Thursday, March 1, 2012

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! (Update)

At my house we're getting ready for an exciting day tomorrow, Dr. Seuss's birthday!


We're going to start the day with a FREE event at Discovery Gateway's Kem and Carolyn Gardner Theater.  They're having a birthday party for Dr. Seuss, filled with lots of fun activities for the kids, including a showing of a new The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That show!  If your kids are fans, you'll want to head on over there between 11 and 4 tomorrow.  (This isn't inside the museum, if you'd like to go to the museum as well, you'll need to pay admission prices to get in.)
Update: We had so much fun at this event and hope to be able to attend again next year!  We got to the museum at 10:15 and weren't able to get inside until 12:00, but were still lucky enough to be some of the first 500 people so the kids each got a Cat in the Hat hat (nice felt hats) and a Horton Hears a Who paint book.  They loved it!

After that party we are going to do our own party, and I would usually not post this until the party was over and I had pictures to show, but since most people would like to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday on his actual birthday, I'll share my ideas now so you have time to get ready.
We started by raiding our bookshelf, grandma's bookshelf and then the library (don't worry, I only borrowed 2 Dr. Seuss books from the library, I left some for everyone else!)  We've been reading through the books this week to get ideas.  The books we're planning to use for our party are: The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The Foot Book, Hop on
Pop, Oh the Places You'll Go and Mr. Brown can Moo, Can You?  That seems like a lot of reading, but I'll have three hours to fill and that's what Dr. Seuss is all about!

While the guests are arriving we're going to read One Fish Two Fish and use goldfish crackers and these cute fish printable placemats from obSEUSSed.com.  This will keep little fingers busy while we're getting everyone settled. 

Then we'll read Green Eggs and Ham and serve up green deviled eggs with ham sandwiches.  We're also making blue jello with Swedish Fish floating in it and serving Pink Ink (strawberry milk) to drink.
Update: Here's a picture of our Green Eggs and Ham Sandwiches.  The kids loved it, even though I don't think it looks very appetizing in this picture!

Update: This is a picture of our jello fish bowl.  My little boy was concerned that I put multiple fish in this bowl, since there is only one fish in The Cat in the Hat, but we needed enough for all the kids at the party to get a fish. ;)  The Berry Blue Jello was very delish!

  I'm still undecided about desert, I'll let you know when I figure that out. ;)
Update: My friend came to the rescue with a cute idea for dessert that I went with.  These adorable Dr. Seuss cookies come from Souders Studios.  I used their picture because I should have planned more in advance and actually bought better food coloring instead of just thinking I could use the plain colors I had at home.  Mine were not nearly as bright and colorful, but they were still very tasty!
After dinner we're going to read Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?  and just be silly acting like all the different animals and other objects like Mr. Brown while we read it.  When the book is through, we're going to be using an adorable dice and graph I found at 2 Teaching Mommies and letting each kid take a turn rolling the dice, acting out the sound on the dice, and then graphing it.
For our next book, The Foot Book, we are going to trace our feet and decorate them as silly as we can.
For Hop on Pop, we might get a little crazy, I'm just hoping no one gets hurt!  My kids love to take the cushions off my couch and jump on them.  I'm going to let them while they try to think of as many rhyming words as they can.  I think we'll try to set the cushions up like an obstacle course, with a rhyme required to enter.

To settle down and while we're waiting for parents to come pick up the kids, we'll be watching KUED's The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That Marathon.  I have it set to my DVR so we will be ready.

I'll be back after the party to post pictures and updates of how it turned out.
If you're planning your own Dr. Seuss party, or if you're just a Dr. Seuss fan, you'll want to be sure to check out all the cute ideas (and where a lot of my ideas came from) on obSEUSSed.com.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

2 Movie Tickets for $14

Date nights can get so expensive, so I'm always looking for a way to save a few dollars on dates we do a lot, like going to movies.  Today's Salt Lake City EverSave deal is $14 for 2 Hollywood Movie Money tickets.  Even though it's a Salt Lake City deal, any one should be able to purchase it, just be sure you have a participating theater location close to you.  Find out by heading over here, entering promo code 38524F and your zip code.  I had two theaters within 10 miles of me, although they weren't the typical ones I would have expected.
If you're new to EverSave, you might even get this deal for a little less, only $13. Every little bit helps! ;)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Treehouse Museum Membership Sale


Time's running out to take advantage of the 20th Anniversary Treehouse Museum Membership Sale!
Don't put off getting your membership any longer, you only have until February 29th to save $20 on your annual membership!  I grabbed mine yesterday, and for only $60 my family can enjoy another year of admission to the Treehouse Museum, plus access to their Members Only events.

My family loves the Treehouse Museum, and maybe the best part about it is that it's always changing, and adding new things for the kids to learn and explore.  My kids never get bored there!

Regular prices are $6 per child and $5 per adult.  So a for a family of four to go one time, it would cost $22.  If that same family buys a membership on this sale, for only $60, they will only need to go to the Treehouse 3 times to make up their membership costs, plus they will have already saved $6.  I try to take my kids at least once a month, and usually more.  A membership just makes sense for us.

To buy your memberships, head on over here, or just stop by.

Kids Eat FREE at Chili's 2/21 & 2/22

Wow!  We see these coupons a lot, but it's not very often that it's available for two days!

Today and tomorrow, February 21st and 22nd, take your whole family to dinner at Chilis - because kids under 12 eat FREE!  For each adult entree purchased you can receive up to 2 FREE kids meals!  That means that a young family of 6 can eat for the price of just 2 adults!  That's an incredible deal!
Just be sure to bring this coupon with you.


Monday, February 13, 2012

Buy 1 Get 1 FREE Chicken Sandwich at Burger King

Looking for a cheap lunch or dinner?
Bring a friend and head on over to Burger King now through March 5th, during regular lunch or dinner hours.  You'll be able to grab a FREE Italian Chicken Sandwich, Club Chicken Sandwich or Original Chicken Sandwich, with the purchase of another Chicken Sandwich.
No coupon is needed, but be sure to check that your Burger King is participating.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Buy 1 Get 1 FREE Disney Plush from Disney Store

If a trip to Disneyland is in your near future, here's a great way to save on souvenirs!
Head on over to Disney Store where you'll be able to get Buy 1 Get 1 FREE on their Plush Characters.  These are always a top pick for my kids when they're at the park, so Buy 1 Get 1 FREE saves us a lot!  While you're looking around at Disney Store, you may want to check out their selection of $10 PJ Pals and Nightshirts.  If your total comes to $75 or more, use coupon code SHIPTODAY to get FREE shipping.
I always like to buy souvenirs ahead of time and when they're on sale so we don't go crazy while we're at Disneyland.

FREE Baby Sling! (Just Pay Shipping)

If you're in need of a baby sling, or just want a great *and cheap!* baby shower gift, head on over to Seven Slings to get a FREE baby sling.  Choose your sling and enter coupon code VALENTINE at checkout. You will just need to pay shipping, which when I bought mine was about $15.  I have this cute green one pictured above and I love it.  And it came within just a couple of days of ordering it.
(Thanks Janiel!)

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Valentine "Sock Hop" Party

I was looking through this month's issue of Martha Stewart Living (another of my FREE magazine subscriptions!) when I came across the cutest Valentine party idea - a Sock Hop!  How could I not run with that idea???
I immediately got to work on super simple invitations and invited 9 kids to come "dance the night away" at our sock hop.  To put a fun twist to the "sock hop" theme, I had them each come wearing their favorite silly socks.  I also asked them to bring Valentines to pass out to each other.


Then it was on to my favorite part...the play list!  It may be because when I was growing up my Mom would always have the "oldies" playing when we were in the car, but there is just something about 50's music that makes you jump up and dance!  I tested a few of the songs on my list out on my kids, and sure enough they were dancing immediately.  Some of the songs I added to the list are: Jailhouse Rock, Sugar Sugar, Good Golly Miss Molly, At the Hop, Grease Lightning, La Bamba, Twist and Shout and so many more, I could have gone on and on until we had more songs than time for our party!
We served pigs in a blanket with tater tots, mixed berry applesauce (so it was pink), cheese slices cut out in the shape of a heart, and pink (strawberry) milk. 


Then I had sugar cookies for the kids to decorate and then eat for desert.  We set out pink and white frosting, Valentine's sprinkles, big pink and white heart shaped marshmallows and conversation hearts.  They each ate a cookie and then took a plate of cookies that they decorated home with them.

After decorating cookies we made some fun Valentine paper bag puppets that I ordered from Oriental Trading.  These puppets doubled as our Valentine bags when we turned them upside down.

After our craft we played a few games of Bingo.  I found the cutest downloadable Valentine Bingo Game at Prepared Not Scared.  This version of Bingo is even cuter, because it's called "Be Mine!" and that's what you have to yell out when you win, instead of just "Bingo!"  My little girl picked out Valentine candy corn to use as our markers, and those worked perfect, but you can choose anything you like.  (I noticed after that they also have a darling version for preschoolers that may be better for a young group.  Check it out here.)  I laminated mine so that I will have it to use in years to come, it really is that cute!
Of course we danced all throughout our party, and to end the party the kids were definitely "hopping" when their parents came to get them.  I felt a little guilty about the sugar high I gave these kids, but justified it by hoping they worked out some of their energy with all the dancing they did!  With the Super Bowl being today, I'm glad that the kids were able to have their own fun party last night so I won't feel as bad that they won't be having a blast at the party tonight.

Friday, February 3, 2012

My Gym in Layton Enrollment Night Open House

If you've always wanted to find out what My Gym is all about, bring your kids on over to their Layton, Utah location from between 5 and 7 tonight and find out!  They're having their FREE Enrollment Night Open House, so your kids can go try it out and see if it's something you'd be interested in joining.  My kids absolutely love going to My Gym!

World Book Night: Sign up to Receive and Give Away 20 FREE Books!

Yesterday I got a very exciting email, letting me know that I had been chosen as a World Book Night Giver!  That means that I will receive 20 books of my choice (I'm not sure which book I'll get yet, since I had to put in my top 3 choices) to hand out to light and non readers in my community!
If this looks like something you'd be interested in, you're in luck!  There are still some spots available!  Just hurry on over here to find out my information and to sign up.  You'll be able to pick your top 3 choices of books from the list here.  There are so many good books on this list, it will be hard to choose!  My email did say that so many people signed up for The Hunger Games that not everyone will be able to get that as their first choice, so just a heads up on that.
Good Luck!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Panda Express: FREE Firecracker Chicken - Today Only!

Happy Chinese New Year!


Print off these coupons and head on over to Panda Express for some yummy deals this week!
Today only, you can get a FREE Fire Cracker Chicken single serving - no purchase necessary - yay for FREE lunch!
Tomorrow through February 14, you can use the other coupons on that page to get 10% off your entire purchase or FREE Fire Cracker Chicken, or any entree of your choice, when you buy a 2-entree plate.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Chinese New Year Party

Last night we had a very fun Chinese New Year party!

We had 7 kids under the age of 7, so we had to try to keep things simple, but it turned out great.
We asked everyone to wear red to help bring good luck for the new year!  We started off with a yummy dinner of glazed almond chicken, rice and egg rolls.  We really should have had dumplings, I'll remember that for next year. ;)  We ended our meal with fortune cookies, of course!  We had chopsticks (cheater chopsticks since the kids were so little) for anyone who wanted to try them out.
Since it's the year of the Dragon, after dinner we made these cute hand print dragon crafts I found from Oriental Trading.  The kids had a fun time making them, and it was fun for them to see what a Chinese dragon looks like, verses the ones they're used to seeing in their story books.

For the games, we used our cheater chopsticks to have races of who could pick up and put the most marshmallows into their bowls.  Then we played the traditional rock, paper, scissors game that's played in China, starting on our bottom step and the winner of each game went up a step until the final winner got to the top step and won the game.  My son even taught everyone how to say "rock, paper, scissors" in Chinese!

After the games we watched Ni Hao, Kai-lan's Happy New Year show.
Then we read a couple of books,  The Princess, the Mud Pies, and the Dragon (that my son's teacher sent home with him this weekend - perfect!) and a book we have all about Dragons.

To finish off the night, each kid got a Chinese yo-yo to play with and take home.

If you'd like to make my mother-in-law's delicious and simple glazed almond chicken, here is the recipe I used:
2 lbs chicken breasts, 1/4 cup flour, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons ketchup, sliced almonds

Cut chicken breasts into strips (bite size for kids).  Dip into flour, salt and pepper.  Lightly brown in oil.  Place in 9x13 baking dish.  Mix other ingredients: vinegar, water, sugar, salt and ketchup, until well blended.  Pour over browned chicken breasts.  Sprinkle almonds over the top of the sauce.  Bake at 350 until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.

I doubled the recipe and left off the almonds since we had some kids with allergies.  If you'd like extra sauce to pour over your rice, you could double that part of the recipe.

Chinese New Year is January 23 this year!  Happy Chinese New Year!

Monday, January 16, 2012

FREE Tickets to Disney on Ice Opening Night with Book Donation

On January 23rd from 11:00 am to noon, head on over to the Energy Solutions Arena (301 West South Temple in Salt Lake City) - Plaza Door 6.  Bring a new or gently used book with you.  The first 500 people to donate a book will receive a FREE ticket to Disney on Ice Toy Story 3 Opening Night!
The books will be donated to low-income families and preschools throughout Salt Lake City.  So come support this great cause and get a FREE ticket to Disney on Ice! 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Puss In Boots Blu-ray/DVD Combo Only $19.99!

If you're planning on buying the new movie Puss in Boots, you may want to hurry on over to Amazon where currently you can grab the Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack for only $19.99!  Just use coupon code SOFTPAWS to save $5 now through January 15th.  You can also use this coupon code on the 3D version or just the DVD. 

Monday, January 9, 2012

Save on Lagoon Season Passes

If you want a good deal on Lagoon season passes, you don't have much time left before prices go up!
Hurry on over here to grab tickets for $89.95 each plus tax.  Soon prices will go up to $92.95 each plus tax when you buy 4 or more, or $102.95 when you buy less than 4.
Last year my family really got our money's worth out of our tickets, and so although $89.95 seems like a lot, when we figured how many times we went we felt like it was a steal!