Melting crayon into new, fun, crayons!

My kids have lots of broken crayons, so small that they are barely usable. I remember when I was younger, my mom used to melt crayons together to make a big, multi-colored crayon. I used a silicone muffin pan, so a quick google search gave me a starting point as all the recipes I found used a metal one. I had to play around with the timing to get it right. I started by unwrapping any crayons that still had wrappers on them and breaking the crayons up into smaller pieces to have a nice variance of colors. I tried to mix up the colors so that no one color took over the crayon. 

While I did that, I pre-heated the over to 250 degrees. I heated up the crayon for 30 minutes. If you use a metal pan, I'm sure the time would be a little less. I just kept checking the oven every few minutes and took them out when the crayons were melted.

 I let the wax and pan cool (though I forgot to take it off the oven top--so my first crayon i took out got stuck--its the middle one in the photo--oops!) and popped the crayon out. They look neat and make pretty colors when I drew with them on paper. I can't wait to show my kids these when they wake up!

Easy-peasy strawberry shortcake :)

I'm sure we've all seen an influx of recipes on facebook. I see a handful everyday, and one of my workers always tags me in the ones that look super-yummy, as he knows my weakness for all things sweet! I've decided to try a few and post the results here. The one I did last night is actually the second facebook recipe I've tried, but it's my favorite so far! Here's the facebook post:

"Strawberry Angel Food Trifle OH I'm Making this one!!!! Lets Share it with everyone!!!

(1) angel food cake
24 oz. container frozen strawberries, sliced with sugar added, thawed
3 cups sugar free vanilla pudding
16 oz. container of whipped cream, slightly less than the whole container
Fresh strawberries for garnish
Tear angel food cake into medium pieces. Begin layering cake, strawberries, pudding and whip cream in a large clear glass bowl.Contiue irregular layers, filling the bowl. Top entire dessert with a solid layer of whip cream. Slice a few fresh strawberries for garnish Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours before serving. To me it tastes like all the flavors of strawberry shortcake in one big yummy bite! I think it would be GREAT to add blueberries to this mix too!'

photo included in the facebook post

The one change I made is using cool whip for the whipped cream, as I thought it would hold up better since I knew this wouldn't be eaten in one seating.  I did this as a test run for a family picnic with my husband's family in a few weeks. The results? AMAZING! I love the flavor and consistency. All my boys love it as well, which is a definite plus! 

Here's how mine turned out--I didn't layer it as nicely as the stock photo. But it tastes amazing :)

Cottonelle Clean care & fresh care flushable wipes!

I recently got the opportunity to do a sample and share through crowdtap for the new Cottonelle Clean care toilet paper, as well as the fresh care flushable wipes. i was very excited for this one, as we are a family of 6 and toilet paper goes pretty quickly here!! I am always up for trying new brands--in fact, I usually switch brands a few times a month based on what's on sale, what coupons I have, ect. The second I opened the 18-pack of toilet paper I was sent, I was in heaven! It's got a nice, quilted texture that is soft and gentle, even though they are 1-ply sheets. In the middle of my sampling, I got a terrible stomach virus, as well as gave birth to my fourth son all in the same week. This toilet paper gave me no issues on either account. The flushable wipes are a great addition to our clean up routine, as I have three young boys--one in the midst of potty training--who sometimes need a little extra help cleaning up. My oldest, who is five, loves to announce that he got to use "the wipeys." They are also handy for cleaning up the small messes my potty-training toddler leaves behind on the seat! Overall, I am very satisfied with both products. They are both something I would definitely purchase!

our fresh wipes sit on the bar soap holder that came installed in the bathroom--perfect location for easy access!!

The entire sample share--a big pack and wipes for me, a small pack and wipes for two of my lucky friends!

ripply texture is part of why I love this product so much!

pretty design on the flushable wipes box! :)

Old navy vintage tees

Have I mentioned lately just how much I love crowdtap? I've gotten selected for three separate sample shares this month! The first one was for old navy tee's--two for me, two for a friend. So my mom and I headed down to the blackstone valley old navy to check them out. We both fell in love with the vintage tees. The color choices were awesome! So many neat colors in some different types of shades. They had a few with graphics on them--the old navy logo, and, the one of the ones I picked out, a San Francisco one. The shirts were extra soft and the colors were flattering. The only thing I disliked was when you got into the lighter shades, you could see through them (I had originally picked out this neat pink color, but swapped it for a blue striped style). These are some of the most comfy shirts I own--Ive wore them a bunch of times already, we purchased them a week ago! Theyve held up nicely to the handful of washes they have already gotten. Old Navy gets another high score from me! :)

The pink one I had originally picked out

my mom and I each rocking one of our final picks :) The other shirt I picked out matches my moms with a blue colored stripe instead of grey :)

Coupon tips: binders!

I run a coupon tip facebook group. Just a small (34 members as of this posting) group of mostly local friends and friends-of-friends who are trying to get into couponing or are already into it and just want tips on improving. I sporadically update when I have time in between my job, kids, house, and life. I wanted to do a post on coupon binders, and thought I'd post it here where I can insert photos and such easier. And who knows, maybe it will help out some random reader :) (do i have any of those? lol).

Coupon binders are a great way to stay organized when shopping. I usually know a head of time what I plan to buy based on the sales, but every once in a while I will see something marked down or on sale that was not advertised. A few weeks of missing those deals was enough for me--I picked up a nice zippered binder at staples to keep all my couponing stuff on hand!

The zippered sides and handy carrying handle made this a convenient choice. I picked up some folders with tabs to keep whole inserts in (this can make your binder cluttered if you try and keep too many! I tried to keep them all at first, but then settled on the 2 most recent to cut down on size), some tabbed page separators, and some baseball card inserts (I later got some 3 pocket ones that were the perfect size for all my printables!!). Here's a few visuals:

baseball inserts are a great way to store your coupons!

these handy pocket folders were great for storing whole inserts!

I would clip the coupons I knew I was going to use (or pretty sure I would use) and organize them either by type (health and beauty, baby, pets, food, ect) or by store to keep them all together for sales (ie if i was planning a target trip, id put them all together for easy access). My life has been so crazy lately that I havent had the time I used to spend browsing through inserts and printing coupons, so I havent used this binder in a little while. I grabbed a cheap-o plain binder from walmart with a few pages of 3-pocket baseball card holders for quick trips. I keep it in my car and bring it inside when I have new things to add or am planning a special trip. Here's a quick peak, mostly to show the advantage of the 3-pocket sleeves:

I keep coupons for the same products in the same sleeve (ie the $3 off coupon on the bottom is paired with 2 more of the same, as well as 3 of the $3 off manu coupons from p&g--when you stack them, the bounce dyer sheets are 9 cents each so i keep them together so i remember to use them both!)

Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or would like more info!!

Durex sexplorers party!!

I got selected for yet another crowtap party!!! A durex sexplorers party! We got to try out lots of fun durex products! We had some fun games to break the ice (never have I ever was so fun!) and some epic gift bags to give out for my ladies to try the products in their bedrooms ;). I've taken some photos to share with all you awesome readers the fun products durex offers (some I didn't even know durex made until I got my sample kit!!) along with a peak at the games!

games! sex position pictionary, never have i ever, and a neat couples massage book (I am def taking advantage of this book!!!!

Durex products!! 2 in 1 massage and play soothing touch-massage gel and lube all in one!, durex play allure "personal massager"(mental note:akward to show off to my mom and sister!!), durex play delight vibrating bullet, durex play ring of bliss, durex play vibrations (vibrating ring), durex play utopia (female arousal gel), durex discover body massager (LOVE THIS!! worked amazingly on my back and shoulders!!)

Gift bags before the party--all ready to be given out!!

Everything included in the gift bags!! Durex love box (cute designer boxes, includes 3 condoms!), i owe you sex coupon book, foreplay dice, 2 sex fact coasters, a 3-pack of performance intense condoms, 2 durex play lube samples (2 of 5 types:warmer, tingling, soothing, pina colada, cherry), and one each of the following condoms: extra sensitive, avanti bare latex, performance intense, extra sensitive ribbed, pleasure pack (either extra sensitive, pleasuremax, extra sensitive ribbed, or tropical), tropical flavors (either banana, orange, apple, or strawberry). 

Overall it was a great experience!! It was fun to share experiences with my girls, and to introduce them to some great products that were new to many of them! If any of my readers have any questions about anything posted, please feel free to comment--i'd love to share the info with you!!

Monster bowl!!!

Superbowl sunday is always a day of excitement at my moms house! My step-dad is way into football, and I enjoy the occasional game (or more than occasional if my patriots are playing!!). When I got selected to throw a monster bowl party/Hotel Transylvania screening, I knew the perfect plan was to throw it superbowl sunday--my kids always get bored half way through the game. It was the perfect thing for them!! We had regular party snacks--chips, dip, ect, along with some wicked cool pizza balls, candy corn, and halloween shaped marshmallows! We put the movie on the big-screen monitor and the kids, along with a few guests--including some cool grown ups--had a blast! The movie was super cute, it's def on my to-buy list (and only $10 at target this week!!!)

candy corn and monster marshmallows!

pizza balls!

poppy hogging the chips before the party starts!!

making lego monsters :)

some of the party guests!

grammy and topher :)

such a good movie!!!!