If you visit this blog with any frequency, you know I am big on desserts!  I love to have something sweet to finish off a meal, but sometimes preparing a meal for my family of six is about all I can handle at the end of a long day.

That's where Private Selection Upside Down Cakes come into play!  Available at your local Kroger brand stores, including Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Fry's, Gerbes, Pay Less, QFC, JayC, King Soopers, Owens, Ralph's, Smith's and Fred Meyer.  You just warm, flip and serve the Private Selection cake.  It couldn't be easier.

The Private Selection Upside Down Cakes come in 3 distinct flavors, so there is a cake for any taste.  Choose between German Chocolate Fudge, Double Chocolate Molten and Amber Honey Apple Spice prepared using only the best ingredients.  It makes it truly taste homemade.  Premium quality without the premium price!

And speaking of price, be sure to check out the $1.00 off coupon!  You can increase it to $2 by sharing with your friends, too.  So get your very own  Private Selection Upside Down Cakes coupon!

Be sure to check out Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Facebook and Private Selection Upside Down Cakes on Pinterest  and learn things like what ice cream would pair perfectly with your Private Selection cake!

Want to try the Private Selection Upside Down Cakes?  Find out where you can get them with the store locator!

*Disclaimer: Coupon ends 6/2/13.  Official rules.  In order to load these coupons to your card, you will need to sign into your Kroger account or set up your Kroger account and enter your card number.  Limit one use per digital coupon.  Digital offers are not eligible on Manager's Specials, cannot be combined with manufacturer paper coupons on the purchase of a single item, and do not double.  Not all items are available in all stores.  A limit of 150 coupons can be loaded per household at one time.

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Disclaimer: Compensation and products for review were provided by Glidden via MomTrends.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Glidden.

The boys were excited to reveal their new Cars themed room to their friends.  Eli’s best friend, Jacob, arrived to our Cars Party first, and Eli took him straight to his room to show it off. 

Besides the fun details we had done, like painting the arrows and Mater in Glidden Disney Magnificent Metallics that I showed you last time,  we also used a package of peel and stick wall decals we had gotten at Walmart to decorate the bunk beds.  I love how fun it makes the beds, and how the low tack adhesive allows them to easily be removed when the boys outgrow the Cars theme.

Also, check out Eli’s new Cars bedding that Momtrends had sent us!

They climbed up into the top bunk to check out Mater up close!

He was also a big hit with my nieces!

Eli and Jacob were loving the Lightening McQueen right next to Eli’s pillow.  A change that I did to both Disney characters that I painted using a stencil I downloaded from the Disney Paint site since you last saw them here, was that I used a paint pen from the Walmart craft section in black and outlined them.  I think it really makes them pop a bit more!

After everyone had checked out the room and oohed and aahed over Mater and Lightening McQueen, they broke out the Cars toys for some fun.  This included lots of role playing with the die cast versions on our Cars playmat we purchased at Walmart.

They also had fun playing with the Micro Drifters set we had purchased for the party at Walmart as well.

We had picked up this great Champ ribbon/button in the party section and had planned on giving it to the winner of the micro drifter races, but we had a boo boo with my niece getting her finger shut in the door.   She really was a champ, icing it for a few minutes but then out the door and into the backyard with everyone else!

Which is where everyone else headed, now that the weather is finally warming up.  There was lots of playing, racing cars and even a bit of lightsaber fighting for good measure!

At the end of our get together we handed out Cars themed goody bags, also from Walmart.  The whistles that were part of the goody bag were a big hit!

And one of our Mom attendees won the Walmart gift card door prize!  I was sure to tell her all about the Glidden Disney Paint line available exclusively at Walmart.  I am already drooling over the All That Glitters line that my nieces would love!

Everyone in our party loved the updates to the boys room as much as we did!  It was great to see their friends and family light up with recognition of their beloved Disney characters on the wall.  I especially loved how they all reached out and touched the characters, running their fingers over the cool feeling metallic paint.

I am actually thinking of other ways to use the specialty paints in the Glidden Disney Paint line around our home.  Even in a decidedly more mature fashion.  With so many different paint finishes and colors, the possibilities are endless!

Looking for more great ideas to use the Disney paints for?  Check out the #DisneyPaintMom Pinterest board!

The post A Cars Party with Glidden Disney Paint #DisneyPaintMoms appeared first on Momma D and Da Boyz.

I was looking to make something that was fun and screamed that spring is finally here for my front door.  I purchased a large chipboard initial from the craft store, as well as a bright green cotton yarn.

With my handy dandy hot glue gun I set to work covering my letter D.  I’m not going to lie, it was tedious.  But I did it in segments of about 20 minutes every couple of days, which made it more manageable.

In the party supplies aisle of Hobby Lobby I found these cute pinwheel picks in a variety of colors.  I chose sherbet colors and picked up 2, at only 99 cents a piece.

I wanted to see if I could make it so that the pinwheels would still spin on the monogram.  I decided to just cut off the pick with a pair of large scissors.

Then I just hot glued them into place, being sure to hold them upright until the glue set.

Then I just added a matching polka dot ribbon and bow and hung it on my front door.

I love how it came out.

It does just what I wanted it to, announcing warm weather in grass green with fun pops of color.

When my teen came home from a track meet this evening he stopped at the door and remarked “now this is cool”.

And yes, they do still spin!

I’ll be linking up here:

The post Fun Monogram Wreath appeared first on Momma D and Da Boyz.

I received samples to facilitate this post, but no other compensation was received.

  Looking for something fun to do with your family this weekend?  If you have a little train fanatic like I do and are in the Greater New York City area, be sure to head to Grand Central Station on Saturday.

From 10 am to 1 pm this Saturday, May 11, 2013 stop by Vanderbilt Hall in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.

The TOMY “Master Builder” will attempt to set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for Tallest Toy Train featuring Chuggington StackTrack™.

TOMY must construct a towering layout utilizing the Chuggington StackTrack die-cast railway track that exceeds 9 feet 8 inches TALL.

I had a hard time wrapping my head around how they were going to make such a tall structure, not being familiar with the StackTrack design.

But last week, when I was at the Time To Play Spring Showcase, I was able to see what they meant in person.

See how they lock into each other? It is really limited only by your imagination.

Well, this Saturday a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Adjudicator will be on site to authenticate the record-setting event and present a certificate that officially proclaims TOMY as the World Record Holder.  What an exciting event!

Families are invited to check out the Chuggington areas in the Kids Junction featuring fun train activities, games, giveaways, and entertainment, including The Radio Disney 1560 Road Crew.

My youngest was so excited when the day after Time To Play a package arrived for him from the great people at Chuggington Die-Cast.  Complete with Chuggington StackTrack die-cast railway track for him to try.

In just a few minutes he had the hang of snapping them together and stacking them high.  Something that I cannot say for his wooden train set.  That takes hours of careful planning and frustration.  This Chuggington set was so much easier for him to get to playing!

I loved watching him play and creating.

I know he’s hooked and we are going to be building our Chuggington StackTrack collection!

The post Chuggington StackTrack Tallest Toy Train World Record Attempt appeared first on Momma D and Da Boyz.

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Kmart and Shop Your Way for Sandra Lee’s World’s Largest Bake Sale.  #WorldsLargestBakeSale #cbias #SocialFabric

On May 1st the World’s Largest Bake Sale hosted by Sandra Lee happened in Grand Central Station’s Vanderbilt Hall.  This event was sponsored by Kmart and ShopYourWay to benefit the food bank for New York City as well as Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.

Some of the celebrity guests for the event were Rosanna Scotto, Maro Batali and Buddy Valastro.

Ty Pennington was there as well, and when I had a chance to talk to him he expressed how shocking the statistics are about children going hungry in our own country.

Did you know that in our country, the world’s wealthiest nation, more than 16 million children struggle with hunger?  That is 1 in 5!

Mario Batali talked about when 20% of our children have food insecurity it is a call to action, and I definitely agree.

Did you know that in our country, the world’s wealthiest nation, more than 16 million children struggle with hunger?  That is 1 in 5!

I am from a rural upstate community, and we are one of the poorest counties in New York State.  I see first hand the children in my sons’ social circles who struggle with hunger.  It breaks my heart when my eldest and I discuss how to give a friend food without offending his mother.  When I talk with a teacher about this boy who is only eating lunch at school every day and maybe a small something for dinner.  These children need to worry less about their next meal and more about being kids!

I loved what Buddy, from Cake Boss, had to say about the #WorldsLargestBakeSale.  Especially loved how he talks about his dad and his inspiration for being involved.

I headed over to the actual bake sale part of the event and was amazed at the number of vendors and the variety of fabulous products available.  And everything was $5, which could provide 50 meals for each donation!

Want to get involved?  Between now and May 31st, Kmart will donate $1.00 to Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry up to $10,000 each time you spread the word on Facebook and Twitter or share a Sandra Lee recipe card with friends and family.  So get to sharing!!!

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This week I had the chance to check out some of the toys that will be hot this spring and summer at the TimeToPlay Spring Showcase.

With the summer blockbuster season right around the bend, some of the hottest toys will be related to the big movies.  Take Ironman 3 that comes out this week.  There are some great new merchandise in both the role playing and the action figure arenas from Hasbro.

With the release of Man of Steel coming up, Mattel focused on making Superman do what everyone knows him for, fly!  These great sling shot type stretchy figures are so much fun, and at around $8 are a great price point for your little ones allowance money.

Despicable Me 2 will becoming to a theater near you, and the inadvertent star of the first movie will be making the appearance on the toy store shelf.  The unicorn made famous by “it’s so fluffy I wanna die” will now be able to be picked up and loved by your favorite little Agnes.

Some of my favorites that will help pass the long days of summer vacation come from Razor.  I love both the convertible scooter on the left that can go from three wheels to two as your preschooler advances, and the version you can just see the back of in the bottom right corner that has chalk on the back that lets your scooter rider scribble on the pavement as they go.

And speaking of the perennial favorite, sidewalk chalk, Crayola has a product that makes you go “hmmm”.  They have a new square sidewalk chalk, so that when you put down one color while drawing with another it doesn’t roll away.  Brilliantly simple!

Finally, I just wanted to throw in my favorite new find for my boyz.  They are HUGE Skylander fans, but haven’t really gotten into much of the licensed toys outside of the game itself.  This is going to change with the Skylanders Mega Bloks collection!  I love the attention to detail, like the portal of power that lights up with the figure!  I can’t wait to share these with my guys!

Those were some of my favorites from the TimeToPlay Spring Showcase! 

I received no monetary compensation in exchange for this post.  I did receive a swag bag for attending the event.  As always, all opinions and experiences expressed are my own.

The post Toys For Spring & Summer 2013 appeared first on Momma D and Da Boyz.

Last weekend I went to the annual Getting Gorgeous event in New York City.  It is an afternoon of beauty, pampering and looking good hosted by my friends Vera of Lady and the Blog and Audrey of Mom Generations.

By the time I was done with the day I felt ready for summer to come my way.  I especially was loving these great affordable sunglasses from Foster Grant!

One of my favorite parts of the day were the different stations set up by the CVS Extracare Beauty Club.  I enjoyed a mini manicure using Sally Hansen products, found the perfect BB cream for my skin type and tone, and then had my hair done.

The stylist used this amazing curling iron from Conair.  It curls your hair at the touch of a button.  You place the iron about halfway up your hair and then press a button and the iron rotates and curls the hair itself!  I LOVED it.

It took just a few minutes to curl all of my hair, then we flipped my hair upside down and finger combed out the curves for an easy beachy wave.

Drinks for the event were provided by Bacardi.  Loved the edible flower garnishes!

One of the new companies I learned about was Jade & Jasper.  They have great jewelry with fun statement necklaces and pieces to serve a variety of tastes.  I love their motto, Champagne jewelry at wine prices.

There was a small greeting card company called Love Jac Cards there, and I loved their unique blend of photography and typography with cute wording.  This one says “I’m glad we’re friends, and not just on facebook”.

New Balance was there with a new line from Heidi Klum.  I adore these New Balance skimmers.  The insides have a to die for gel cushioned foot bed.

Coolibar was a company I had never heard of that carries all things related to sun safe.  Not just fabulous hats, but an entire line of clothing with SPF built in and made of amazing fabrics.

Right before leaving we went outside and took a turn packing a Chevy Traverse with standard family at the beach gear.  Loving Lauren from Raising Three Savvy Ladies working hard!

Other sponsors of the event included:

Dial

Downy

Harlequin

Haute Tags

Puffs

Stokke

Thyme Maternity

Tide

No monetary compensation was received for this post.  I did receive a swag bag in exchange for my attendance.  All opinions and experiences expressed are my own.

The post Getting Gorgeous 2013 appeared first on Momma D and Da Boyz.

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and UrgentRX #cbias #SocialFabric

As a mom of four, life is very busy.  Add in my blogging commitments on top of my family’s schedule and, like most moms, I am have to take advantage of every moment.

Spring is full bloom here in New York, and can I say finally?  But along with the warmer weather comes allergies for my oldest son.  In our household we know that as soon as the forsythia start to bloom outside his window, Seth will start showing signs of seasonal allergies.  Well guess what happened this weekend?

I was on my way to New York City for a blogging event, and as I take the bus into the city I was headed to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  Luckily the Port Authority also houses a Duane Reade drugstore.

I was looking for allergy relief for Seth, my son, because as soon as I got back from the event we had a mother/son date planned.  I didn’t need to look far.  Right near the checkout, located at both entrances of the store, are these great UrgentRx kiosks.

Each kiosk contains these packets of  medications for use on the go.  They have UrgentRx for the following issues:

1. Head Ache Relief
2. Heart Burn Relief
3. Allergy Attack Relief
4. Upset Stomach Relief
5. Ache and Pain Relief
6. Critical Care Aspirin

To make it even more convenient, if it isn’t already enough, is that it the UrgentRx products are fast powders that need no water to take them.

I purchased two packs, one for use that day and another to stick in my purse whenever Seth might need one.  Whether that is at one of his track meets at another school or the ball field watching his brothers play little league, I know that we have a way to combat his allergy symptoms even when I might not have planned ahead.

See more of my shopping for UrgentRx at Duane Reade in my Google+ story here.

I love how small these are!  The flat packages can easily fit in your purse, or even the pocket of a pair of jeans.  All you need to do is tear open the container and take the fast acting powder.  No need for water to help you swallow a pill!

What a great idea in an easy to use product!  I am so happy to have found these, and especially at the Duane Reade in the bus terminal.  I know what I’ll be using whenever I am on the go for the blog and have an upset stomach, headache, or allergic reaction!

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For a limited time head to your local Target and check out the cereal aisle.  For a limited time you can relive your childhood with “retro” themed Big G cereal boxes.  with special edition classic packaging from the 1950’s, ’60s and ’80s!

Personally, I am in love with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch that I remember on my breakfast table when I was in elementary school.  Daddy D and I were chattering away about our memories of this box and that time in our lives.  It was a fun trip down memory lane, and was great to share with our kids.

To help celebrate the event, Big G has team up with Hasbro®, offering a $5 coupon on Clue® Vintage, Scrabble® Vintage, Parcheesi® Vintage or Risk® Vintage board games at Target!  The D love family loves these vintage boxed games from Target and have been collecting them for years now.  We have a shelf full!  These are a great way to treasure family time by doing a family game night.

Check out all of the General Mills Specials at Target before heading there, and print off a this great coupon for $1 off of 2 General Mills cereal to make it an even greater deal.  Participating Big G cereals include: Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (16.2 oz.), Lucky Charms® (16 oz.), Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.), Cheerios® (18 oz.) and Cocoa Puffs® (16.5 oz.)

Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

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Compensation and products for review have been provided by Glidden and MomTrends.  All opinions and experiences expressed, as always, are my own.

We have been working on a refresh of the little boyz room using the new Disney Glidden Paint available exclusively at Walmart.  They have a car themed room, but were excited to be able to add a little more Disney Cars pizazz to their digs.

First we looked at the Disney Paint website which gave us so much information!  Everything from videos on how to apply the specialty paints to room painting widgets and stencils that you can print and try.

Eli and I headed off to Walmart and purchased three of the specialty paints.  Two were in the Magnificent  Metallic line, and the third was from Great Slate.

I then set to work figuring out how to get my boyz favorite characters next to their beds.  I took the Disney template of Mater and Lightening McQueen to my local copy store and had them blow it up for me.  This cost all of 25 cents a piece and was a huge time saver rather than trying to figure out how to enlarge it and print it on the computer.

So this is what I started with.

I simply took a pencil and then colored on the back over the places where Mater was outlined.

Finally I used painters tape to adhere it to the wall where I wanted it and then traced over the lines with a pen.  This left an outline on the wall I could paint.

Using the Magnificent Metallic in Mater Metal, I then painted in the outlines.  After 45 minutes of letting it dry I went back and did it again.  Then I finished up details like the eyes, headlight and teeth in Glimmering Silver.

Then I repeated the same process using a Lightening McQueen template.  This time I used Great Slate in Tailight.  I am thinking about a cool detail to add to them before the big reveal next week!

I’ve also been working on lots of great details in the room, including these symbols done from another DisneyPaint.com template…

I am working away at finishing the room, complete with new Disney Cars bedding from Walmart, for a My Majic Room PJ Party reveal with the boyz friends next weekend.  I can’t wait for you to see it!

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