Tots and Me... Growing Up Together: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Lovin' the Weekend Blog Hops: May 31-June 2, 2013

Welcome to Lovin' The Weekend Blog Hops with your co-hosts:

Karen from Tots and Me, Rena from An Ordinary Housewife and Angie from Snack Cups and Smiles.

Thank you to every one who has stopped by, whether this is your first visit or you have been a faithful ongoing participant!

Please make sure to welcome our new co-host and visit her blog.

I'm sure she'd love to meet you!

We would love for you to stop by each of the co-hosts and follow us, then feel free to add your links to any or all of the following linkies.

We also randomly choose a Featured host each week from the Lovin' The Readers linky. This week we are featuring Jenn, from Jenn's Random Scraps.

Here's what she has to say:
" I’m Jennifer, and you can find me at Jenn’s Random Scraps. I call Ontario home, but after having spent 12 years as a Navy wife I have happy memories of life on the West Coast. I started my blog as a means to share our day to day lives with distant family and friends. Journaling, scrapbooking, and memory keeping are near to my heart as I’ve come to realize how fleeting time is… and how much I really want to remember all the things that make this family our own. We have six children, ranging in age from 10 – 23. I’m a hockey & soccer mama, coffee drinker, lover of reading and photography, closet foodie, and Pinterest junkie. I am determined to find the magic in everyday things, and overcoming the need for perfection has enabled me to keep up with my blog, after having abandoned it for a time. You can read about it here: http://jennsrandomscraps.blogspot.ca/2012/09/letting-go.html

“Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life” ~ Brian Andreas"

Don't forget to link up to the Lovin' the Readers Hop if you would like a chance to be a Featured host next week. Please comment with a way to contact you, especially if there is not an obvious way mentioned on your blog. We would love to include a little write up about you and your blog in the next week's Lovin' The Weekend Blog Hop post, including a link to your blog. And you will get to include the linky codes on your blog. Sound fun? We're looking forward to getting to know our readers better.

Here's how this blog hop works. We would appreciate it if you would follow Tots and Me, An Ordinary Housewife and Snack Cups and Smiles. And please don't forget to visit our Featured Host. If you no longer have GFC please follow in some other way. After that there are three different linkies you can link to. Whichever one you choose to link to, please grab that button and share it on your blog (the codes are on Tot's and Me's sidebar). We'd love it if you could tweet or in some other way share about this blog hop, the more people who know about it, the more potential visitors and new followers of your blog. We'd love to meet some new friends this weekend.

Some people are more interested in just increasing their numbers, while others really want people who appreciate their blog and want to keep up with their posts. So, there are two separate blog hop linkies.

The third linky is for you to link up your giveaways.

If you are interested in increasing the number of followers to your blog via GFC, Linky Followers, email, Twitter, Facebook or Google+ link up here. We will follow you back if you follow us (just note which one you are linking to):

If you are interested in gaining followers to your blog who will read and comment and truly find an interest in your blog, link up here:

If you have family friendly giveaways to link up, here's your spot. Please make sure to include an end date for your giveaway.

We are so glad you stopped by. Please leave a comment if you link up and we will be sure to stop by and follow back.

Don't forget to check out my "Blog Hops" page for other great blog hops!!

I Heart Summer Giveaway

Here's a great way to start your summer!

Welcome to the I Love Summer Giveaway!
I am thrilled to be able to bring you this giveaway hosted by: Whole Lotta Mama
CoHosts: Love From Elle | Military Wives Savings | The Penny Hoarder
Sponsored By: Sweepstakes App

What is Sweepstakes App? It's a sweepstakes app, simple as that! Easy entries, like watching a 10 second sponsored video. Each time you watch it, you gain one entry.

GRAND PRIZE: (1 Winner) $100

SECOND PLACE: (13 Winners) to win any of these prizes below...
Not is any order (winner's will be randomly selected for each prize).

☆ 2 sheets (winner's choice) of nail wraps ($30 value) ☆ Tote A Tablet (for iPad, Kindle, or tablet). $20 by: thirty one ☆ Ultimate Body Wrap (2 winners) ☆ cookie making kit, Mixing bowl, Mixing spoon, Oven mitt, Two pot holders, Two dish towels, Measuring cups, Measuring spoons, Cookie mix ☆ BBQ pizza pan (retail value $24) ☆ 2 mineral pigments Sponsor determines colors ☆ Box of Advocare Spark ☆ $75 gift certificate to A-Z Nutrients ☆ custom made Summer Fabric wrapped straw wreath embellished with fabric rosettes and buttons. retails at $29.00 ☆ Any appliqué shirt size 6 mo-10 free shipping shirt value $19 plus $3 shipping so value $22 ☆ A set of two rainbow patterned earring holders ☆ Timeless Wristlet Best Buds pattern by:thirty one

Dates to Remember: Giveaway Begins on 5/31/13 and Ends on 7/2/13
☆☆Grand Prize is Open WW to those 18+, must have a paypal account to be eligible
void where prohibited.
All other prizes are US only, 18+, void where prohibited.
Facebook, twitter and pinterest or any other social networking site is not affiliated with this giveaway.
Please follow all directions in the giveaway tools widget below. Unable to follow directions as given will disqualify you from the giveaway.☆☆

Entry -Form

Disclaimer: Whole Lotta Mama solely organized this event and I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are 100% my own and may differ from your own or even those stated in this post. Tots and Me is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. **If you are a company and would like to see your brand advertised in a Whole Lotta Mama event similar to this please contact events@wholelottamama.net.

Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen #44- Helping out with Breakfast for Dinner Thursday: Breakfast Pizza

Time for Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen

(A weekly linky where you can share your special time in the kitchen, such a great place for learning. You can also link up Kid-Friendly Recipes)

The linky is at the bottom.

So, the girls helped out with dinner last night. Seeing as it has been a while since they have helped out in the kitchen I was more than happy to let them help. Of course, I went to grab my camera knowing I would have to share. Perfect, it was time for Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen. And it was Breakfast for Dinner Thursday. We had Breakfast Pizza. Yummy

Breakfast Pizza:
The ingredient amounts listed below are mostly doubled from the original recipe as we like to fit it into a cookie sheet so it will feed our family of 6. I am not sure where I found the original recipe.

2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1-2 cups ham, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1-2 tsp garlic powder (to taste)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese. (I don't measure, I just sprinkle it on top.)

Unroll the crescent rolls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press onto the bottom and up the sides. Seal seams. Bake for 3-5 minutes. Cooking too long will make the crust too dark.

In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk and pepper.

Sprinkle ham,

hashbrowns,

and Cheddar cheese over the crust.

Pour egg mixture over the cheese. Make sure it doesn't go over the crust or it will cause the crust to stick to the pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Do you have your children help you in the kitchen? What lessons do they learn? Do you have any kid friendly recipes to share?

I'd love to see your posts, whether you have done something this week or some time in the past. Just link up below. This is a weekly linky.

I am linking up to:

Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Try a New Recipe Tuesday at Home to Four Kiddos
The Gathering Spot at Mamal Diane
Tempt My Tummy at Blessed with Grace
Friday Food Frenzy at Close to Home
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Making a Home: Homemaking Linky at Linda's Lunacy

And here is my Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen linky

Thursday, May 30, 2013

More Fun With Bugs in the Garden: Little Learning Lovies May Lovie Pack

(This blog contains my affiliate links.)

When I posted my review for Little Learning Lovies "Bugs in the Garden" Double Lovie Packs a week and a half ago, I promised I would share some of the other fun things we were able to do once we got our new printer. I am so excited to share the fun that we had with the Spring Buggies Place Value Race Game from Little Learning Lovies.

First, let me show you how easy it was to assemble!

I printed out the Buggie Game Pieces, Spinner and the 4 parts of the Game Board.

It was quite easy to figure out where to cut so the board would match up when glued together.

The spinner base just needed to be cut out, along with the arrow. I laminated the base and used a hole punch to create a hole in the arrow and the base. I had to gently fold the base in half without creasing it to make the hole with the punch.

I cut the Buggies out and folded them on the lines to assemble them.

This is how they should be folded in order to be glued properly.

Just bring the bottom of each side down to the base.

Buggies all ready to play.

And two excited girls ready to play.

In this fun game the amount of spaces you move around the board is determined by the numbers on the space you are sitting on. Each space has a number that has a value to the tens place. When you spin the spinner you will either land on Tens or Ones. The number at the start is "12," so if you land on Tens you would move 1 space and if you land on Ones you would move 2 spaces.

I had the girls spin the spinner and then look at the number their Buggie was resting on. They had to tell me the number and tell me which numeral was in the Tens or Ones place. For example, if the spinner landed on Tens and the Buggie Game Piece was on "26" we would say, "This is the number 26, 2 is in the tens place." Then we would count 2 spaces.

I think it is a fun way for children to learn about place value.

We have also started our Butterfly unit, so the girls have started their copywork/handwriting practice of the poem, The Caterpillar. (We had a great surprise today and received our caterpillars in the mail. Such perfect timing!)

We will continue The Caterpillar poem and also put together the Step Book titled, Making of a Butterfly during the remainder of this week and next week.

If you would like your child to have a chance to use these fun Lovie Packs you will have to hurry. Both the Little Lovie Pack and the Tiny Lovie Pack are only available until midnight tomorrow (May 31st). The Little Lovie Pack is geared for children in 1st through 3rd grade and the Tiny Lovie Pack is geared for children in Pre-K through 1st grade. We were able to utilize many of the printable activities in both grade levels.

(Don't miss your chance to have this pack for your children!)

In addition, June Lovie Packs are releasing on June 1st. Right now, they can be purchased at a small discount of $12 each or $20 for both. After the 1st, they will be full price of $14 each or $25 for both.

The theme for June is Camping!