Saturday, July 20, 2013

Goldfish Smiles Across the Miles

What do you send to fabulous family FULL of kiddos with summer birthdays?

Customized Goldfish gift boxes - that's what! 


Knowing the Goldfish party cups were such a hit with my son's class as his bday treat, I was excited to create these birthday boxes on GoldfishMyWay.com to send to our far-away friends.

The site takes you through a short and sweet five step process to choose your occasion, write a message, upload a photo, pick your colors (yes - you get to choose the colors!), and then choose size and quantity.


The hardest part of the whole process for me was choosing which photo! Luckily, you can choose two full color photos - one for the front and the back to go along with your personal message - so that makes the decision a wee bit easier.

I decided on the large gift box and then a set of 12 party favor boxes so that each kiddo would have two each. (You probably just did the math - yep, six amazing kiddos and an equally amazing mama!)

My dear friend had no idea that a giant Goldfish box would be arriving on their doorstep so both she and the kids were really surprised when they opened it up to see their smiling faces on the packaging!

And, of course, it made me smile to be tagged in her facebook status later that day -

Got the COOLEST Goldfish Birthday box from some friends today. The kids are loving their personalized boxes. Too stinking cute! Thanks Kelli Perkins!

Such a fun gift to give! Thanks Goldfish My Way - brillant idea!


*I am a Goldfish Smiles ambassador so this is a sponsored post, but all opinions expressed are my own. Love those Goldfish!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Goldfish Cup Stacking, Anyone?

 A major perk to working with Pepperidge Farm Goldfish is getting to try out cool new products like these awesome NEW party cups from GoldfishMyWay.com.

It was no surprise that as soon as we opened the giant Goldfish-speckled box, my boy started stacking....
 Well, first we stuffed the vanilla cupcake graham packages into these colorful cups (his birthday treat request for his buddies at school), and then he started stacking...
He even had a little game of Goldfish Jenga going on - funny kid.
 I think he must have played with those cups for at least a half an hour before we packed them up to take to school the next day. It was fun to watch him pass them out at lunch time and see those first grade faces light up - "Wow!... Cool!... I've never seen these before!" The party cups were a great alternative from the regular birthday cupcakes that come in almost every week.

And if you think these party cups are cool, you have to check out the personalized gift boxes you can order too! I actually sent am planning to order a set of those to send to a friend and her kiddos for their summer birthdays. The website is so easy to navigate, I am sure the hardest part will be deciding on which photo to use!

*This is a sponsored post as I received free product to review, but all opinions expressed are my own. Seriously, what's not to love about Goldfish?


Monday, June 3, 2013

Scholastic June Review - No More Pencils, No More Books...




My kids and I have been counting down to the last day of school so this cute picture book, No More Pencils, No More Books, No More Teacher’s Dirty Looks written by Diane deGroat, was a perfect bedtime read for us.  My first grade son connected right away to the story being that it is about a first grade class saying good-bye to their teacher and getting ready for second grade.  Both of my kiddos got a kick out of the last day poems that the students made up  to recite during the awards ceremony -“ I love numbers, I love math. I think of counting, even in the bath.” That one had them both giggling. Reading this story is also a great prompt to talk about the past school year – favorite things that they learned, what they liked about their teacher, and what they are looking forward to next year. It’s hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end, but, just like in this story, we can’t wait for that first day of summer vacation!

Read the rest of June's book reviews over on Scholastic's Book Box Daily page!

*I am a member of Scholastic's Mom and Dad Squad and receive books each month in exchange for my and my kiddos' honest reviews. 

My kids and I have been counting down to the last day of school so this cute picture book was a perfect bedtime read for us. My first grade son connected right away to the story being that it is about a first grade class saying good bye to their teacher and getting ready for second grade. Both of my kiddos got a kick out of the last-day poems that the students made up to recite during the awards ceremony: “I love numbers, I love math. I think of counting, even in the bath.” That one had them both giggling. Reading this story is also a great prompt to talk about the past school year—favorite things that they learned, what they liked about their teacher, and what they are looking forward to next year. It’s hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end, but just like in this story, we can’t wait for that first day of summer vacation! - See more at: http://bookboxdaily.scholastic.com/2013/06/10/mom-dad-squad-june-reviews/#sthash.qb5leVlg.dpuf
As soon as we turned to the first page of this beautifully illustrated book, my kids and I were oohing and aahing. For two years, we lived within minutes of a gorgeous butterfly house and fell in love with these amazing fluttering creatures. I thought we knew quite a bit about butterflies, but as we read this book together, we learned several new facts and were introduced to many new species!
Did you know that the largest butterfly in the world has a wingspan of up to one foot and the smallest one’s wingspan is less than one third of an inch? Or that caterpillars eat poisonous plants so that they become poisonous as adults to protect themselves from predators? We had no idea! Along with these fun facts, we enjoyed reading the names printed around the colorful butterflies as well like Southern Dogface, Great Purple Hairstreak, Ruddy Daggerwing, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail—just to name a few. We also loved how the author perfectly described these insects—creative, helpful, protective, and even magical.
My eight-year-old daughter says that she thinks this is a very interesting story for anyone who loves butterflies. What a spectacular springtime picture book!
- See more at: http://bookboxdaily.scholastic.com/2013/04/08/mom-dad-squad-april-reviews/#sthash.yZJUrXzM.dpuf
As soon as we turned to the first page of this beautifully illustrated book, my kids and I were oohing and aahing. For two years, we lived within minutes of a gorgeous butterfly house and fell in love with these amazing fluttering creatures. I thought we knew quite a bit about butterflies, but as we read this book together, we learned several new facts and were introduced to many new species!
Did you know that the largest butterfly in the world has a wingspan of up to one foot and the smallest one’s wingspan is less than one third of an inch? Or that caterpillars eat poisonous plants so that they become poisonous as adults to protect themselves from predators? We had no idea! Along with these fun facts, we enjoyed reading the names printed around the colorful butterflies as well like Southern Dogface, Great Purple Hairstreak, Ruddy Daggerwing, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail—just to name a few. We also loved how the author perfectly described these insects—creative, helpful, protective, and even magical.
My eight-year-old daughter says that she thinks this is a very interesting story for anyone who loves butterflies. What a spectacular springtime picture book!
- See more at: http://bookboxdaily.scholastic.com/2013/04/08/mom-dad-squad-april-reviews/#sthash.yZJUrXzM.dpuf

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Scholastic April Review - A Butterfly is Patient

As soon as we turned to the first page of this beautifully illustrated book, my kids and I were oohing and aahing.  For two years, we lived within minutes of a gorgeous butterfly house and fell in love with these amazing fluttering creatures. I thought we knew quite a bit about butterflies, but as we read this book together, we learned several new facts and were introduced to many new species! 


Did you know that the largest butterfly in the world has a wingspan of up to one foot and the smallest’s is less than one third of an inch? Or that caterpillars eat poisonous plants so that they become poisonous as adults to protect themselves from predators? We had no idea! Along with these fun facts, we enjoyed reading the names printed around the colorful butterflies as well like Southern Dogface, Great Purple Hairstreak, Ruddy Daggerwing, and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail – just to name a few. We also loved how the author perfectly described these insects – creative, helpful, protective, and even magical.

My eight-year-old daughter says that she thinks this is a very interesting story for anyone who loves butterflies. What a spectacular springtime picture book!

 (Taken at our favorite butterfly house - spring 2011)
 
For more April book reviews, visit the Book Box Daily page at Scholastic.com!

*I am a member of Scholastic's Mom and Dad Squad and received a free copy of this book in exchange for my and my kiddos' honest review!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Last Sunday Afternoon...

This was the year that we finally got a little creative with our Valentines and spent last Sunday afternoon creating Tootsie Pop super heroes (thanks to Pinterest)...


and friendly foam owls (thanks to Michaels)...


and sharing the connection between the two with my kiddos.

"Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"

"Well, let's see. One. Two. Three." 
CRUNCH!!!

Abby thought it was pretty darn funny that ol' Mom was able to recite a commercial from SO long ago. 

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
The world may never know. 

Sometimes I even surprise myself.




Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses...

I have A LOT of them.

Honestly, facebook has become like a mini-blog for posting all the cute kiddo pics and everyday happenings - if only I could bring them all over here, I'd be all caught up!

Between going back to school part time as a Learning Support teacher (did I happen to mention that?), kiddo activities and appointments, an insane work schedule for the hubby, writing Scholastic book reviews, managing B kids social media, and collaborating with my amazing artist brother on a super secret children's book series idea (hoping to submit soon!), I have been swamped! I didn't even mention laundry and errands and housework and teaching dance....yep, more excuses. 

In the meantime, I am still posting "teach it simple" ideas and pics on twitter - @teachitsimple2. Check out our Punxsutawney Pudding Cups we made for Groundhog Day (idea from FamilyFun)! I swear, I couldn't stop eating those peanut butter chips - oh my goodness!