Milk Art--Pinned it, Did it!

I've seen milk art all over Pinterest and was excited to try it with my girls.  Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as awesome as I hoped it would be...

I'm not saying it wasn't cool and we didn't have fun...I'm just saying it wasn't as cool as the original post from Pinterest.  Theirs was just so neat and at the end was a really fun video.  Ours didn't look like either of those.

We started by putting drops of food coloring in a thin layer of 2% milk on a plate...

Then we dropped dish soap onto our food coloring drops and watched it react with the fat in the milk.  The food coloring instantly dispersed all over the milk.  It was neat to watch but again, not as cool as the video in the original post.

In fact, my girls had more fun swirling the food coloring with a fork and making the above conglomerate.

I then thought long and hard and took a second look at the original post. They had more food coloring and had it all in one place vs random drops.  So...we tried again...Much better!!  It was quick but cool.  Again, however, the video in the original post was even better and I had hoped ours would do the same.  It just didn't.

Our milk art vs the original post milk art.

Have you done milk art with your kids?  How did yours turn out?

Two Kid Friendly Creole Treats

Growing up my Grandma owned a house in Grand Isle, Louisiana, about 2.5 hours south of New Orleans.  My sister and I spent a few summers down there with her and we got to know the Creole and Cajun cuisine pretty well.  Today I am excited to bring you guest recipes from Crystal of Momma Blogga.  She brings you two kid friendly (and very tasty!) Creole desserts!

Beignets 

1 Large Tube of Pillsbury Biscuits

Canola Oil

Powdered Sugar

Preheat 2 inches of canola oil in a larger skillet. Remove biscuits and cut in half. Drop biscuits into skillet(be very careful) and fry until golden brown on each side. Remove and place on a plate with paper towels to catch the excess oil. Sprinkle with powered sugar and enjoy!

  

Bananas Foster

2 sliced bananas

2 tbsp of Butter

1 cup of brown sugar(light or dark)

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of vanilla

1 pinch of nutmeg

 Vanilla or Praline Ice Cream

Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add bananas and gently move them around so they do not stick for 3 minutes. Add brown sugar, vanilla extract and nutmeg. Lower heat and cook for 2 minutes. Serve on top of Ice Cream. 

I have yet to try either of her recipes but you can bet we'll be trying them soon!  I'm so excited to try making Beignets (pronounced "BEN-yea") at home!!  I haven't had one in years!  My kids can't wait to try them either.  They know them from the movie "The Princess and The Frog".  My husband however, is drooling over the Bananas Foster!

Bio: Crystal is a mother to four uniquely awesome kids and is married to her prom date.  She and her family live in Louisana.  Crystal is the author of Momma Blogga, creator of the NICU Journal, and the founder of the Gift Of Faith Project.  You can find her on her blog and on Twitter. 

Fisher Price® Moments of Joy Sweepstakes and Giveaway!

What are the moments that bring you joy with your children?  Have you captured some of them on camera or video?  Do you have a story that will forever be ingrained in your memory?  Fisher Price® would like to share those moments with you.

They have developed a site called "Moments of Joy" where parents can share the real and candid times of childhood.  Playing with Grandma and Grandpa, the first time doing something, caught red-handed getting into trouble...these are moments of childhood joy.

I got a sneak peak at the Moments of Joy site and was able to upload a few of my favorite stories and photos from my children.  It was so fun to go through old photos and reminisce.  It was also a lot of fun to look through other people's photos and videos and to read their stories.  What an uplifting site (and a site that makes me realize that, yes, my children are normal!)  

 

Now it's time to share your moments of joy!  Fisher Price® would love for you to upload pictures, text, and videos that are candid, sweet, and silly--those times when you just had to run and grab your camera.  

As an incentive, they're running the Fisher Price® Moment's of Joy Sweepstakes!

Five weekly winners selected at random will receive a $100 gift card each, and one grand prize winner selected at random will win up to $1,000 of Fisher-Price toys!

Enter to win directly on the Moments of Joy website or via Moments of Joy on Facebook.

The sweepstakes runs from 11/27-12/20. You will be automatically entered for a chance to win just by uploading a moment.  To be eligible, you must be the age of majority in your state of residence and a legal resident of the U.S. or the District of Columbia.  You can review the Official Rules for the sweepstakes to learn the other requirements for entry by visiting here.

In addition, Toys In The Dryer is giving away an additional $100 AMEX gift card!

That means you have a chance to win a total of $200 in gift cards and/or $1000 in Fisher-Price toys if you enter both contests!  

You may enter one or both contests if you want.  The gift card giveaway will run from 11/28-12/12.  Entry into the AMEX gift card giveaway does NOT enter you into the Fisher Price® Moments of Joy Sweepstakes and vice-versa.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway I received an AMEX gift card for promoting the Fisher Price® Moments of Joy Sweepstakes.  The opinions in this post are 100% mine.  The Fisher Price® Moment's of Joy Sweepstakes and the $100 AMEX gift card giveaway are two SEPARATE contests.  Toys In The Dryer is NOT part of the sweepstakes nor are we responsible for choosing the winners.  We are simply promoting it.  

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!--Giveaway

Have you seen the commercials for The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas? Did you watch it when it debuted on TV a few days ago?  If not, you are missing out!

Lindsi--Let me start by saying my daughter does NOT watch TV.  I can't get her to sit down and watch an entire show (so I can get things done) for the life of me (or her!).  I put in The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas for movie night for my kids and all of them (including my daughter) were enthralled through the whole thing!  They even asked to watch it again!

Jamie--We watched The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas the night we received it in the mail.  Both my girls loved it and were dancing along to the songs.  The only complaint my 4 year old had was, "Mom, it's not close enough to Christmas to watch this."  Thanksgiving we went to my in-laws house and it was on TV.  My girls went on and on about how they owned the movie so they could watch it again.  My nephew was jealous!

Both--We loved the movie because the kids loved it and they didn't realize they were learning while watching it!  It was cute and is tolerable for adults to watch along with their kids.  Even our husbands didn't mind it!  

Official description of the movie: Sure to be a holiday favorite for the entire family for years to come, this adventure finds the Cat in the Hat, Nick and Sally on a journey around the world to help a lost reindeer find his way home to Freezeyourknees Snowland in time for Christmas. On the way, the Thinga-ma-jigger breaks down, and they depend on a variety of animals – from African bush elephants to bottlenose dolphins to red crabs – and their remarkable abilities to help them make an amazing journey home.

Overall impression:  Definitely worth watching and buying because your kids will want to watch it over and over again.  Yes, it is sure to be a holiday favorite for the entire family!

Win a copy of The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas on DVD!

Yes, one of our lucky readers will win their own copy of this movie!  Just enter below.  Please note, the giveaway entry form does not work on some mobile devices.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

500 Holiday Craft Projects for Kids

Thanksgiving is over and that means it's time to gear up for Christmas!  In honor of that, we've gathered up 500 fabulous holiday craft ideas for you and the kiddos!  500? Yup, you read it right! 500!  Enjoy and be sure to tell us which project you are planning.

11 fabulous finds at Kidspot

40 cute crafts at Family Fun 

20 awesome arts at Parents

49 super Stewart inspirired ideas

100 lucious long thread ideas

205 Marvalous Michaels creations

12 Spoonfulls of sillyness and fun

27 crazy cute crafts at Amazing Mom's 

14 Adorable arts and crafts at Apples4theTeacher

7 creative crafts from Circle of Moms

15Terrific ideas HERE!!!