratch cake mix, unfortunately we did not have baking powder, so I had to improvise a bit with boxed cake mix. I know, its not the same the recipe cake is a million times better. Little Man wanted cake balls and I wanted to try out my new gadget. After some googling and research I found a recipe which used any cake mix and would make perfect cake balls. It is as follows:

2 cups cake mix.
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup water
mix these up pretty [Read more…]

Filed Under: food, giveaway, review

Making New Friends! Come H0P With Us!

January 26, 2012 by 4 Comments
Welcome back to week 43 of Finding New Friends Weekend Blog Hop hosted by Shelly from My Saving Game, Sam from Have Sippy Will Travel and Jeannette from The Adventures of J-Man and MillerBug! Thank you all for helping make this hop so successful! We love you tons! Now what are you waiting for? Let’s get to hopping! We are finding some fabulous blogs through this hop and having a great time getting to know so many of you! So thank you for linking up again this week to those of you who are hop veterans and welcome to those who are new! Let’s continue to make new bloggy friends and increase our traffic! We do have a few simple rules for you – nothing too tough though. So here we go!
1. Please follow your hostesses My Saving Game, Have Sippy Will Travel and The Advetures of J-Man and MillerBug. Leave us a comment and we will follow you back! (If you already [Read more…]
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Valentine’s Day Activities for the Whole Family

January 26, 2012 by 7 Comments

Although Valentine’s Day is traditionally geared towards couples in love, if that love lasts beyond
the dating stage you are pretty sure to find yourself in the family way at some point. And since
the sentiments of this romantic holiday helped to get you there, you’ll certainly want to continue
celebrating each year. However, having kids can change the situation somewhat. It’s not that you and
your honey shouldn’t have some time to yourselves (hey, that’s what keeps the flame alive), but the
hassles involved in making plans for this holiday could easily hold you back. You have to find a sitter
(good luck), book a restaurant (if you haven’t done it yet you’re already late), and spend a ton of dough
on a meal that would normally cost you half as much just so you can quickly be ushered out by the wait
staff to make room for the next booking. If this doesn’t sound like much fun, why not look for ways to
involve the whole family in the love-fest (and save your alone time for later)?

There are actually tons of ways that you can translate this holiday from a theme of romantic love
into one of familial bonding. One great way is to plan a special meal at home. Start ahead of time by
putting together a fancy menu of dishes, including starters, an entrée, and of course, dessert. You can
get everyone involved by allowing them to choose dishes they love, and if the kids are crafty they can
set the stage by decorating the dining room, arranging place [Read more…]

Filed Under: family, holidays

Preparing Your Child for College

January 25, 2012 by 4 Comments

An argument could be made that preparation for college begins the day you bring your little bundle
of joy into the world. For your part, you set up a college fund to start saving for his future and you
begin to teach him the basics. Over the course of his childhood you will help him to learn academically,
but you will also instill in him a love of knowledge, a strong work ethic, and a sense of personal
responsibility; all will help him once he is out of the nest and on his own, working towards a future in
which he is independent, confident, capable, and self-sufficient. All those skills required for study in online accredited colleges, which require a different set of personal skills than state universities. At least, that’s the goal. At least, that’s the goal. But if you fail to adequately prepare your child for the rigorous demands of study at the college level, he may never realize these dreams. So here are a few areas you’ll certainly want to look into as a way to get your child ready for residence in the ivory tower of education.

1. AP classes. Advanced prep classes are probably just what you suspect; they are college level
courses meant to prepare your child for what he will face at a university. Often, they come with
bonuses like a higher possible GPA (5.0 as opposed to 4.0) and even college credit (so your child
can get some of his general education out of the way in high school). However, they are quite
difficult, so only advanced students should consider taking them.

2. Testing. The biggest hurdle for most kids looking to get into college is the standardized testing
they must complete. Your child will certainly have to take the SAT (Standardized Admission
Test), the results of which will determine the universities willing to consider him for entrance.
And you [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, kids

@COSI – #1 Science Center in the Country- and it’s closer then you think! @DiscoverOhio

January 25, 2012 by 22 Comments

CoSI is the Center of Science and Industry, and it’s almost within walking distance of the center of Columbus. Voted #1 Science Center in the country by Parents Magazine, CoSI is a wonderful science learning center where children of all ages (even ones over 18) can learn and interact with science in new ways.
Their exhibits are ever expanding and changing. At the time of our visit, we saw a new exhibit being built called Race, which is about diversity through the eyes of history and science. Sounds pretty interesting, and I am excited to see what they do with this topic. I wish we were able to see it, and am hoping to be able to get back to CoSI during the events duration (January 28-May 6, 2012).

The exhibits which we were most interested in were Ocean, Space and Gadgets. All of the exhibits are fun and engaging, but our favorites were these 3. Ocean has visitors walk through an ‘underwater cavern’, which is actually just a dimly lit cavern to an underwater exploration deck. On this deck there is a submarine you can get into, as well as a one man partially submerged submarine. Also, there is a classroom with lots of ocean critters and educational experiences to partake in. I liked how it felt like we were transported under the sea, while still being open enough for those of us who are a touch claustrophobic to feel comfortable. The kids really liked the submarines and getting to have a hands on experience with them. That was very unusual and super fun for both of them- and I did see a few older kids (and their fathers) go into it as well.

Next we explored Space. Space is all about space exploration and science. Including space shuttles, planetary rovers and even a space toilet to sit on. We had a ‘gas’ trying that out. There is an exhibit all about Niel Armstrong, who was born in Ohio, you can drive a radio controlled Mars Rover over martian terrain, and land a space shuttle. All right there in the safety of CoSI!

“Enter COSI’s Space exhibit through a dizzying black hole, then ride in a space capsule, test your skills as an “armchair” astronaut, or maneuver a rover through a Martian landscape. Explore the effects of gravity on different planets. Learn about life in orbit inside a mockup of the International Space Station or watch NASA TV live in the Galaxy Lounge.”

Last but not least [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, family, travel

W!N an iplay Non-spill Sippy Cup

January 24, 2012 by 2 Comments

I know that many of you have your kids off sippy cups by age 4- but for me, my guy is still a hot mess with his cups and so, we still use our sippies. We are loving the new Green Sprouts non spill sippy cup that my little guy just got- he likes the animals, of course- I like that it doesn’t spill!

New Interchangeable Design! BPA free! This sippy cup is designed to keep our baby’s beverage from spilling.

BPA and PVC free! All parts are interchangeable with all other green sprouts bottles.
Designed with a one-way valve to prevent messy spills. Soft sippy spout is
gentle on baby’s gums and teeth. Soft-grip handles are removable. Available [Read more…]
Filed Under: baby, giveaway, kids, review

Wordless Wednesday! My Poor Birthday Cake….

January 24, 2012 by 12 Comments

(What happens when Daddy bakes, [Read more…]

Filed Under: baking

REAL STEEL Hits the stores today on Blue Ray and DVD!

January 24, 2012 by 4 Comments

The bots have gone the distance and REAL STEEL releases on Blu-ray & DVD today! In addition, Disney’s Second Screen application for Real Steel is now available in the Apple iTunes store.

You might think this is just basically “Rocky” but with robots- but nay nay! How wrong you would be 😛
It’s also the underdog story of a boy and his giant mechanized friend, who overcome the odds and take the arena by storm. Plus- moms- Hugh Jackman is in it, and [Read more…]

Filed Under: movie