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The Hiding of the Spider

Today I introduced my 5yr old to a family tradition that I started when I was her age.

Meet the family pet spider. I got this spider from the treasure box in my class when I was 5 or 6. I remember seeing it in there and just hoping the kids picking before me didn’t get it, I really wanted the spider. I’m sure some mother was only too happy to donate it to the class treasure box, hoping that her child didn’t bring it back home.

In case you can’t tell from the picture, it’s about the size of my hand, squeaks when squeezed, and has an elastic string that’s lost all it’s bounce.

I had great plans for this spider, when I got home I hid it under my dad’s pillow. And like any small child, I eagerly waited for my dad to get home, greeting him with a demand that he look under his pillow. After which ensued many years of hiding the spider.

I finally learned to not tell him where the spider was. And I found many fun hiding places, some favorites being under the fitted sheet on his bed (surprising mom instead of dad when I hid it on the wrong side of the bed), his chair at the table, and in his suitcase when he would go on a trip.

The rule was, whoever found the spider got to hide it next. It makes its rounds from one sibling or parent to the next. Showing up in dresser drawers, couches, and even in the shower.

It’s been over 20 years since I picked that spider from the treasure box and I had completely forgotten about it. I thought it was lost years ago. Until it turned up in my suitcase at my most recent visit to my parent’s house.

I got home ,unpacked, and placed it on my dresser, planning which family member will get it next. Tonight, my 5yr old saw it on my dresser and with the same excitement I remember feeling the first time I saw it, exclaimed, “what’s this!”. I was only too happy to show her how to hide it under her dad’s pillow, and as I expected, it didn’t take long for her to insist that he look under his pillow.

I think we’re going to have a fun couple of months hiding the spider around here until I decide where some unsuspecting parent or sibling will find the spider next. And who knows, maybe in a few years it will cycle back to me again.

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Kroger Low Fat Icecream

For my latest Bzz Campaign I got to try a free box of Kroger Yogurt Smoothie Bars. I tried the mixed berry variety (they also have a banana strawberry kind as well but I’m not personally fond of banana or strawberry icecream so I haven’t tried this one). They are delicious. My kids love them as well. I think the girls think they’re cool because they’re pink but they also really like the flavor, and I really like the creaminess of these yogurt smoothie bars.

The Yogurt smoothie bars are Kroger’s latest addition to their low fat and sugar free frozen treats. They also have Fudge Bars, Fruit Bars and Ice Cream Sandwiches.

We tried the ice cream sandwiches as well and while they’re a little big for the kids to eat a whole one alone (which means that I get all the leftovers!) the kids love them. The cookie part is just crunchy enough to not be gooey like a lot of ice cream sandwiches. So the kids don’t end up with all the sandwich part all over their hands.

The Kroger brand ice cream novelties are all very tasty, and they come in regular varieties and sugar and fat free varieties. Plus I’m always looking for the cheapest ice cream to purchase for the kids since they eat through ice cream all summer long. I’ll be purchasing more of these next time I go to the store.

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BIC Mark-It Permanent Marker

I got to try a full package of BIC’s new Mark-It Permanent Markers from Smiley360. This has definitely been a fun product to try! In my package they sent three magnetic frames. I have 3 kids so I did one for each child. This one is my favorite.

There’s 36 markers in the package, so 36 different colors. Plus they sent 3 different glitter glue pens as well. These were hard to use but still lots of fun. The markers have almost no smell, which is nice for a permanent marker.

And then, a friend on pinterest shared an idea with me for drawing swimming suits on barbies. Me and the girls had way too much fun making all sorts of barbie swimsuits. The BIC Markers were perfect for this because they have so many different colors!

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Green Giant Vegy Chips

Thanks to Bzz Agent I got to try Green Giant’s new Vegy Chips for free.

Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips with Zesty Cheddarare crispy tortilla chips made with real vegetables like carrot, broccoli, and tomato, plus 17g of whole grain.

These were just ok. I felt like they could use a little more cheese. They had the same crunch as tortilla chips so the texture was good I would just have liked to tasted a little more cheese and a little less vegetable. Over all, not a bad chip but not my favorite.

Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips with Sea Salt are made with real sweet potatoes and 14g of whole grain, with 40% less fat than regular potato chips.

My whole family loved these. They have the same taste and texture as sun chips (which happen to be my husband’s favorit chip) so they were a definite win for us. And with 14g of whole grain, I’ll be purchasing these more often since we could all use a little more whole grain in our diet. Over all, my whole family (and any friends who tried them) loved this chip (even my sister who hates sweet potatoes.)!

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Kroger Spring Dinners

I think this has been the most fun BzzCampaign so far! Thanks bzzagent.com!

I received a free pork loin, free cake mix & icing, free Mac & Cheese, and free crescent rolls. We invited some friends over for dinner, added a salad, and some mashed potatoes, and had a wonderful feast!

For the pork loin I just used a honey glaze so it was lightly sweetened. It turned out moist and delicious!

I forgot to get a picture before we cut into it, but you get the idea. Very tasty!

I sliced the leftovers really thin and we put some bbq on it for bbq sandwiches the next day. We all wished there was more!

For the chocolate cake. I added some marshmallow creme to the chocolate icing and had a chocolate marshmallow cake.

VERY yummy! I like to dress up my boxed cake mixes and this one turned out delicious! Definitely making this one again!

My kid’s favorite item was the crescent rolls.

I have to buy more of these every time I’m at the store. Everyone loves them so much and at $1 a can they fit great in my grocery budget.

The only item we didn’t really like was the mac & cheese, it was a little thin so we’ll probably stick to our usual boxed kraft mix.

Overall, we loved trying out some Kroger brand foods and sharing it and some great fellowship with friends! I really hope bzzagent does more campaigns like these because I’m always looking for an excuse to have friends over and show off my cooking skills (this time with a little help from Kroger)!

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Easter Eggs

Made our own easter egg dye this year and tried out a new way of dipping them.

1/2 C hot water

1 T vinegar

several drops of food coloring

I WAY overdid it on the food coloring so our eggs (and fingers) colored in about 5 seconds. Next year I’m using less food coloring!

One new idea I had from a magazine this year was to wrap the eggs in lace and then after they dry they will have the lace pattern on them. Maybe it was my lace, or the extreme strength of my egg dye, but it didn’t exactly work like I expected. It did still give the eggs some textured color which was cool and with the lace bunched at the top (bind with a rubberband) it made a great handle for the kids to dip the eggs without getting their fingers too messy.

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Easter Chocolate

I love making stuff in the kitchen with the kids and now that my oldest is almost 5 it’s gotten even more exciting. She’s actually able to do a lot of things by herself and supervision means I get to stand by and take LOTS of pictures!

One of the easiest projects I’ve found is the molded chocolate. I picked up a bunch of trays at a yard sale last year and I buy the chocolate when it’s 50% off after holidays so it’s really a pretty inexpensive project. I also got some flavorings over Christmas and we love using those. My husband found the blue cinnamon eggs to be a little unexpected so as long as guests are warned about the flavorings it’s all good.

The purple ones are peppermint and the brown are cherry. My favorite are the brown ones, you can’t go wrong with chocolate and cherry!

I did all the microwaving, but once the chocolate was soft my 4 yr old was able to do all the pouring and tray tapping (to get the bubbles out of the chocolate you have to drop the tray on the counter a gazillion times – which she loved!)

Add some coconut dyed green and you have a great, easy, edible, Easter decoration!

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Getting ready for spring

The start of our garden for this year. This is the first time I’ve started seeds inside and I have been shocked by how fast they grew. This is after less than a week from when I planted the seeds.

Now, if it would just warm up enough for me to go put the plants in the garden!

I let the kids pick the seeds this year so we have sunflowers, strawberries, corn, cantaloupe, pumpkins, and lots of different peas! I also got some hot peppers but they failed to sprout so after I plant these in the garden I’ll put some more soil in and try again.

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Cafe Escapes

Yet another fun free product from bzzagent! Nescafe Cafe Escapes for your Keurig brewer. I got to try six different flavors, Chai Latte, Milk and Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa, Café Mocha, Café Vanilla, and Café Caramel. Café Vanilla was definitely my favorite and Café Caramel was great as well. These two are their newest flavors and whatever they did different to them was totally worth it. I thought the other four flavors were a little watered-down tasting. The flavor was good, just kind of weak. So Café Vanilla and Caramel are the two flavors that I would purchase again.

This was such a great bzz campaign for February and March because it’s still cold out and hot chocolate goes with practically everything I want to do. From catching up on my “Once Upon A Time” episodes to reading my book of short stories, or just hanging out with my Husband in the evenings. I definitely enjoyed trying all these hot chocolate flavors!

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Free Shaving Supplies

Click Here to go to Harry’s shaving cream launch page. The more friends you get to sign up (just submit your e-mail) the larger the item you will receive when they launch. Free shaving cream at 5 friends, free handle at 10 friend, free shaving kit at 25 friends, and free blades for a year at 50 friends.