Target Breakfast Twist #PlatefullCoOp #Spon

I have always wanted to be one of those moms who wakes up early, has a few minutes alone, then has time to fix her family a hearty, home cooked breakfast before sending everyone out the door for the day. Reality is, we usually wake up with just enough time to get our teeth brushed, get dressed, then gobble down a quick breakfast before rushing out the door. I insist that everyone eats before leaving each morning, but some mornings can get stressed when still sleepy kids can't make a decision on what exactly they want to eat. As much as my kids love cereal, they do get burnt out on eating it every day. I need to come up with quick, yet creative recipes that are tasty and will get bellies full in the short time we have. Target knows that busy family mornings are on the rise, so they want to invite you to view the Target Breakfast Twist where you will be able to find quick breakfast ideas, and recipes that can be tossed together in as little as 2 minutes!
 

Target carries a large assortment of products that will fill your morning with nutritious, flavorful, and quick to prepare breakfasts. Whip up some fruity parfaits, yogurt granola, or caramel nut oatmeal with products from Quaker, Jif, and Nature Valley that will have your family saying "YUM!"

I was sent an assortment of products to help make our mornings go a little smoother. 

I try to encourage my kids to have a little fruit at breakfast, and by simply making a peanut butter chocolate dipping cup by using Jif Cream Peanut Butter and Nutella Spreads, they have no problem reaching for the apple slices!

Or pop a little Jif on some banana slices, add a dollop of whip cream and a cherry for some fun banana bites!

Some mornings it can't be avoided, and we have to grab breakfast on the go to eat in the car. I like to have little bags of trail mix already tossed together in the pantry to take on the way out the door. I like to use Nature Valley Granola, mini chocolate chips, and a dried fruit like cranberries or raisins.

“Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op.”

Teddy Bear Tea Party

There hasn't been too many activities my kids have been interested in at the library the past few weeks, so I was kind of surprised when Allison saw they were going to host a Teddy Bear Tea Party this weekend and asked to go. The recommended ages for attendance was the 3-10 year old set, so I debated registering her. Even though she just turned 10, I thought she might feel a wee bit too old for it once we got there. In the end, we decided to go, and I am so happy we did.

We started with story time. Now, this did not hold her interest because she would rather read herself instead of being read to.

But the rest of the event was A OK with her! Everyone was asked to bring in their favorite teddy bear, and there were place setting for everyone to have their own tea party with their stuffed bear. The tables were set up with snacks, which consisted of Teddy Grahams, Gummy Bears, Fruit Roll Ups, and "Tea".

 The tea was really juice. They thought kids would like the juice better, but Allison would have much preferred the tea. She was pacified when she realized we were the only two sitting at our table and had a free for all on the snacks.

 The final activity was crafting. The kids all got to make 2 crafts. A paper bag bear puppet and a bear mask.

Even though it turned out she was the oldest kid there, it didn't phase her one bit. She kept gushing about all the fun she was having throughout the whole party. Yay for another successful free library event!

Have you ever been to a tea party?

Wordless Wednesday~ Olaf

My girls just loved Disney's Frozen last year, and were delighted to see that one of our neighbors built an Olaf Snowman this year! 

Family Fun At Castaway Bay!

Yesterday I told you all about the water park fun my family had at Castaway Bay. While the water park is certainly the main attraction, there are so many other fun things to do to keep your family entertained at the resort. Today I want to tell you a little more about the resort side of Castaway Bay.

The first thing that drew us in was the decor. The whole resort has a very tropical feel to it. When you walk in, you will see a huge ship running along the wall. It looks like a real wrecked pirate ship with parrots, cannons, and all. Right next to that is a cozy sitting area with a beautiful stone fire place.

The rest of the resort sticks with the tropical island vibe. You'll find old barrels, treasure chests, and even a stray dinosaur poking around.

I loved the color pallet of the room- soothing beachy colors! I was happy to see there was a microwave and mini fridge located in the room. Definitely makes expenses more manageable when you can bring your own snacks and have a place to store them! Stocked in the bathroom wasn't the standard cheapie hotel toiletries. I LOVED that they had Bath & Body Works toiletries available for the guests!

If you are in need of snacks, just head down to Nick Knacks. A little convenience and souvenir shop right in the resort! Here you can pick up tee shirts, plush Snoopy dolls, and my husband wanted me to point out, beer!

My girls had a great time at Crabbie's arcade, playing ski ball and Allison's favorite- the crane machine!

We were served dinner at Mango Mikes, where we had all you can eat pizza and salad buffet. If that doesn't sound good, there are plenty of other dining options, including a TGIFridays close by.

After dinner, the girls were able to participate in some of the family resort activities Castaway Bay offers. They chose to color beach towels, then were treated to a Sundae Bar Buffet!

Castaway Bay offers many family fun activities, such as arts and crafts, decorate a backpack, face painting, karaoke, and more! But what really got us going was the Peanut's Meet & Greet, where they got to have their photo taken with Snoopy and Lucy!

I wrapped up my evening with a gathering of the mom bloggers for a wine tasting event. We were treated to h'orderves and complimentary wine supplied by Firelands Winery. Here I met fellow mom bloggers, but made a really great new friend- Erin from School Teacher By Day, Superhero By Night. If you get a chance, pop over to her blog and say hi! She is such a sweetie!

Before we left, we had to drive a few miles down the road to see Cedar Point's Amusement Park. My girls haven't been yet, and wanted to take a peek at the coasters. It looked real pretty all snow covered, but of course, they wanted it all to melt so they could go ride! Hehe!

We had a fabulous time at Castaway Bay, and can't wait to go back! If you are in the Sandusky, OH area, I highly recommend you stop in for a visit! Want to take the family with some FREE Day Passes? You are in luck! I am giving away 5 free day passes to one lucky Theresa's Mixed Nuts Reader. That's a $150 value!

WIN IT!

5 Day Passes For Castaway Bay Water Park. Good through 10/26/2014

Rules:

*The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. 18+. No PO Boxes will be accepted. The giveaway will run through 2/28. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning email before a new winner is selected.

*Theresa's Mixed Nuts is not responsible for late, damaged, or lost prizes. Unfortunately, it has happened, and while I always do my best to ensure proper prize delivery, it is out of my control once it has been shipped. In the event this should occur, I will do my best to troubleshoot, but if that gets us nowhere, your only recourse it to chalk it up to a loss and move on. 

*All entries are verified, so please make sure you are properly entering for the entries you claim. Please enter on the Rafflecopter form below.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Disclosure- I received an overnight stay and family passes to the resort and water park. No monetary compensation was provided. All opinions are my own, and have not been influenced by promotional items. 

Escaping The Winter With Castaway Bay!

Like most areas, winter has been brutal here. I have been having dreams of sunshine, warm weather, and sitting poolside watching my kids splash and play. Looking out my window at all the snow piled sky high, those dreams seem very far off. So, when I got an invitation to a mom blogger event at Castaway Bay's Indoor Water Park and Resort, I couldn't pack our bags fast enough!

Castaway Bay is a family friendly water park and hotel located in Sandusky, OH. Offering tons of fun for the whole family, and temperatures at 82 degrees, you'll feel like you are on a tropical vacation, even if the temps are still below zero outside.

As soon as we arrived, we couldn't wait to grab our wristbands and head to the water area. Not only did it feel heavenly temperature wise, the first thing I noticed was the fun atmosphere. Bright colors, palm trees, and tropical decor all catch the eye.

 The first thing my girls were excited to try out was the wave pool. They waded around in the still water until the waves started up, then had fun bobbing around on them. What I loved about it was the waves weren't over powering. I have been to other wave pools where the force is so strong, other swimmers are slamming right into you. That will NOT happen at Castaway Bay!

We then walked around exploring the other areas. Located close to the wave pool was a kiddie area. While my girls bypassed it, I thought it was set up very well. Short slides and a little water fall make for fun play with the little ones. We did have a lot of fun playing basketball with the 4 hoops set up in the pool area.

Also in the pool area, you will find colorful animals to climb and play on. The snake was a definite favorite!

The hot tub area is a wonderful place to relax. With warm temps and cascading waterfalls, I didn't want to get out! If you walk through the hot tub, you come across a door that leads you straight outside to an even bigger hot tub area. There's nothing quite like sitting outside surrounded by snow, but still being warm and cozy!

The rope walk was quite the challenge, and only Allison made it across without difficulites.

Both girls had a lot of fun getting splashed by the huge dumping bucket!

The highlight is the water slides though! Allison had us riding the Rendezvous Run over and over again, but by the end of the day she was riding it all by herself like a pro!

I was pleased to see there were plenty of lifeguards at each station, and they had everything organized and running smoothly. I also loved that they had plenty of life vests available, more than enough seating, and even had towels available for the guests.

If you find yourself in need of refreshments, you don't even have to leave the water park! Stop over at Big Daddy's Snack Shack for a beer or a bite to eat. The only complaint we had was at Big Daddy's. We don't carry our wallets into the water park, so we would have loved it our wristbands were set up to charge the bill to our room. Other than that, the food was great, and everything was reasonably priced.

The water park isn't the only fun you can have at Castaway Bay! Be sure to stop back tomorrow to see all of the other great activities that are offered for you and your family to enjoy! Also, I will have a very special giveaway going up for some Free Day Passes! You won't want to miss that!

Castaway Bay is located at 2001 Cleveland Rd W, Sandusky, OH 44870. If you would like to learn more about them, be sure to visit Castaway Bay's Website. You can also keep up to date on special offers and promotions by following them on Facebook.


*Disclosure: I received family passes and an overnight stay to facilitate this review. However, all opinions are my own and have not been influenced by promotional items.

Break Up Cheesecake

One thing I really love- cheesecake. One thing I really hate- recipe hoarders. I am one who is a sharer by nature. If I find something I love, I want everyone to know about it, so I don’t understand those who like to keep the good things to themselves. Like, if you have a great recipe, unless you actually sell the product or enter it into contests, I can understand. But if you are keeping all to yourself just to be an ass, that irritates me. My husband was always going on and on about this cheesecake this lady would bring into work. Even though she never sold the cheesecakes or entered it into any blue ribbon fair contests, she would not come off the recipe. While it saddens me when couples break up, I was a little delighted when this particular lady ended her relationship, because then her former flame finally passed the recipe on to us. And, in my giving nature, I will now share it with you. I call it the Break Up Cheesecake. I find it fitting for those of you who are Anti-Valentine’s Day. Whip up one of these babies and have a celebration all of your own!

Ingredients:

1 sleeve chocolate graham crackers

6 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp sugar

2 1/2 lbs (5 packages) cream cheese, softened to room temp.

1/8 tsp sakt’1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp real vanilla extract

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup sour cream

6 eggs

2 egg yolks

Directions:

Line a nine inch spring form pan with foil.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Finely crush the sleeve of graham crackers.

Mix the sugar and 5 1/2 tbsp of the butter with a fork until crumbly. Reserve remaining butter for brushing over the spring form pan.

Press the crumbs in the bottom of the prepared pan, bake for 13 minutes, then remove to rack to cool while you prepare the filling.

Brush sides of the spring form pan with the remaining melted butter generously after the crust has cooled.

Turn the oven up to 500 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese for 2 minutes (to get out most of the big lumps) with the salt.Add the sugar in thirds, beating after each addition. Scrape down the sides. About 1 minute for each addition.

Add the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well.

Add the eggs two at a time, beating well after each addition, including the two extra egg yolks.

Pour into cooled crust and place on a lipped baking sheet in the case of a spillover.

Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 degrees.

DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR!

Bake for 90 minutes.

Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes on wire rack.

Run knife around the outer edge of the cake.

Allow to cool for 3 hours at room temperature.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Best served 30 minutes out of the refrigerator.

*Feel free to top with your favorite fruit pie filling!

I Wanna Be Like You ~ Throwback Thursday

I think I am on a sentimental kick lately. I was going through some old photos and came across this one. While it's kind of blurry and the lighting is awful, it's one of my favorite pictures of my girls. I just love the look of adoration on Allison's face as she stares up at her big sister. Allison has always been in awe of Mariah, wanting to be just like her. At her last dentist appointment she was told she would be getting braces soon. "Oh, I am turning into Mariah!" she squealed! Then, just a few weeks ago, she got glasses, which her sister already wears. "I really am going to be like Mariah now!" Being close with siblings is a foreign concept to me. I have 3 that I rarely talk to. It's sad, but it is what it is. I just hope my girls never lose the closeness they share, and I hope Allison will always look up to Mariah. There's just something magical about a sisterly bond.

*Do you have siblings? Are you close with them?

Cheerios Family Breakfast Project & Chocolate Cranberry Cereal Bars! {#FamilyBreakfast #PlatefullCoOp #spon}

I remember when my oldest daughter started Kindergarten. It was the first time we ever had to be on a regular schedule in the mornings, and honestly, it threw me for a loop. I turned into a real grouch trying to get a grip on the morning rush. I started to become a yeller. “Where are your shoes!?” “Turn off cartoons and eat!” “We’re Late! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” After a few days of this, my husband pulled me aside and asked me to stop with the yelling every morning. Not only was it irritating to the whole family, but I was stressing out our daughter every day before we left. “You don’t want to send her off to school stressed out or in a bad mood every day, do you?” Well, of course not! If she isn’t in her best mindset when I send her to school, she won’t perform her best in her studies. We sat down and came up with a game plan on how to get mornings started on the right foot. Just by taking a few extra minutes to plan things out ahead of time made all the difference. Simple things like laying out clothes the night before, keeping bins by the door that we need to grab on the way out, and making sure we had plenty of breakfast options on hand so we didn’t have to fight though “There’s nothing to eat!” every morning.

Happy mornings start with breakfast. It is definitely the most important meal of the day. It fuels our bodies, preparing us to face the day with energy. It is also a great time to connect with your family before you all go about your own day. I know there are many families who start their days rushed like we used to, but having your family take just 7 minutes in the morning to connect over breakfast can actually bring families closer together! Cheerios is asking families to participate in the Family Breakfast Project. As part of the Family Breakfast Project, Cheerios will be encouraging families to take seven minutes for seven days to have family breakfast and explore the possibilities that it brings.

Each morning, take seven minutes to bond with your family, completing different activities and challenges. Cheerios has a great packet available for download to get you started. There are some really helpful hints to make mornings less hectic and more about family bonding. Such as:

-Prep the pantry. Organize shelves where kids can reach items. Place cereal bowls and utensils within their reach.

-Create Breakfast Drawers. Keep breakfast items grouped together, such as Cheerios or any cereal of your choice, peanut butter, raisins and granola bars. In the fridge, yogurt, fruit cups, cheese sticks and apple slices. This will encourage children to make their own breakfast, or even some for their siblings!

- At the breakfast table, have conversation starters ready. Have the family tell what they are most looking forward to that day, and what they are most worried about. At dinner, keep the conversations going by having everyone share how those hopes and fears panned out.

- Create a Simple Acts of Kindness Jar. Fill a jar with random acts of kindness. Have each family member draw one, then challenge them to follow through with it that day. At dinner, have everyone report how it went. You can find a printable Random Acts of Kindness Sheet right on the Family Breakfast Project page to get you started.

- Get kids creative in the kitchen. As hard as we try, some mornings are still rushed. Since I insist on every member having breakfast each morning, having the family pitch in to make simple, on the go cereal bars is a great idea. This is a recipe that my family loves. It’s quick and easy to make, and the family can eat it on the run.

Chocolate Cranberry Cheerios Cereal Bars

Ingredients:

4 tbsp unsalted butter

10 oz package marshmallows

6 cups regular Cheerios cereal

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

In a heavy pan, butter over low heat. Add marshmallows, stirring frequently until melted and combined with the butter.

Remove from heat. Stir in cereal and dried cranberries. Allow to cool for several minutes, then add mini chocolate chips. Stir to incorporate into the mixture.

Spread mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet (10 x 15) lined with wax paper coated with cook spray. Using a spatula or hands coated with cook spray, gently pack mixture down.

Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.

Once set, cut into desired breakfast bar sizes and store in an airtight container.

There are many more family bonding morning activity suggestions available in the downloadable packet, so be sure to browse through and take the Cheerios Family Breakfast Project this week!

*What are some things your family does to bond each morning? 

Disclosure: The information has been provided by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op in promotion of the Family Breakfast Program. I received a promotional item to help facilitate this post. No monetary compensation was provided. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced by promotional items.