Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wordless Wednesday-My Toddler of Terror! lol

This weekend we went to The Science Center in St. Louis.

While there my 14 month old played with some lego blocks they had on the wall. A boy that was at least twice his size came up and tried to play along side him. My son then "growled" at him and ended up making him cry! My cousin was along and snapped this photo of him as he was leaving the scene of the crime! lol.

*Notice the smirk on my son's face and the little boy wiping his tears in the background.

And I thought little girls were full of drama!

Hope you're enjoying your week!

P.S. If you want to be featured on my blog this Friday it's first come first serve! E-mail me (ozarkmamareviews at gmail) and I will post this Friday! : ) Thanks!




Thursday, March 24, 2011

Nutella Party Fun!





I was invited by MommyParties to host a Nutella® Breakfast Bar in my home and invite ten girlfriends to join me for breakfast! Sounds amazing right?!

Well, I had the best of intentions to follow their guidelines exactly but I wasn't able to get the breakfast part in with all the different schedules everyone had. Instead, we opted to do a play-date brunch at the park! The weather was perfect the days preceding the party and then the day of the party it decided to SNOW!!! So, to make it come together and happen, we still held the party but decided to go to the local mall and have the children play in their play center after the party was over. The party ended up being a success for those of my friends who could make it due to snow factors.

Before hosting this party, I had never tried Nutella® . So, I was very interested when the offer came. When my party package first arrived via the FedEx man, he said to me, "Is that REALLY Nutella in there?" (there was a sticker on the top of the box) and I said, "Yes it really is!" and he replied, "I love Nutella® !" lol. I knew that I was in for a treat! I opened up the box to search through it's contests and I was pleasantly surprised!


The kit included:
(1) 6.5oz Jar of Nutella® hazelnut spread for use during the party
(10) Nutella® spread sample packs and coupons for guests bags
(10) Nutella® spread guest bags
(10) Nutella® spread tumbler mugs
(10) Nutella® spread spreaders
(10) Nutella® spread tip cards for guests

and also recipe ideas for my Nutella® Breakfast BarParty activities: Everyday Breakfast Tips and Trivia . All of this was free of charge just for trying their product and blogging about how we liked it!

When all of my guests had arrived we talked about the different ingredients in Nutella® and how healthy Nutella® actually is for you. We also discussed different things Nutella® would be good on! We thought about different things such as frozen banana pops with Nutella® , Nutella® Truffles, Nutella® Smores. But honestly those things were just being indulgent! Nutella® goes really well with whole grain things such as waffles, English muffins, etc!

The taste of Nutella® is a sort of nutty chocolaty taste and it is super delicious! If I had just had a free sample of this from a store I would have immediately bought a jar to take home so this party had no influence over my opinion of the product! The taste and nutrition facts speak for themselves! I would recommend this product in limited amounts however, just because you will want to sit down and eat the whole jar. In small amounts it would be healthy but nothing is healthy if you eat the whole jar by yourself! : )

So, what did the guests think? They loved it! One guest remarked, "It's working! I'm going to have to go and buy a jar as soon as this party is over!" and they did! The children thought they were eating chocolate banana sandwiches and loved every minute of it. While, the moms sat back and smiled at the nutrition they were getting from it!

Thanks again Nutella® and Mommy Parties for providing my guests and I with such a wonderful product to review!

Want to win a case of Nutella® ? They are having a giveaway on their site right now!

Also, if you are interested to trying Nutella® or can't get enough Nutella® , here's a link to a $1.00 off coupon for the product : ) Enjoy!

*Disclaimer - I was selected by MomSelect to host this party on behalf of Nutella and was sent product and supplies to facilitate the party and giveaway to my guests. No monetary compensation was involved. All opinions are my own.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

St. Patrick's Day Parade for Springfield, MO


If you want to go it's going to be this Saturday (March 19) and it starts at NOON. Same place it always is: Commercial Street. There is a pet contest too! So dress up your animal in some "Irish" duds and see if they win : )

For More information on the Event:

http://www.springfieldstpatsparade.org/


Saturday, March 12, 2011

Featured Follower: Wear it Cuter

Today's Featured Follower is Jacyln from the Wear it Cuter Etsy Shop!

So, tell us a little bit about yourself!

Hello, my name is Jaclyn Dias, and I'm a craft-a-holic. I am married to my husband, Joseph, and we've been married for almost 3 years! We have one cute little boy named Alexander, Xander for short, and we love him to pieces! He just turned 2 years old and he's obsessed with Mickey Mouse and Blues Clues! We live in Springfield, MO and we are LDS! I also like to dance hip-hop, sing in church choir (and in my car), watch movies, oh...and I'm a big Twilight fan!

What are some of your favorite things to do during naptime?

Naptime is rare, but when Xander does finally fall asleep I like to craft of course!

What kind of products do you have in your store?

Wear it Cuter mainly features very cutesie jewelry such as necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, cell phone charms and keychains and accessories, usually made from old or new toys, plush animals, dolls, or anything super cute I can find! These cute things I often refer to as kawaii, which is a Japanese word for cute, and many of my items are inspired by Japanese streetwear. The latest Japanese craze, and what has inspired many of my new items, is called Fairy Kei. It refers to fashion that is over-the-top cutesy, with all the bows, ruffles and frills, all in pastel rainbow colors. If you really want to know what I'm talking about, just google "fairy kei" and you'll see what I mean! ;)

What made you want to start your store?

I originally began crafting with polymer clay. I saw items on etsy that I wanted to give as gifts, but they weren't quite perfect, and when I asked a seller on etsy to make some custom items for me, she declined. BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME!!! It was actually a blessing in disguise because then I started thinking, well I bet I could make it better myself, so I did! After that, anything that I saw that I liked, I created myself, but better, and I have been crafting ever since. My items became so popular with my friends that I decided to open my own online shop!

What is a favorite item that you have made?

I don't think I could choose a favorite item I've made...I love all of my cute creations!!! But the My Little Pony necklaces have always been my best sellers!


Anything else you want to add? (New products to look for at your store, etc)


I forgot to mention that I lived in Okinawa, Japan for four years (military brat) and so I not only love Japanese streetwear, I'm a big fan of Japanese animation and Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars and My Melody! You can see some of these characters in my shop! I just recently made some Little Twin Stars necklaces that I beaded myself!

Also, I have more than one shop...I actually have four total.
Check them out!
wearitcuter.etsy.com - Jewelry Shop
holditcuter.etsy.com - Bags, Bows, Boards and More Shop
makeitcuter.etsy.com - Supplies Shop
jaclyn33.etsy.com - Old jewelry shop...soon to be baby items


Well, thanks Jacyln for being featured on my blog! and remember guys if you would like check out one of Jacyln's shops and heart it for her!

*If you want to be a featured follower send me an e-mail: ozarkmamareviews at gmail dot com and I will send you a questionnaire to fill out! : )

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Wordless Wednesday- Rainy Day Aftermath!




After all the rain we had been getting, I let my daughter make her first Mud Pie with "sprinkles" on top! She was pretty proud of herself : )


Monday, March 7, 2011

500 Facebook Fan Celebration Underway!

This Event is now CLOSED!



*Click on Picture to go to event!*






I'm having my first giveaway celebration on my Facebook Fan Page! Please "like" my fan page and then enter the giveaways you choose! Enjoy! Giveaways are open for 2 weeks (if I make it to 1000 followers I will keep them open for 3 weeks : )

Thanks everyone!




Friday, March 4, 2011

Featured Follower: Toddler Boredom Busters

Today's Featured Follower is Valerie.

She runs an AWESOME blog called:





*click on button to enter blog*


So, Valerie, Tell us a little bit about yourself!


I have been married 6 years to the nerd...I mean LOVE of my life. He likes to help out with the kids and the Boredom Busting too!

I have 4 kids that I had in 4.5 years...my youngest was born 2/16/11.

We live in Colorado and hope to live here until 2031!!! - (when our youngest moves out)



What are some of your favorite things to do during naptime?


Sew, Craft, Dishes, Read, Eat Chocolate, Make Cards, Catch up on Friends/Family/Awesome Blogs!


What is your blog about?


30 minutes of fun for your toddler/preschooler - with items you have in your home. Not necessarily "teaching/curriculum" activities but just fun ideas to break up the day...get the creative juices flowing...turning off the tv and spending fun time with your kids.


What made you want to start your own blog?


I host a 3 year old co-op preschool 2x a week and an art group and wanted to share my ideas with friends and the moms in the group.


I hear your writing a book? What is it about?


I am writing a 4 part series of books for moms with toddlers and the benefits of teaching them while they are little.


Anything else you want to add? (Upcoming giveaways on your site, posts to look for, etc)



There is a HUGE giveaway in April. Crayola is a sponsor. I don't want to be a giveaway blog unless its something we can use together! :D

I have 2 degrees (Meeting Administration and Chemistry) and this summer I have a whole month on Math and another one on Science. I am so excited about it!

So, there you have it folks!

If you haven't already make sure to check out Valerie's blog:


and if you like what you see make sure to follow her with Google Friend Connect!

P.S. I love this website and have been using it for over 2 years now with my own children! : )


P.P.S. If you want to be on the list of upcoming Featured Followers for this blog please e-mail at:
ozarkmamareviews at gmail dot com !