Madagascar 3 Circus Circle Party! #Madagascar3

To celebrate the release of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted in theaters on June 8th, I was chosen by DreamWorks Animation and Crowdtap to host a circus party for the release of the movie.  They sent me the following in a digital package FREE to make me the hostest with the mostest!

• A crack-a-lackin recipe for Marty's zebra cake
• A classic game with a "mad" twist featuring Gloria
• Decorations, masks and face paint ideas to get everyone into the Madagascar mood
• Fun activities and games to keep the party movin'

For our party we decided to make it a Mad 2 Movie Party! We served popcorn, peanuts, nachos, cheezits, cokes, bottled water and of course Marty's Zebra Cake! The kiddos had lots of fun coloring the activity sheets and making the masks and of course I had the camera handy to capture the "ZOOSTERS" in action!

We've heard how great Madagascar 3 is and can't wait to watch it ourselves. Thank you DreamWorks and Crowdtap for this opportunity!

Marty's Zebra Cake Recipe

Eggs – 4
Sugar – 1C
Milk – 1C
Oil – 1C
Vanilla Powder ???- 1/3 t, I used vanilla extract
All Purpose Flour – 2C

Baking Powder- 1T
Cocoa– 2T

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar until creamy and light in color.
Add milk and oil, and continue beating until well blended.
Add vanilla extract to the mixture. Gradually add flour and then beat until the batter is smooth.
Divide the mixture into 2 equal portions. Keep one portion plain. Add cocoa powder into another and mix well. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Lightly grease the baking tray with oil.

The most important part is assembling the cake batter in a baking pan. Scoop 3 heaped tablespoons of plain batter into the middle of the baking pan. Then scoop 3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter. If you're careful you should find concentric circles of alternating colors forming in the tray. Repeat until all the mixture is used.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. I don't think I need to tell anyone how to check and see if a cake is done. Use a toothpick. Then decorate it how you want when cool and eat.  (Now, I am not going to lie to you, my baking powder was OLD, so this will be a remake at my nest. Don't you hate when that happens? This is just a simple marble cake recipe for crying out loud!)

It's Melman and Gloria...or is it?

Very pleased with her creations!

Marty wears glasses?

Ha Ha..silly Zoosters!
(not the best picture, but...honestly how often do you catch a lion, giraffe, hippo and zebra all together?)

Woolite® Extra Dark Care: Finally a Saving Grace for Denim

Wooliteer's use Woolite® because they love their wardrobe and don't want to torture it. I was given the chance by Crowdtap to host an exclusive Woolite® Extra Dark Care event and vie to become America's Next Top Wooliteer. This is an exciting opportunity to showcase my love of fashion and spread the word about how Woolite® can keep denim and dark clothes looking like new for longer.

My party ended up being a little different from the prescribed norm. I held it throughout the day and talked up the product and showcased it over a six hour period. I thought outside the box for people who don't always get the opportunity to try new products, who NEED new products! My co-workers at the pre-school. We typically wear dark clothes, jeans and t-shirts for the most part and unfortunately these items get ruined easily with the stains and frequent washes they go through. 

A few of my friends/co-workers posing with their sample and the Woolite® jean bag! Aren't they cute and such good sports?

I can't believe how terrible my wardrobe looks after only a year and a half a the preschool! YUCK! The sad thing is, I am not one to go and buy jeans very often, I'm a hard fit. They have to be long enough in length and high enough in the waist or I will not wear them! Oh, and fashionable. I do have a few pair of jeans that I refuse to wear to work, my holey ones. The babies, just rip the holes worse than before.

 When my daughter saw these pictures, she wanted to pose with the Woolite® bag also, so we had some more fun modeling, she in her jean shorts and me in my jeans. Why not? It's not every day I get to hold up a 10.9 sign!

Gettin' my Grill On! #GrillAmabassdor #GrillMate

I am a McCormick Grill Mates® Grill Ambassador. A what? Bet you didn't know that I like to get my grill on? Oh yes I do, you see I learned ummm last year, that in order to keep the temperature in my house down in the summer that I better learn to grill- and its just not fair to my husband to ask him to do it at 5:30PM with the west sun beating down on our grill.When Crowdtap introduced the opportunity to apply to be a Grill Ambassador and host a grill party I jumped at the opportunity to try out the new McCormick Grill Mates® seasonings! I couldn't believe I was picked!We hosted our party today- Memorial Day! What a great day for it. Food, Family & Fun!

I was provided with these five seasonings from McCormick- Yum!

• Grill Mates® Spiced Brandy & Herb Marinade
• Grill Mates® Slow and Low Memphis Pit BBQ Rub
• Grill Mates® Montreal Steak Seasoning Blend
• Grill Mates® Molasses Bacon Seasoning Blend
• Grill Mates® Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce

We used the Molasses Bacon rub on the chicken breast.

I made a marinade of oil, vinegar & Montreal Steak seasoning for our ribeye & sirloin.

Steaks are sizzling!

See- I am a GrillMaster!

I love grilled chicken!

Some of the meat- everyone raided the plate before I could get a piled high picture! Isn't that the way it goes?

My plate- chicken, steak, corn on the cob, black eyed peas and potato salad!
Note: there is still some white of the plate left- LOL!

This table didn't even look up for a picture!

Corny Crow loves her food! Check out that plate!

Do you like to grill?

 Try out McCormick Grill Mates®. They are found in the seasoning aisle at your local grocery store!

Uh Oh, Watch Out World, Fresh Breath in the Nest...

Sometimes being an 11 year old just isn't fair. It's that awkward stage between being a child and a teenager. What really stinks is smells. Even worse, when your Moma constantly tells you about it and now is putting it on her blog for the world to read. You see the one smell that constantly reeks is bad breath. No matter how much he brushes, flosses, or uses kids mouth wash it just doesn't go away. Maybe its because he is losing and gaining teeth so fast that the tooth fairy can't keep up- yes, the tooth fairy still visits, we have a four year old sister who has yet to lose any teeth.

When Crowdtap offered me the opportunity to review the new LISTERINE Total Care Zero Mouthwash, I jumped on it. It has ZERO alcohol and a less intense flavor than prior LISTERINE'S.

All four of us can use this!

The new formula does the same that the LISTERINE Total Care including:

• Restores enamel
• Helps Prevent cavites
• Streghtens teeth
• Kills the germs that cause bad breath
• Freshens breath
• Cleans the whole mouth 

Here is a video I shot of my son trying out the new LISTERINE Total Care Zero. (I promise, I did get on to him for leaving the water running afterward.)  We found that the LISTERINE Total Care Zero still has a little burn at the beginning so you know that it is working, but it goes away. Our breath also still feels fresh and clean within a few hours after using.

Are you ready to try it now? If so click here for a $1 coupon. Let me know how you like it!

Disclosure- I received the product I reviewed free of charge so I could do an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation. My reviews are 100% my own and others may have different opinions. A BIG thanks to Listerine and Crowdtap for the opportunity to do this review!