Thursday, November 29, 2012

Elf on a Shelf with The 4-Crow's 2012 - Week 1

Thanksgiving night The 4-Crow's were summoned by the doorbell and found a visitor from the North Pole.The visitor was nameless at the time, but soon became know as Malia.
Last year was our first year to participate in the Elf on the Shelf tradition. We didn't exactly have a "real" Elf on the Shelf, so I called our daily link up Elf on a Shelf. We had Charley, a 40+ year old Whitman's Chocolate Candy Elf.
In 2011 we hosted a daily link up where we asked our readers to show us the daily activities of their elf. This year we will be doing only a weekly link up, showcasing a full 7 days of elf fun. Our Charley, I decided, had to retire. He is still a part of our household, but because he is "vintage", I decided he no longer needed to be serving in any reindeer games. He is actually pictured in the above button, see his rips? You can read more about Charley here, also feel free to visit last years 24 days of linkups and see what all kinds of fun he had around our nest.


Would you like to see what Malia has been up to the past 7 days around our nest?



Day 1: Oh dear, she evidently didn't like all red & green bulbs on the ceramic tree....



Day 2: She opened the new lantern I got at A Christmas Gathering at The Church at BattleCreek and started rearranging the balls.


Day 3: She thought the new cupcake ornaments I made looked yummy enough to eat!


Day 4: She decided to put the ribbon garland on the tree herself.


Day 5: She decided to hide "high" from Kaybrie. It didn't work.


Day 6: She thinks this chair is just the right size and candy canes are her favorite food of course.


Day 7: She wandered into Miss Kaybrie's room to admire the star creation that is now adorning all of our bedroom trees. And yes, that is a purple tree.


Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? Won't you please link up and play along once a week until December 27th? You can share seven pictures, a few, or just one of your favorite Elf moments/memories of the week. All you have to do is grab the above button and put your blog link in the following linkup form. I look forward to seeing all of the Elf games and fun you are having!

Elf on a Shelf with The 4-Crow's 2012 will be posted the following Thursdays, hope you join in!
November 22
November 29
December 6
December 13
December 20
December 27


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Monday, November 26, 2012

#ThunderstruckBluRay Combo Pack #Giveaway

“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”- Kevin Durant.

Warner Bros. is proud to announce the release of Thunderstruck on DVD and Blu-ray December 4, 2012.

Westbrook and Durant- taken October 19, 2012 at BOK Center
Tulsa, OK

A Thunder-ific Surprise- tickets to his first Thunder game!

Of course, being from Oklahoma and huge Thunder fans, The 4-Crow's are super excited to help promote this movie with the fun widget brought to you by Warner Bros.!!!


About the Widget:
  • Free-Throw Challenge Game! Are you up for a Free-Throw Challenge? Show us your skills! Make as many baskets as you can and unlock special clips along the way 
  • 7 Thunder-ific Tips for Kids! Does your kid dream of going pro? Use these awesome tips to help them sharpen up their skills! 
  • Watch the Thunderstruck trailer! 

About the Movie:

NBA superstar Kevin Durant plays himself in this action-packed family film about a basketball star who switches talent with a klutzy 16-year-old fan. When Brian (Taylor Gray) magically switches basketball skills with his hero, Kevin Durant, he becomes the star of his high school team... while Kevin Durant suddenly can’t make a shot to save his life! But with the playoffs approaching, Brian learns that being a true winner means working hard at your own game, and he tries to make things right in time to prevent a catastrophic end to his hero’s season.


Obviously we are excited about the movie at Our Nest. 
Are you going to put the movie on your holiday watch list?
I am happy to announce that I have teamed up with Warner Bros. and PartenersHub to give one of my readers their very own copy of a Thunderstruck Combo Pack (Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Download).


The entry form is EASY! There is one mandatory question and bonus entries to be earned on the Rafflecopter form. Good luck and thanks for reading!

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this particular giveaway. This post is sponsored by PartnersHub and Warner Bros. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment.

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Elf on a Shelf Tradition Begins


It's Thanksgiving night here at The 4-Crow's and we were just sitting around flipping the channels between football and Charlie Brown when all of a sudden the doorbell rings, not once, but FOUR times!
Oh dear who could it possibly be?


A visitor from the North Pole already? 
 
Actually a brand new visitor to our family- her name is now Malia!
Last year we hosted a daily link up where we asked our readers to show us the daily activities of their elf. This year we will be doing only a weekly link up, showcasing a full 7 days of elf fun. Our other elf, Charley who is 40+ years old had to retire. He is still a part of our household, but because he is "vintage", I decided he needed to not be serving in any reindeer games this year. He is actually pictured in the above button, see his rips? You can read more about Charley here, also feel free to visit last years 24 days of linkups and see what all kinds of fun he had around our nest.

I hope you will plan on joining in on the fun and games. Grab the button on the left side of the blog and play along. I look forward to visiting your blogs!
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Today's Post...

Kaybrie at her Thanksgiving Feast at school!
...is at The RHOK!

Today The RHOK kids are "cooking" up Thanksgiving Dinner.
See how they "think" its done. I've also included some recipes from 1984, from my 1st Grade teacher. Thanks Mrs. Chaney!

My kids have a few ideas, but thankfully I will be sending them out of the kitchen this  particular Thanksgiving for any of you who might be concerned.
 


Kaybrie age 5-  Little Cornbread Muffins...one box of cornbread, one box of milk, crack an egg- don't put the shell in. Put them in Mommy's big mixer bowl. Grab a big spoon. Mix it up. Grab a small spoon and put in Grandma's little muffin pans. Then let Mommy put it in the oven until its finished. I'm not allowed to touch it when its hot.

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Saturday, November 17, 2012

Sausage & Cheese Muffins- Pinspiration Project Week 8


Welcome to the Eighth Edition of the Pinspiration Project Link Up from Beth at Masterpiece.


But before we get to my project for the week, allow me to introduce the Pinspiration Project.
There is a page (linked at the top of Beth's website) where you can find the button code for this link up as well as the images for the 0 – 5 Pins rating system. Feel free to find a Pinterest Project (recipe, craft, or etc.), create it, write about it on your blog, and link it up below. Looking forward to reading about the Pinspiration that you choose to share.


 I am preparing for my annual blog linkup and am pinning and starting to take advantage of the new "secret" boards- have you tried them yet? This years theme is, "A Very Pinteresting Christmas". It runs December 3-21 . It will be 15 days of fun Pinteresting Christmas ideas, with a IRL kickoff party in my home on November 30th with a few of my closest friends. I am really getting excited. I hope that you will join in on the fun with me and also join in with Beth at Masterpiece each week with her Pinspiration Project! Be sure to grab my button on the left side of my blog!

This weeks Pinspiration Project is from Plain Chicken- don't you love that blog name?
Sausage & Cheese Muffins
(recipe taken directly from Plain Chicken's site, my changes are marked in parentheses, with hers crossed out)

1 lb. hot (mild) ground pork sausage
1 tsp onion powder
3 cups all-purpose baking mix
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk (water or milk will work too) (I used skim milk and 1 C)

Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium to med-high heat, stirring until it crumbles and no longer pink. Drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 375. Combine sausage, baking mix, and shredded cheese in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Stir together the soup and buttermilk; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into lightly greased mini muffin tins, filling to tops of cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. (Yields 24)


Now, I will tell you a little secret about this mixture. It is THICK!!! I had to use my Extra Hands that I received a few years ago at my church's Christmas Gathering. Which BTW was the last two nights and was a blessing!!! This years gifts were a vintage ornament, an insulated lunch tote, a chevron bag and the BIG gift, a decorative tabletop lantern. My family loved these muffins, I think they are a little heavy- weight wise. My kids still wanted scrambled eggs with them though. What can I say, we love breakfast for dinner and if there is some left for breakfast in the morning- BONUS!!

I give this project...
What was your Pinspiration Project for the week? 
Please visit Beth at Masterpiece and link up.
Beth is actually postponing this project this week until after Thanksgiving, but be thinking about linking up and be sure to visit all of the past projects.

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Thursday, November 15, 2012

#Juppy Baby Walker: #Giveaway




The Juppy Baby Walker Giveaway hosted by: Coupon Crazy Sisters, Our 5 Cents, Mom Are We There Yet, and This Girl's No Expert.


The Juppy Baby Walker is a lifesaver for your back! When baby starts trying to walk it can be a huge strain on you to hold their hands and bend over while trying to help them but the Juppy takes ALL that strain away! This truly is a revolutionary product! 

You can read our reviews here, here, and here to see what real moms have to say about this amazing baby walker!

4 of us have teamed up and created this incredible giveaway! You have 4 chances to win a personalized Juppy for your little one! Yes I said we are giving away 4 Juppies!!!

The 4-Crow's is happy to team up with these four amazing blogs to help promote such a neat giveaway. I can certainly agree that it could really help make a parents life easier, 
Wish I would have had it 11 and 4 years ago, it would have saved a lot of back pain.

Good luck to everyone who enters.


Disclosure: The 4-Crow's was not compensated in any way for this event, nor am I responsible for shipping prize to winner.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Crockpot Italian Chicken- Pinspiration Project Week 7




Welcome to the Seventh Edition of the Pinspiration Project Link Up from Beth at Masterpiece.

But before we get to my project for the week, allow me to introduce the Pinspiration Project.
There is a page (linked at the top of Beth's website) where you can find the button code for this link up as well as the images for the 0 – 5 Pins rating system. Feel free to find a Pinterest Project (recipe, craft, or etc.), create it, write about it on your blog, and link it up below. Looking forward to reading about the Pinspiration that you choose to share.

I have actually completed four Pinterest Projects this week. I am preparing for my annual linkup. This years theme is,  "A Very Pinteresting Christmas". It runs December 3-21 . It will be 15 days of fun Pinteresting Christmas ideas, with a IRL kickoff party in my home on November 30th with a few of my closest friends. I am really getting excited. I hope that you will join in on the fun with me and also join in with Beth at Masterpiece each week with her Pinspiration Project! Be sure to grab my button on the left side of my blog!

This week's project is Crockpot Italian Chicken from The Girl Who Ate Everything.



Ingredients ( taken exactly from her site)
4 chicken breasts
1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

Instructions:
Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low in the crockpot for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it. I always cut the breasts into tenderloin size strips.

Once you have cut up the chicken, throw it back in the crockpot and stir into the sauce. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

The before picture. I always forget the after. Besides that's what is above.


Here are my findings. The sauce stuck to my crockpot terribly. I didn't spray my crock. Yuck. This resulted in a loss of about half my sauce, and an awful mess to clean up. Uh, oh! My family loved the recipe though. I served it over a pasta called- flowers?!? It was pretty!

I give this pin a rating of...



What was your Pinspiration Project for the week? 
Please visit Beth at Masterpiece and link up.


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Saturday, November 3, 2012

#Friends Trivia Challenge & Countdown Video with Giveaway


"So no one told you life was going to be this way.
Your job's a joke, you're broke, you're love life's DOA.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.

But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too..."
                                                       Rembrandts


And since you have been here for me this year, I am teaming up with Partners Hub and Warner Bros to celebrate the release of Friends: The Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set which releases November 13th. I am giving one of my readers a limited edition Friends prize pack with two oversized cappuccino mugs and a picture frame just like the one hanging outside of  Monica’s door.
I loved how that frame, framed that peephole so perfectly.



Here's a little bit about the widgets:

30 Days of Friends: Trivia Challenge- Come back everyday to earn a different Friends character badge, unlock hidden badges, and earn awesome Friends content along the way.

Which Friend Are You Most Like Quiz- Everybody loves the characters of Friends for their distinct and quirky personalities. Chandler’s wit, Monica’s OCD, and Phoebe with her free-spirit. Take this quiz to find out what Friends character you are most like!



 
 

Mashup Clip Countdown- Relive all your favorite Friends moments in these fun clips. Each week a new clip will be unlocked. Come back each week to check them out, you will get a bonus entry each week by telling me which Friends character is in the clip. 
The giveaway will end on 11/25 in order to get the winners address to the sponsor by 12/1, so the last week will not count toward entry.

Now, who wants this fun Friends Swag? All you have to do is a few steps and enter on the easy Rafflecopter entry form. Have fun with this one and good luck.
This was and still is one of my favorite tv shows! Sure wish they would do a reunion movie.
Hint. Hint.


Disclosure: I received no compensation for this particular giveaway. This post is sponsored by PartnersHub and Warner Bros. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment.

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Friday, November 2, 2012

Stove Clean Scene- Pinspiration Project Week 6

 
 
Welcome to the Sixth Edition of the Pinspiration Project Link Up from Beth at Masterpiece.
But before we get to  my project for the week, allow me to introduce the Pinspiration Project.
There is a page (linked at the top of Beth's website) where you can find the button code for this link up as well as the images for the 0 – 5 Pins rating system. Feel free to find a Pinterest Project (recipe, craft, or etc.), create it, write about it on your blog, and link it up below. Looking forward to reading about the Pinspiration that you choose to share.
 
 I have a gas stove. 
Anyone who cooks with gas knows that the grease, grime, burned on food on the grates and drip pans is nearly impossible to get off. I have tried Comet, Soft Scrub, my dishwasher, everything imaginable. 
During Fall Break, I even priced at Lowe's replacement parts. Yeah, that is not happening in the near future. The double drip pans alone are $12.99 and only come in black.
On Tuesday night, I found the following pin on Pinterest.
I guess she just had nasty grates to contend with.
 
 
 
Warning: What you are about to see is disgusting.
 I am ashamed, that I let the mashed potatoes last week boil over and hadn't cleaned it before now.

  Supplies needed: 
1 gallon Ammonia- $2
rubber gloves
scouring pads
 large sealable container, I used an ice chest
well ventilated space


Now, I must warn you when you start a Pinterest project such as this you will probably end up opening an entire stove clean scene. I mean really how can you have a clean cook top and the inside not be cleaned as well.


You are going to put the grates and pans into the large container and pour the ammonia over them. Let them sit overnight. My burner covers and the left drip pan were clean within about six hours. During that time is when you will do the other clean scene.
 

Now, I am not going to lie to you, you still have to use a little elbow grease. At least I did. Some of my baked on black,  I am sure had been on there for a good nine years. It is back wrenching elbow grease and grime. 
Be prepared for some work, but be even more prepared for the shock that I am about to reveal.


"Whoa Mommy, did you get a new stove?", straight out of the mouth of my five year old daughter.


I'm giving this Pinterest Project...
...because, cleaning is just not worth 5 pins, it did take more muscle than the original pin said, and unfortunately that stove is not going to stay clean forever.

What was your Pinspiration Project for the week? 
Please visit Beth at Masterpiece and link up.
 
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