Congratulations Veronica! Check your email!

Peppa Pig is a hilarious preschool cartoon on Nick Jr., that aired in early 2001. Before it previewed here in the states it was a longtime favorite with British kiddos, and I’m not surprised why. Not only is the family, (Peppa the, “star” {obviously}, Mommy Pig, Daddy Pig, and George) comedic, but they show what a family is all about, spending quality time together.

The show features so many different relationships; parent-to-child, sibling-to-sibling, child-to-child, and family dynamics as well. It’s fun to watch the entire family engage in each other’s activities and be supportive.

Peppa’s mom and dad help her build a castle, the entire family goes on bike rides, Peppa and her brother play hide-and-seek, and it all ends in loud snorts of laughter!

Not only do Miss A and Lil’ C really enjoy the show, but I like watching with them as well. We want to instill strong family roots and be present in our children’s lives and the best way to do that for us, is to start now, while they are young.

The only thing I didn’t really care for personally are the “fat jokes” towards Daddy Pig, (he laughs them off, but I could do without) but other than that, we really enjoy watching and learning from Peppa and her family.

What is one way that you and your family spend time together??

Make sure you check out Peppa Pig Monday through Friday at 12:00PM and 12:30PM and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00PM and 2:30PM on Nick Jr. Also visit their website http://peppapig.com and on Facebook.

I was not compensated for this post, however I did receive Peppa Pig products in order to better familiarize myself with the program. This in no way effects the outcome of my post, all thoughts and opinions are my own, yours may vary.

This week was MY QUESTION, which of course I HAD to answer, and it was, “What television show would you like to be a guest on.” Automatically my mind went to talk shows, I’m not sure why and the fact that I’m a huge fan of this lady anyway. Check my answer out:

I love Bethenny Frankel, so excited about her new show, check out her website for more details and updates: http://www.bethennytv.com/ and who knows, maybe some day I will be a guest on her show, how awesome would that be?!?!?

Now tell me, What television show would YOU like to be a guest on???

Thanks again for stopping by this week and remember to check out these other fun answers listed below and check us out on vlogmom.com

This time, Rubbermaid is headed straight for the recycling and trash, in a good way! Rubbermaid has come out with this handy 2-in-1 Recycler. For a family like ours who recycles a lot {not everything, but a lot} we really love having this recycling system. The Recycler comes in most handy when we have people over.

Recently, I had a few friends over for a play date where we had snacks and drinks. Often times when we’ve had parties or friends over the recyclables and trash end up in one big garbage can, {boo}. However, now that we have the 2-in-1 Recycler it’s easy to let friends know where to put their cans and bottles and where to dump their plates of food. We decided to put stickers on our recycler that would signify which bin was which for our guests so we didn’t have to constantly remind or hover over the recycler, it worked perfect! (Not an actual picture of our recycler since the stickers are a little smaller and not as visible, but you get the idea.)

We love that both bins have thick handles, that make it easy to carry the bins straight to our city regulated recycling bin. DaddyB’s favorite feature is the LinerLock™ in the lower bin so the trash bag stays put, hooray for easy clean-ups.

The Rubbermaid 2-in-1 Recycler also features:

• A Sleek design
• Removable lid
• 5.8 gal sorting bin
• 7.4 gal tilt out bin with Liner Lock™ handles
• Total capacity = 13.2 gal
• Perfect for multi-stream or single stream recycling

I like my 2-in-1 Recycler and think it comes in so handy that I figured you would want one too. So I’m giving away a recycler to one lucky reader!!!

Mandatory Entry {must be done in order to get additional entries}: Head to Rubbermaid’s Trash and Recycling section of their Website HERE  and tell me: What product would you use the most in your own home.

For additional entries:

1. Leave a comment on another post on my website. (1 comment per post, no limit otherwise.)

2. Follow Rubbermaid on Twitter

2. Follow MommyBKnowsBest on Twitter

3. Tweet- using @mommybknowsbest and @rubbermaid linking back to this giveaway. (up to 5 tweets a day)

Not an entry because MommyB Knows Best follows Facebook TOS, but we’d love it if you want to follow MommyB Knows Best and Rubbermaid (again not an entry but I’d love you forever if you did) click here: MommyB Knows Best Facebook and here: Rubbermaid

Giveaway ends May 16 @12:00 am. The winner will be chosen at random, verified, emailed, and announced in a Winner’s post. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the email from MommyB to claim the prize, if the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen at random. You must be a US or Canada resident and 18 years or older to enter.

I received product from Rubbermaid in order to complete this review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own, honest opinions, yours may vary.

Lil’ C got her first tooth at 5 months and had her complete set of 20 baby teeth at about 23 months. For us, brushing is super important, and so are all the steps leading up to it. We have a lot of friends Lil’ C’s age and younger and we were able to invite them to our house for a Mam Smile, Baby, Smile party to try out some of Mam’s newest oral hygiene products and play some fun games.

The moms loved playing the word scrambler and trivia game and impressively each of the moms got most of the answers correct. It was hard to name a winner. The kids snacked on some yummy foods while us moms talked about parenting, oral health and getting ready for next steps in our children’s lives.

It was great to get together with some mommas and have a fun play date and learn more about where Mam is headed. Each mom left with a goodie bag filled with Mam products including the adorable Oral Care Rabbit, great for cleaning little one’s gums, a great tool for cleaning first teeth, the Massaging Brush, and some cute First Brush toothbrushes and more.

We definitely will remain a Mam family and continue to tell our friends and family about our great experiences with the brand.

I want to know: Have you ever used Mam products? If so, which ones??

I am a member of Child’s Play Party and received Mam products in order to host the party. This in no way impacts my opinions on the Mam brand, all opinions expressed in this post are my own, honest thoughts.

Five Movies and Four Years In the Making

The Avengers assembles an all-star team of super heroes in a fun and entertaining movie. Marvel’s been laying the groundwork for this movie for years as supporting characters have been in cameos and after-the-credits scenes of four different movie franchises. Government agents Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) have worked there way into subplots for several years now. We’ve also seen Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) in Thor and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) in Iron Man 2. For geeks like me who’ve been following this closely, the payoff is a long time coming and the product more than delivers. If you’ve been following the movies, it was cool seeing how the writers have weaved Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor‘s plot lines together.

Fine For People Who Haven’t Seen the Other Movies

While it’s been neat to watch the crossovers come together, you don’t need to have seen every movie in these franchises to enjoy The Avengers. Through the great dialogue and character interactions you can quickly pick up the character’s personalities, motivations, and a bit of their back story.

The Plot – Surprise! Aliens Want to Invade Earth Again

The Avengers are brought together by a potentially World-ending, but also pretty tired threat. Thor’s evil brother Loki wants to help bring about an alien invasion. While that’s a clear and present danger throughout, and its the reason Nick Fury assembled the group, getting them to work together proves to be just as much of a challenge as the villain’s maniacal plot. There’s nothing new or all that interesting in the threat itself. There’s plenty of action, but The Avengers is more of a character driven story and the real interesting part is how the characters handle the stress of war and attempt to work together.

The Story Telling – Everyone Gets Their Moment, Everyone

A piece that will be overlooked by many was the awesome story telling. As a writer and follower of the movies, I really appreciate the seemingly impossible product. It was incredible that Joss Whedon and Zak Penn were able to tell a story with an ensemble of characters where pretty much everyone got to shine at some point. Amazingly, with such a large cast, none of the main super heroes completely took a back seat. The writers found an interesting way to involve everyone equally and still keep the story moving AND still insert plenty of action. For example, take Scarlet Johansson’s character (Black Widow). Usually in a movie like this she’d be the focus of some romantic sub plot or be the heart of the team. Her character Black Widow is feminine, but also an integral part of the team, that has plenty of action scenes and a major role in the plot.

What Makes Avengers So Great – The Dialogue As Egos Collide

At the end of the day, The Avengers was just a very entertaining movie. I wasn’t surprised that I enjoyed the action sequences and battles, but I was pleasantly surprised by the humorous dialogue that kept the plot moving and had the packed theater rolling at times. Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) carries many of the comedic moments, but everyone produced a chuckle. Unlike the X-Men movies (which I loved), The Avengers has a much lighter overall tone. There’s no social commentary bubbling under the surface. So, the writers have fun with the characters as they poke fun at each other, their costumes, their origins, and challenge each other mentally and physically.

Verdict – Great Characterization Lifts Avengers Above Just Another Super Hero Action Movie

As a former comic book geek that doesn’t miss a super hero movie, I loved the battles. As in comic books, there are even plenty of good guy vs. good guy fights. And the story makes the motivations for those brawls pretty believable. Of course, there’s also a massive showdown (seen in the commercials) with the alien army. That battle, like the rest of the movie, includes more great dialogue, characterization, and humor at times.

From the trailers many may think The Avengers will be another Michael Bay-esque mindless, explosion-a-thon, but that’s not accurate. Unlike many big action movies where you don’t really care about the characters, with The Avengers, the audience will connect with and root for an unfrozen WWII super soldier (Captain America), a billionaire, playboy, genius (Iron Man), a god-like warrior from another World (Thor), and a fugitive scientist that turns into a big green monster (Hulk). I highly recommend The Avengers to any fan of action movies, super hero movies, or just big, fun Summer blockbusters! Head to the theater, sit back, relax and prepare to be thoroughly entertained.

Note – The 3D was good, but I don’t think it was worth the extra cash. I typically only pay for 3D movies that were actually shot in 3D (like Avatar). When I see it again, I’ll be seeing it in 2D.

I received tickets in order to review this movie, however, the opinions expressed in the post above are my own. Your opinions may vary.

Make sure you take a minute to check out these other answers too, I know I’m going to!!

Lindsay from DesignerWife.com, Brittany from AHealthySliceOfLife.com, Jessica from The Beginning of Crafting, Tricia at TheSouthernSpark.com, and Jamie of MamaMommyMom.com

It was so great to get together, I realized a bunch of the ladies had known each other online but had not yet met in person and our kids had a blast too!! I decided to give the party a spring theme since früsh reminds me of freshness and spring envelopes that fresh feeling. The colors were fun and bright and the food was brunch style and kid friendly. All of the fruits we noshed on are featured in früsh’s drinks. The muffins and other nibbles complimented the drink and kept our little ones full while the mommas chatted.

As I mentioned, früsh is a delicious and healthy yogurt fruit shake perfect for moms-on-the-go like us bloggers, and good for our kids too!! Everyone was able to sample ice-cold früsh, with the adorable tasting cups I found. früsh currently comes in four flavors; Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach, and Strawberry Banana. There wasn’t really a “fan-favorite” but I did keep hearing a lot about the Blueberry and Peach especially, and one little guy really loved his:

Here are a few more pictures from a great time together:

I had an amazing time hanging out with these bloggers, talking about früsh, upcoming conferences, and being moms {or getting ready to be one.} I think the one thing we all have in common {other than blogging, and living in charlotte, and being moms} is wanting to give ourselves and our families healthy options, especially when we’re trying to grab something quickly. früsh gives us another alternative by giving us more calcium and protein than some of the leading smoothies out there great which is great for our bodies and the growing bodies we take care of.

What’s really cool to me is that the makers of früsh, Origin Food Group, is based in Statesville, N.C. and can also be found locally in your area Lowe’s Food store, Ingles Markets, and Bi-Lo. The other day I was talking about supporting local and while früsh hopefully will be available world wide it’s pretty cool that it’s starting here in the Carolinas.

If you’re not in the Carolinas, keep checking the früsh website to find a store near you: http://www.gofrush.com/where-to-buy also check out früsh’s website for more information and facts: http://gofrush.com/, and like them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gofrush

I was compensated for this post and to host the party for früsh, however the opinions expressed in this post are my own, except for the fact that some of the bloggers paid me to say good things about them, just kidding!!

]]> http://www.mommybknowsbest.com/frush-gets-bloggy-in-charlotte/feed/ 6 http://www.mommybknowsbest.com/bumblebee-birthday-terra-cotta-pot-cupcake-craft/ http://www.mommybknowsbest.com/bumblebee-birthday-terra-cotta-pot-cupcake-craft/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:23 +0000 MommyB http://www.mommybknowsbest.com/?p=9360 I love going “all out” on birthday’s, at least my version of all out, then again compared to some people I’m probably pretty mild. My mom did a great job making sure we had fun birthday parties growing up and I want to do the same for my girls. Although they may not remember all the little details it means a lot for me to be able to create a fun experience for them and their friends.

While I’m not the craftiest kid on the block I do get into creating some crafts for birthdays. Lil C’s birthday theme this year was bumblebees! Which totally fits our family for several reasons, {see this website for one}. I decided to get some fun bumblebee themed decorations {at a very reasonable price} from Oriental Trading Company and then create a few of my own.

One of the crafts I came up with, after looking at inspiration on the web and of course Pinterest was to do a bumblebee terra cotta craft, although I have not seen anything like the craft I made, hopefully it will inspire others.

I bought the following supplies from A.C. Moore:

Bumblebee Pots:

Terra Cotta Pots (we used the 4″ size) – One for each child

Bright Yellow Acrylic Craft Paint

Black Acrylic Craft Paint

1 inch paint brush (really any size brush or sponge brush

*After completing this project I learned a little bit of paint primer would have saved me from so many coats of paint, so you may want to add that to your list as well. {again, I’m only semi-crafty}

Cupcakes:

Preferably chocolate cupcakes in dark wrappers

Frosting (any kind really since it’ll be covered up anyway)

Oreo Cookie Crumbs (can be made in a food processor with the push of a button)

Bumblebee Antennae:

Tacky Glue – **Purchased for the project but not used**

Standard size black pipe cleaners

Small black poms

Misc:

Cardboard to create circles for inside your pots to shelve your cupcakes (depending on cupcake to terra cotta pot ratio)

Directions:

Normally one would start with the paint primer, however since I clearly didn’t use that in my craft I started painting the terra cotta pots with the yellow acrylic craft paint. I let that coat dry and painted another coat, and another and another…{you get the drift}…and looked something like this:

While waiting on those to dry I worked on the Bumblebee antennae using standard size black pipe cleaner that I cut in half with regular scissors prior to the photo following. I intended to use the Tacky Glue to adhere the small black poms onto the pipe cleaners, however found that wrapping the pipe cleaner around the pom was much easier, less messy, and looked great. I wound the pipe cleaner around the pom 1 to 1.5 times and then bent them to more closely resemble bumblebee antennae. Of course while making these cute antennae I had to have a few sips of my favorite drink, I call it “my wine”, Diet Coke. {You may choose the beverage of your choice.}

After checking to make sure the first 500 coats of yellow acrylic paint {yes I am exaggerating a little here}, I painted free-hand, yep, that’s right folks I do have a pretty steady hand, the black lines to look like a bumblebee. Using the bottom rim of the pot I started with my first line and tried to eyeball, of course if you want more perfect lines you could use a painters tape {which I found hard considering the shape of the terra cotta pots} or measure and mark. I wasn’t too picky but think they turned out pretty good, all things considered. Don’t you think???

I made Lil C’s pot a little different from the others because she’s the birthday girl of course!! Added a little glitter and her initial for her first name. After the pots were dried I cleaned up some of the lines, painted the rims and added a small circle of cardboard to fit right inside the pots since our cupcakes ended up being a little smaller than anticipated.

Cupcake time!!!!

This time I made the cupcakes and frosting from scratch, but you can use whatever works best for you. Miss A helped me roll the frosted cupcakes in the oreo crumbs to created the “dirt” look or look like bumblebee heads {which is what we were going for.} Sorry for the blurry picture:

Once these awesome cupcakes were done we put them in the fridge overnight (b/c of the fresh cream frosting) and the next day placed them on top of the cardboard and inserted two pipe cleaner antennae. I assembled them in a diamond formation with the special “C” cupcake at the head of the line, and here’s how they turned out:

I think the guest of honor was quite pleased.

(and yes I did paint mine and the girls nails in black and yellow for the party!!)

What has been your favorite birthday party theme that you’ve a.) thrown for your children or b.) seen someone else {in person or online} throw?????

Since then I have had affirmations that my girls really do love each other. Miss A is often very tender with her sister and Baby C {who we now call Lil C} wants to do everything her big sister does. Now they don’t get along every second of the day, but when they’re not fighting over the same toy sweet moments like these are captured:

I thank God daily for my awesome little girls and know that these moments I have with them are some of the best, sweetest moments I’ll have in my entire life. I’m off to go make some more memories, but if you have a chance I would love your vote for my post and you can also win some great goodies as well.

Thanks in advance for any votes.