Tip of the Day

Take a moment and daydream!!!!

Amalfi coast in Italy

Health/Wellness

Are your kids taking OMEGA 3's??

Are your children nutritionally ready for school? Below is a link to a great article from Life Extensions on how Omega - 3's may help your kids to perform better in school. Let us know what you think.

http://blog.lef.org/2013/02/omega-3-kids-school-learning.html

Food/Cooking

UNIQUE KARAOKE BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES!!!!!!!

These cupcakes are so cute and UNIQUE that you will want to have a make belief birthday 

just to make it with you kids or to surprise them; if their birthdays are not coming up yet!!! 

Enjoy it and we'd love for you to share pictures with us :)

What you’ll need:

- Vanilla cake mix

- Cupcake pan

- Foil cupcake wrappers

- Vanilla frosting

- Red food coloring

- Mini ice cream cones

- Pink licorice pastels

- Plain doughnut holes

- Edible silver sprinkles

How to make it:

1. Mix a few drops on red food coloring the the vanilla frosting to make it light pink.

2. Put ¼ cup of the frosting into a sealed zipper bag and poke a hole into one of the corners.

3. Poke a hole in the bottom of each mini cone with a toothpick.

4. Squeeze frosting from the zipper bag and put a bit into each ice cream cone hole. Place 
    each piece of pink licorice into each ice cream cone hole, to look like a cordless 
    microphone antenna the frosting will help it stick into place.

5. Add some more frosting on the inside rim of each cone, then place a doughnut inside.

6. Spread frosting over each doughnut.  Than dip the cone with the doughnuts in them into a 
    bowl filled with sprinkles.

7. Bake the cupcakes using the directions on the cake mix box.  Once they’ve cooled, frost 
    each one with pink frosting and place a cone microphones on the top.


Courtesy of: ivillage.com

Tip of the Day

Happy Monday Morning Mommy Motivation!!!!!!

Food/Cooking

S'more Pie Pops

How UNIQUE of an idea is this? Your children will surely love to help you make these yummy treats, just as much as they will love to help you eat them :)
These cute Pie Pops will also be great to serve at Birthday and Back to School Parties, play dates, baby showers, etc. Enjoy!!!!!




Ingredients:

1 pie crust
4.4 oz Milk Chocolate Bar
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 egg white - beaten
Pinch of flour
Lollipop Sticks

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Unroll pie crust onto a lightly floured surface.
Cut chocolate bar into segments.
Cut crust into rectangles.
Knead and roll dough scraps to cut out more rectangles.
Put 3 chocolate bar segments and about 10 mini marshmallows on each rectangle of dough.
Top with another rectangle and add a lollipop stick.
Roll edges and crimp with a fork.
Place pie pops on baking sheet and brush with egg white.
Bake at 375°F for 14-17 minutes.
Allow pie pops to cool for a couple of minutes before pressing the lollipop stick down into the chocolate bar to stabilize it.

Entertainment

KIDS YOGA ON THE GREEN!!!!!

WEDNESDAYS       11am - 11:45am   Americana at Brand, Glendale CA

If you have children ages 2-6 and even a bit older, then you should head out to Americana in Glendale, CA on Wednesdays. Every Wednesday from 11:00am - 11:45am they have kids yoga on the greens; and let me tell you it's a lot of fun. I've taken my girls and they loved it so much. They even got me to join in on the fun. 

Afterwards, you can take them to Barnes and Noble which is within Americana, where they have a unique children's section. Children get to sing, draw, have a storytime and read delightful variety of children’s books. Starts at 12:00pm, which is perfect because you can go straight after yoga. This is such a great opportunity because children get to interact with one another, dance and play little musical instruments, which in return makes storytime much more interesting and interactive. 

If you attend this event, please share pictures with us. We would love to hear from you and see the pictures.

Food/Cooking

Brownie Strawberry Kabobs!!!

This is such a cute and UNIQUE idea. Whether you're entertaining for adults, children or want to 

serve a healthy snack with a sweet tooth creation, this is for you. Since it's a single serving size, it 

will appeal to a lot of people, fun to look at and won't take much time. Perfect right? We hope you 

enjoy it :)

Brownie Strawberry Kabobs

yield: 24 KABOBS

ingredients:

1 box brownie mix
2 16-oz packages of large strawberries
1 bag marshmallows
2 squares of Baker's melting chocolate
Wooden skewers, cut in half

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray mini muffin tins with non-stick spray. Prepare the brownie batter according to the package's instructions and divide batter among muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Clean, dry, and cut the strawberries so both ends are flat. Layer the strawberries, brownies, and marshmallows on the skewers and lay them out on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals until completely melted. Transfer to a piping bag or ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle each kabob. Transfer to the fridge to allow the chocolate to set and until ready to serve.

Courtesy of: http://www.ericasweettooth.com/

Health/Wellness

Entertainment

August 16-18, 2013   WATERMELON FESTIVAL, Pasadena, CA 

Watermelon eating and seed spitting contests, melon carving demos, live entertainment, vendors, inflatable water rides, kids activities and free watermelon. Will be held in Rose Bowl.
For more information please visit http://lionswatermelonfestival.com/



August 16 - 18, 2013   LONG BEACH BBQ FESTIVAL,  Long Beach CA

Best Barbeque from across the U.S., live entertainment, a kids stage, and international food court, arts and crafts an all you can eat and drink VIP village, and much more.
For more information please visit http://www.longbeachbbqfestival.com/


August 17, 2013     OLIVE FESTIVAL   Paso Robles, CA

If you, your family or children are like mine and love olives this Entertainment is for you!!!!! There will be olive product sampling, olive oil tasting, olive cooking contest, food, wine and beer tasting and free olive oil ice cream. Will be held in Downtown City Park.
For more information please visit http://www.pasoroblesolivefestival.com/


August 17 - 18, 2013     WINGS OVER CAMARILLO AIRSHOW, Camarillo CA

The men in your life might enjoy this one. The air show will showcase over 80 flying displays of military, experimental and vintage aircrafts. Plus plane rides, food, vendors, entertainment, and kids activities. Will be held in Camarillo Airport. The Air Show features public access to the planes, pilots, and crews.

For more information please visit http://www.wingsovercamarillo.com/

At Home

UNIQUE Activity. Say my name, Say my name!!!

Materials You Will Need: confetti, glitter, markers, sequins, paper

What To Do:

If your children are like mine, who love to work with glitter, and sequins, etc.... they will enjoy making this project very much and have a whole lot of fun.

This activity is designed to help your child understand that children want to be called by their given name only. Write your child's name in large, elaborate letters, then have your child decorate it. Tell your child the reason you chose the name and how important it is. Tell your child that everyone has a name and that's what people want to be called.

Variations:

You may want to post your child's name creation on his/her bedroom door. You can also explain that some children have nicknames and that is fine, but no one should ever call children names that are not complementary.

Skills Learned:

• Social Development
• Self Concept
• Listening
• Creative Expression

Courtesy of ModernMom.  For More Activities Customized to the age of YOUR child, visit www.ProductiveParenting.com.

Parenting

It's that time of year, first day of school!!!!!

For parents and children it's a very special day, especially if they're little angels are starting Kindergarden this year. To celebrate this milestone and commemorate this unforgettable day,
we bring you some UNIQUE ideas of capturing the moments forever.

Had to share

THE HORMONE GUIDE, TOO FUNNY :)

Tip of the Day

Monday Morning Motivation!!!!!!

Parenting

Reminder to parents the importance of Water Safety, after Usher's Son nearly drowns.

Scary news out of Atlanta today - Usher's son, Usher Raymond V, was rushed to the hospital after a pool accident at the singer's home.

The five-year-old was apparently playing in the pool on Monday night when he saw a toy in the drain. He dove under the water to retrieve it and got stuck.

TMZ reports that his aunt jumped in to rescue him but couldn't get his hand out. A maid was also unable to get him out. Finally, two male employees working in the house came out and were able to free the boy.

The child, who is the son of Usher and his ex-wife Tameka Foster, was taken to the hospital where he is expected to make a full recovery.

We are SO thankful that this story has a happy ending, but it also serves an important reminder to parents everywhere that you can't be too careful when it comes to kids and water.

Here are some water safety tips from PoolSafely.gov:

- Never leave a child unattended in a pool or spa and always watch your child when he or she is in or near water

- Teach children basic water safety tips

- Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings to avoid entrapments

- Have a telephone close by when you or your family is using a pool or spa

- If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first

- Share safety instructions with family, friends and neighbors

- Learn to perform CPR on children and adults, and update those skills regularly

- Understand the basics of life-saving so that you can assist in a pool emergency