Bringing Disney Junior Magic Home Everyday

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We recently took a family vacation to Disneyland, it was the high light of our summer! It was our first trip to Disney as a family, my husband's first time, and our children's first experience at Disney. My daughter is loving all things Disney Junior at the moment, we've been on the hunt for that perfect kids halloween costume! 

My husband and I were joking that we think they filter something through the air at Disney because it's just such a happy place! There's for sure magic in the air. 

Since our trip we've been thinking of ways to bring the Disney magic, joy and delight to our everyday.

Disney is a state of mind. It's a thing I'm sure of it! We can't wait till we get to visit Mickey again. 

I loved Disney as a kid, but seeing Disneyland through your children's point of view is so much better I think. 

Ava is loving all things Minnie Mouse since she met her at Disneyland this summer, she is equally loving all things Doc McStuffins. We headed to Walmart to find one of these costumes to bring our own Disney magic home. 

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Another fun way to bring home Disney magic and show your Disney side by using themed plates and cups. American Greetings has a great Disney Junior lined in the cards & party section. I picked up some festive plates and napkins of the kiddos to use during snack time!

A fun way to make snack time a little more Disney like! Ava loved her Minnie Mouse plates! 

I loved being able to come home with a Saturday surprise for them. It's the little things like this that matter, and I kinda like to think that's what Disney magic is all about. Celebrating the little things. 

What are some of your ways to bring Disney magic home? Are any of your kids excited to be a Disney Junior character for Halloween? Which one? 

Mom's Night Out Movie Review + Win a BLU-RAY DVD Combo Pack!

Moms really do rule the world! 

Have you seen Mom's Night Out yet?! I was able to see a pre screening of the movie earlier this year before it came out. I loved it so much I went and saw it again after it released!

Mom's Night Out is a funny and heart warming movie about what motherhood is really like! I literally sat in the movie theatre laughing as to how true the movie played out motherhood! Full of ups and downs, joys and chaos! 

This is a fun movie to grab your mama friends and settle in for the night and laugh together. I promise you'll see yourself in this funny movie about life & motherhood! It also has a very encouraging message about accepting ourselves the way God made us, giving ourselves a break and not being so hard on ourselves as mothers.

I'm excited today to be offering ONE lucky reader the chance to WIN a DVD BLU-RAY Combo Pack of the movie! Please use the Rafflecopter below for your entries! Winner will be announced via email when the contest is over! 

Happy Thursday Mamas! Be encouraged today that you are exactly where God wants you to be! 

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Keeping A Family Calendar

I'm all about calendars over here! I have a day planner that I keep a monthly/weekly schedule in, I also keep yearly birthdays and anniversaries in my phone. We also keep a monthly family calendar and hang it on the fridge. 

My husband does not keep a personal calendar so much, so the monthly calendar is more so for him to take a quick peek at when he's got questions about what's going on that month. 

Now that my daughter is officially in school this is a place where I put all her school parties, events and breaks.

What else goes on the family calendar?

Church events/commitments.

Parties/Events.

Family birthdays.

Vacations/ PTO Days.

Paydays, HOA Meetings, Bulk Trash Day. 

I used my favorite Sharpie fine point pens to add stuff to the calendar. 

I also used some fun washi tape to mark all of the school events for quicker reference. Another color of washi tape for family vacations and events. 

The calendar I used is one from The TomKat Studio. It's an awesome monthly calendar she makes available for free every year. Download yours here.

After I'm done marking it all up and getting it good and messy I just hang it on the side of my fridge with a binder clip! Simple and easy. 

I love having it handy to write things down as I need to.

Do you keep a family calendar too? What organization tips do you use? I'd love to hear them in the comments below.

An Afternoon of Painting

This past weekend I invited my Grandma to go painting with Ava and I. Have you ever been to one of those DIY pottery painting places before? They are one of my absolute favorite activities. For some reason I find the whole process very calming and relaxing. I've been a few times with friends, and Orion and I actually celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by going on a date to a pottery painting place.

I'd never taken Ava before, and since she's really into creative things like her mama I knew she'd had a lot of fun with this. We headed to As You Wish to paint pottery for the afternoon. Ava picked out a little pegasus horse, I took her over to pick out her paint colors which included orange, pink and speckled pink! She sure loves her some pink! 

I decided I wanted to paint a plate that said "Happy Birthday" on it that we could use each time a birthday rolls around and that special birthday person could eat their birthday meal or dessert on the plate. A new tradition for our family.

My Grandma who loves to paint as well choose to paint something for me that I could keep, she did a coffee mug for me. No surprise there she knows my love for a good coffee mug! 

I loved picking out our own colors. There's a wide variety, the staff is super friendly and helpful. They even had bottles of glitter and were going around to the tables asking the kiddos if they wanted a sprinkle of "mermaid magic!" So cute and of coarse Ava loved the idea of mermaid magic. 

While we were there a birthday party came in and they had everything set up for them to paint and party. I thought it was such a cute idea to do that for an older child's birthday! What a great memory. 

If you're looking for a fun activity to do with your children this summer and have never been to a painting place like this, it's an awesome choice for keep little ones busy this summer. As You Wish offers fun and interactive classes you can do as well. And coming in August they are having painting with Ariel, and a Father Daughter Date night event. See more details by visiting their site here. 

If you live locally in the Phoenix metro I have a fun giveaway for you. As You Wish is offering one lucky reader 1 FREE summer class ($30 value)! Classes run now through July 24th. Use the Rafflecopter below for your entries, for a full list of Phoenix locations please visit the link here. Contest ends July 16th! Winner will be chosen and emailed that evening. 

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Disclosure; I was invited by As You Wish to a painting experience, all opinions and thoughts are my own. As always I only write about experiences that we truly love and ones that I feel my readers will love and take advantage of as well. 

The Cookie DoughJo Experience

Summer is flying by fast, I just saw school supplies in Target this week! I've been trying to keep Ava busy this summer with fun activities and play dates. She starts school in August and I'm going to miss having her around with me as my side kick errrday all day! I want this summer to be super memorable for her and do a lot of fun things. 

Last week we visited a new local place called the Cookie DoughJo. The Cookie DoughJo is a fun little bakery that gets your little ones involved in the cookie making process. They offer cookie making classes and have space for larger groups for hosting birthday parties. 

Each kiddo got their own little apron to wear, and was handed their own mixing bowl and spatula to get started. They gave each kid their own recipe card, it was really interactive the way they went around explaining how to make them, and asking about which came next in the list of ingredients. This was really fun for little ones that knew how to read. But it got all the kids involved anticipating what was going to be added to their bowls next! 

We made M&M cookies! Ava loved placing the candies on top of the cookies after we scooped them onto cookie sheets. She may or may not have snuck a few chunks of raw dough too! 

We had so much fun together, Ava did most of it all on her own. She really loved mixing everything together and adding the M&Ms. When we were done they placed each cookie sheet into the ovens and we sat down and enjoyed some chocolate milk and cookies ourselves. 

They gave each kiddo a white gable box and let them decorate it with markers and stickers. Ava wrote her name and added a bunch of Frozen themed stickers to her box. 

It was a lot of fun seeing her take ownership of her cookies and decorating her box. 

If you live in the West Valley and are looking for an interactive way to keep your kiddos busy and entertained this summer I invite you to give this place a try. For class info and updates follow them on Facebook here.  I loved the whole experience, it reminded me of my high school job working at Cookies, Etc. 

The Cookie DoughJo is offering you a chance to win two cooking classes and an apron valued at $75 for you to have your own baking experience! The Cookie DoughJo is located in the West Valley in Peoria. Giveaway ends 7/18, please use the Rafflecopter below for your entries. 

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We were invited by the Cookie DoughJo to attend, all opinions and thoughts are my own. As always I only participate in events that are a good fit for my family and ones that I think my readers would enjoy as well.