Barbie Charm School Party

Huh?  What?  Umm..

Sit up straight.  Set the table correctly.  Say please and thank you.

These are all things that we try to get our kids to stop saying and start doing by teaching them manners and etiquette.  It’s nice to have a creative way to present a lesson in manners and we hit the jackpot with our recent Barbie Princess Charm School DVD party.  We got together with some friends and had our very own Barbie Princess Charm School Party to celebrate the upcoming release of the new Barbie Princess Charm School DVD coming out in the Fall.

Each guest (aka princess) was given a Tiara, a manners checklist, a table setting placemat, and a certificate of completion of Barbie Princess Charm School.  At the end of the party, all of the guests were given a Certificate of Completion to keep for completing Barbie Princess Charm School!  The girls were so proud!

Barbie Princess Charm School DVD

We played games, practiced our manners, and learned to set the table correctly.  The girls were all

Plan your own Barbie Princess Charm Schoo party for the launch of the Barbie Princess Charm School DVD.  You’ll find all sorts of fun activities, games, and movie trailers on the Barbie Princess Charm School site.

Disclosure: This Barbie Charm School Tea Party was sponsored by One2One Network.

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As you may have seen in my recent Whrrl Photo Story, a few days ago I went on a shopping trip to prepare for my family’s Pop! Camera! Action! Movie Night.  If you aren’t familiar with Whrrl, check it out and watch my very first Whrrl Story.

I know what your thinking.. “a Family Movie Night!?  Do you really think we have time for that Alicia”?
That’s what I thought too but after talking to my husband and kids about it and getting them in on the decision making process, everyone became excited about the idea and we had a very successful Family Movie Night last night complete with lots of Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter popcorn and 100 Calorie Pop popcorn.. for me.

I don’t like for my kids to watch a lot of TV and I can’t sit through an entire 30 minute episode of anything so I mostly watch movies and TV episodes on my iPad so I can pause and restart at my will.  Besides having the time, that’s my #1 reason for not having a Family Movie Night.  I simply can’t imagine the thought of sitting through an entire 1.5 – 2 hour movie without stopping it a few times.  But.. I did it last night, thanks to some amazing belly laughs and delicious Pop Secret popcorn!

We had so much fun just sitting on the couch, watching a movie, eating popcorn, and laughing.  I’d recommend you have a Family Movie Night very soon if you haven’t lately.  Family Movie Night is a great way to just sit and chill with your kids. My favorite part of Family Movie Night was hearing the kids laugh.. like real belly laughs.. in unison.  I can’t help but crack up when the kids belly laugh.. you know?

Thanks to Mom Spark Media and Pop Secret for providing with such a great idea and a very fun Family Movie Night!

Here’s a little skit the kids did, thanks to Pop Secret and Mom Spark Media for the great props (boa, trophy, and clapper board).

Win a $50 Visa Gift Card, Pop Secret Popcorn, and a Flip mino!

This contest has ended.  Congratulations Tabathia!

To enter:

• Visit Pop Secret and enter their sweepstakes (opens a new browser window so you don’t loose this page) before midnight, Feb 18th.
• Then come back and mention in comments below, that you entered.
• A random winner will be selected and notified via email.  If the winner doesn’t respond within 24 hours an alternate winner will be chosen.

To earn extra entries, you may do as many of the following as you’d like. Each action counts as an extra entry but you must leave a separate comment letting us know each action that you took.

• Follow The Mommy Insider on Twitter.
• Subscribe to our RSS feed and/or email newsletter.
• Tweet this giveaway (once daily). Enter to win Pop Secret Popcorn, a $50 VISA card, and a Flip mino courtesy of @mommyinsider & Pop Secret! #PopCameraAction
• “Like” The Mommy Insider page on Facebook.
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here and to Pop Secret.

Disclosure: I am a Pop Secret Mom sponsored blogger, courtesy of Mom Spark Media.  Thoughts expressed in this post are my own.  This post was written for Mom Spark Media & Pop Secret who provided select items used in our Family Movie Night and Awards Ceremony Event and is providing the winner with the giveaway prize.

P.S. Enter to win a HeartWings Valentine’s Pillow from TheMommyInsider here!

Our Pop Secret Family Movie Night plus enter to win a $50 Visa Gift Card, Pop Secret Popcorn, and Flip mino! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

Can you imagine.. Candy Land, cupcakes, face painting, pottery painting, bead bracelet craft, and hair-do’s.. all in an hour and a half?
Oh my gosh I can’t tell you how exhausted I was around 12:30 today.  I was pooped and ready for a nap, which is very unlike me.  All for good reason though.   Thanks to Hasbro and My Blog Spark, I hosted a Candy Land party for about 18 3-5 year old’s this morning.  I was thrilled to have Desiree from BottlesToBritches.com, Stacie from TheDivineMissMommy.com, and Amanda from OhAmanda.com at the party.  Check out their blogs!  You’ll love them.

Candy Land was recently redesigned, bringing the excitement that is Candy Land back to our kitchen table.  Forget the dinner, let’s play Candy Land!  My daughter is 4 and Candy Land is the “go to” board game when she has friends over.  Don’t even try to offer another game.. Candy Land is “IT!” and that’s the way it is.

Candy Land is a classic ‘first game for children’, takes about 15 minutes to play, and because there is no need to read to play Candy Land, even 3 year olds can play it!

You too can travel down the rainbow path on a journey of discovery through enchanted lands filled with sweet surprises around every corner. Create delicious treats at the Cupcake Commons to deliver along the way, participate in a thrilling snowboard race down the Ice Cream Slopes with the Duke of Swirl, take a relaxing train ride through Gummy Hills and climb to the top of Chocolate Mountain. Be sure to make friends with Gramma Gooey, Lord Licorice, Princess Frostine and Princess Lolly of Lollypop Woods throughout your adventure, as you race to meet King Kandy at the grand entrance to the Candy Castle.

Here’s a short video of our Candy Land fun at Farmhouse in the City in Roswell, GA:

A special thanks to Hasbro who provided us with the Candy Land board games to play and give away through MyBlogSpark!

You can buy Candy Land at your local Target, Wal-Mart, or Toys R’ Us, or online from Hasbro.

GIVEAWAY!

We are giving a lucky reader a Candy Land board game!   To enter leave a comment below telling us one what your favorite memory of playing Candy Land is (with your kids or from when you were young).
Earn extra entries by sharing this giveaway with your Twitter friends (Tweet: “I entered to win Candy Land from TheMommyInsider.com!  You can enter too:  @mommyinsider”).  Be sure to follow us on Twitter and leave a separate comment below telling us that you Tweeted and what your Twitter address is.  ‘Like’ us on Facebook and tell your Facebook friends about The Mommy Insider and/or our Candy Land giveaway. You can post about our giveaway on Twitter and Facebook up to once per day – just make sure to let us know in the comments, that you did!
Entries accepeted through November 30th.

Have fun with Candy Land!

Our super sweet Candy Land party and a giveaway! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!

I recently had a great summer party at my house despite the fact that the thought of organizing and having a party makes my brain hurt.  That’s the ADHD. I can’t process the thoughts required to put together a party which includes decorating, food preparation, and then clean up.. just thinking about it makes my brain hurt.

My summer party actually turned out really good. I didn’t get stressed before or during the party which was exciting in itself.  I made a few appetizers including Sweet Potato Chips that were pretty delicious once I finally got the timing right.

Playtex sent me a few pairs of gloves to try out before, during, and after my party and I’m telling you, they were pretty awesome. First, I used the GreatLengths™ Gloves to clean my glass patio table and chairs one of which had bird poop on it (see photos below.. not of the bird poop!).  Before having the gloves I would have just used a few paper towels to clean it off and would have been totally grossed out but the gloves took out the gross factor which was really nice.  I also used these gloves when cutting flowers from the garden.  I was lazy and didn’t want to go to the shed to get my regular gloves out but these worked really well.

GreatLengths™ Gloves

• Test them out when prepping your grill and/or wiping down your patio furniture for the party; these gloves are ideal for the extra messy clean-up jobs (like getting bird poop off of patio chairs)

CleanCuisine™ Gloves

• Use them while preparing spicy recipes like salsa or try them out when preparing meat or fish for the grill so you are sure to keep clean and germ-free
• Try using them while chopping garlic or onions which often stings hands and/or leave a lingering odor

Living® Gloves

• A twist on the classic Playtex® Living® gloves, this new version is ideal for clean-up tasks like washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen

Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob – courtesy of FoodNetwork.com
Ingredients:
4 ears fresh corn
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place corn husks directly on the oven rack and roast for 30 minutes or until corn is soft. Peel down the husks and use as a handle when eating.  My whoops.. Out of habit, I took the corn husks off before roasting the corn the first time with not such tasty results.

Sweet Potato Chips
Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes
Directions: Slice two sweet potatoes very thin.  Lay as many slices as will fit without overlapping directly on your clean microwave turn table then spray the slices lightly with olive oil cooking spray (salt optional).  Microwave them in increments of a few minutes checking for desired crispness.

Learn more about Playtex Gloves at the Playtex website here and buy Playtex gloves at your local grocery store or drugstore.

GIVEAWAY!
Playtex is giving 1 lucky reader 3 Glove samples AND a $50 gift certificate to the grocery store of their choice to buy food/drinks for their own Patio Party.
This is the perfect time of year for a nice patio party!  Leave a comment below telling me why you want to win and if you have something fun or funny to tell me about a previous party you held, you’ll get two entries!
Entries accepted until August 18th.

A summer party with Playtex and a giveaway! is a post from: The Mommy Insider. It looks like you are reading this post in your favorite RSS reader. Don't be shy..hop on over to check out our current giveaways, coupon codes, and to share your comments!