Wednesday, July 31, 2013

July 31st Giveaway Results!

Well, here is the result for the July 31st giveaway of the Tupperware Orange Peeler! 
And the winner is...


Thank you everyone for participating! Next time we hope to see more people enter.
We will contact you Sarah for the mailing information.


 photo 3mommiessig_zps86cc38de.jpg

Tomato Basil Chicken & Fresh Green Beans


Tomato Basil Chicken
What you will need:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts fileted 
- 1 medium tomato
- 10 of fresh Basil leaves
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 4 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- tsp of dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste

Preheat over to 350. In a food processor combine all ingredients except chicken and tomato, blend until fully combined (resembling a pesto). Lay the fileted chicken breasts on a baking sheet, with a brush paint the top of each breast until it's coated with the mixture. Top chicken with sliced tomato and add a bit of the mixture on the tomatoes. Set the remainder of the mixture aside Cook for about an hour or until done. 

Savory Green Beans
What you will need: 
- 3 cups of fresh green beans
- remainder of the mixture from above
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- salt & pepper

In a large pan (with a lid) heat 1 tbsp of oil and the remainder of the mixture from above. Add in green beans, turn burner to medium-low heat. Add in soy sauce, hot sauce and if needed salt & pepper saute until cooked with the lid on the pan. (About 10 -15 mins). Enjoy!

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA


 

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Rock Tic Tac Toe


I love rocks. I like to paint them, collect them, make things with them. They are just a fun thing to work with. While on Pinterest one night I came across a picture of a tic tac toe game made with painted rocks and it looked so cute. So I went on a rock hunt for 9 stones all about the same size and shape, about 3cm I'm guessing



                             
                                       9 little stones
Arranged in formation!

I used nail polish to paint them because it is more resilient than paint. Plus, it eliminates the need to use a finishing coat like you would need if using paint. I chose pink/dark pink for X and orange/blue for O.
More than one coat was needed to make the colours bright enough without the rock showing. The pink needed more than the orange as it was lighter. 

After the first coat.
After 3 coats pink, 2 orange.
Once they were all painted, I waited over night to finish them. I wanted to make sure they were 100% dry so when the X and O were marked onto them, it would not smudge.
I added the X and O with black nail polish and let them dry. One coat was enough for that.

While they were drying I found an old box with a lid that closes with a magnet. Perfect for the grid and great that the rocks could stay in the box when not in use. I cut scrapbooking paper to fit inside and one to fit the outside top. Using a sharpie, I drew the grid onto paper and glued it inside. Then wrote Tic Tac Toe on the other piece and glue that one down as well. 




I think it turned out very great! I will have to let my nieces test it out to see how they like it! 
Try it yourself! You can use any colours you want or even use matching pictures. Maybe paint five as hearts and the other four as stars? Bees and butterflies? Solid colours? So many ideas! 



Don't forget to LIKE our facebook page here and follow our blog on the main page. The giveaway is tomorrow and you won't want to miss it! 


By Mommy Melissa

 photo 3mommiessig_zps86cc38de.jpg

Friday, July 26, 2013

5 Of My Favourite Things - With Giveaway!

We all have a few things that make our lives a little easier during our hectic days. I have decided that these would have to be my favourites. They are used every day in my home by James and myself as well as in a way for the kids. They help things get done easier and faster. Here are my picks.

1. My Keurig Machine.
Why? Not only does it make coffee that much faster in the morning (mamma needs her coffee!!) but it does so much more. It works also as a hot water dispenser. Don't put in a k-cup and it 'brews' out steaming hot water. Perfect for oatmeal, tea, ramen noodles and even warming bottles. Sometimes the water has coffee grinds left over from a brew done before hand, but simply running a small with no k-cup takes care of that.
The Keurig also can make a great iced coffee or tea. They sell special cold drink ones but I find them way to sweet for my liking. Using a regular coffee and ice makes the perfect iced coffee. And if you brew some up the night before, freeze the coffee in an ice cube tray and use those coffee cubes in it. This way, it wont get watered down as the ice melts! Great for iced tea as well.




2. Brita Water Filtration Bottle.
Why? I like to drink water (when im not drinking coffee and tea) and I really don't like to buy water bottles. My tap water is safe to drink but I find it tastes very much like chlorine at times. This water bottle is perfect! You just unscrew the top and pour your tap water right in. As you drink it, it filters it. We also have a normal Brita that we keep in the fridge, but it takes so long to fill up and wait for it to filter. The bottle is good to take out into the car as well as to keep on the coffee table with the kids around. They like to pick up glasses and try to drink whats in it, resulting in Mommy having to clean up a lot of messes during the day. Logan is not able to open the mouth piece so he cannot spill it all over! Bonus for me! They are a tad high in price i think. $9.99 at Maxi is what James paid for it. It was a mothers day gift so that is OK! In the long run, you save money if you are a water bottle buyer. It also is less harm on the environment. The downfall is that the filter has to be changed every few months to make sure that it is still filtering right.





3. Playstation 3.
Why? This may seem like a strange thing to put onto my list but it is used everyday. Not for gaming most of the time. Now with the kids, there is hardly any time to play video games. I'm not saying I don't but its harder now to get into a game. The PS3 is used for many things now. Its our radio, our music player, our picture storage, our DVD/BluRay player and of course Netflix. I like to always have music playing during the day and since it has a 320gb of storage, there is a lot of music on it. Everything from Elvis, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, and Glee to Nirvana Guns & Roses, and Sharon Lois and Bram! Netflix is also great. We don't have cable or satellite TV so its all we have for watching shows. Logan is a big fan of Sesame Street and Dinosaur Train. He likes Elmo so much, you can't talk to that kid when Elmo's World is on! Then there are mommies shows, Doctor Who, Sons of Anarchy and most recently Torchwood. James doesn't like to watch movies much but he likes to watch Archer and South Park. Its worth the extra $8 a month!

4. Baby Wipes.
Why? These things are so handy. They are in my purse and diaper bag, in my glove box in the car, the bath room and of course the kids room. Not only are they good for...well, wiping poop of baby butts they are great to clean up messy faces and hands, wiping down high chairs (especially when out), using in the car if there is a spill, just to freshen up your face on hot days, wiping off makeup. The list goes on and on. Another use for them that you may think is odd is that if you have a sun burn, it is really soothing to wipe it down with a wipe.

5. Citrus Peeler by Tupperware.
 Why? It makes peeling oranges very easy and fast. Your nails also don't get full of orange peel! Oranges are a staple here. Logan loves them right now (who knows how long this will last) and peeling one normally is apparently just not fast enough for him.I came across this nifty little gadget while at a local Tupperware store. You just push it into the peel then, like a knife, cut down. I make wedge shapes then peel them down super easy. The peeler does not cut into the orange, just the peel. The opposite end is flat and honestly i'm not too sure what its for but i use it to take seeds out and scrape any of the white that is hard to get off.



Since the Citrus Peeler is such a cool little gadget to keep in the kitchen we thought it would be a fun little giveaway! 

****To be eligible to win this giveaway, you must LIKE our Facebook  page and become a follower of our blog. Easy enough right? Everyone who has already done both will automatically be entered****

The name will be drawn at random with a name generator on Wednesday June 31st. So stay tuned to see if you won!!


Now that you know my 5 favourite things, let us hear what yours are!

By Mommy Melissa

 photo 3mommiessig_zps86cc38de.jpg

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Nail Art with Temp Tattoos

 Recently I received this great package in the mail filled with all kinds of fun stuff! Paints, coloring books, stickers and temporary tattoos! Looking at all this great stuff I started thinking, what is something else I can do with these fun things... really using the imagination and experimenting got me thinking, if tattoos work on your skin- why not try it on your nails! How excited I was to try it out... I ran into my sisters room to show her what a genius I am but of course she was already aware of the trick. Oh well, maybe there's others out there I can please.

Here's how it works:


Make sure to put a top coat of clear polish when your done so the image stays, and it gives a great shine!

I invite you all to give it a try, I'd love to see your designs, just post a link so we can check it out! :)

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Copy Cat Mcdonalds Vanilla Chai Frappe -by Mommy Melissa

This summer McDonalds came out with 2 new icy drinks. My mom told me about the vanilla chai frappe and how yummy it was so I just had to try it! That was a mistake!! It was amazing! One of the best iced drinks ever. Now James and I are always craving those creamy vanilla drinks but oh man are they expensive. Of course the snack size is just over a dollar but still, a snack size? I could drink 4 of them! I know its bad.
Anyways, it got me to thinking. It seems simple enough. I will try to make it at home.
Here is what I did and the out come? Perfect! Almost identical to McDonalds but at a fraction of the price.
This took a few hours to fully prepare so if you are going to try this, prepare in advance.

You will need
About 5 chai tea bags
2 cups (about) vanilla ice cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon
as well as
a kettle
a tea pot
empty ice cube trays
a blender
2 glasses (or, you know, one really big one!)
2 straws

What you do

1.Boil water then steep the tea for about a half an hour to make it very strong.

2. Once it has cooled pour into the ice cube trays and freeze until they are frozen solid. Be sure to reserve some extra tea in the fridge to use later when we begin to make the frappe.

3. Place the ice cream, one tray of the chai ice cubes, vanilla, cinnamon and some of the chilled tea. Blend until smooth, continue adding the extra tea to make it thinner if you find it too thick. You could also use milk for that part if you wish.

4.Pour into your glass and enjoy. Every last bit of the vanilla-y chai-tastic goodness!

Enjoy :)
By Mommy Melissa
 photo 3mommiessig_zps86cc38de.jpg

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Monthly Feature: Mini Strawberry Shortcake, By Sarah


What you will need:
- 2/3 cup sugar
- Strawberries approx 3 cups chopped,
- 1 pkg of Sponge cakes,
- 1 pkg of Glaze mix.


Directions:

1. Add glaze mix and sugar into a bowl, mixing thoroughly
2. Gradually add 1 cup of boiling water and mix well
3. Add strawberries into the mix making sure they're all covered with the glaze.
4. Chill for 1 hr
5. Put on top of sponge cake and top with whipped cream if u want. 


Enjoy!

POST BY SARAH

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Monthly Feature: Greek Pasta Salad, by Sarah


What you will need:
- Pasta noodles of your choice
- Cucumbers
- Cherry tomatoes 
- Feta cheese
- Italian dressing
- Black Olives

Directions:
Cook noodles according to directions and drain then put into a large bowl, cut up the cucumbers and tomatoes; add them in, mix in feta cheese and olives, add Italian dressing and mix everything together.(how much you use of what is totally up to you) Chill in fridge & enjoy!

POST BY SARAH



1st movie for Noah


Recently I took Noah to his very first movie... i was hesitant at first- he is such a squirm! But my dad insisted we go, bare the wines and cries! He was very fidgety waiting for the movie to start, but once it came on he sat and watched! Whew! I had already planned in my head that we would not be able to finish the movie and would have to leave due to a crying munchkin- but it was quite the opposite. At first, I thought I was doomed for sure, Noah thought it would be funny if he smacked every single person sitting in front of us, "sorry" was just coming out of my mouth naturally at that point.

 We saw Despicable Me- cutest movie ever! We all really enjoyed it. I recommend seeing the first one (if you haven't already) before venturing to the second so you can see the history behind the movie. I don't think I will be taking Noah to another movie until he is a bit older, its a rarity that he actually finds something on TV he is willing to sit through. He loved the first one, so I figured I at least had a chance.

I hope you all are keeping dry with all this rain we've been having- here's to sunny days!

POST BY MOMMY OLIVIA

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Hummus Melts


This is a great lunch, full of protein and vitamins- a great vegetarian option! 

What you will need
 - 1 whole pita
- cup full of fresh spinach
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp hummus (your choice of flavour)
- shredded cheese

Preheat you oven to 350.  In a frying pan over medium heat, add in 1 tsp olive oil, you spinach, and minced garlic- let cook until soft. Spread the hummus on your pita, add the cooked spinach and top with shredded cheese. Cook in the oven for about 7 mins- or until melted and crunchy. Enjoy!