MommyParties ZhuZhu Babies Party!

Recently my Mom's group was given the opportunity to host a ZhuZhu Babies party.  We were so excited to get chosen for this party.  It came at the perfect time because my kids have just discovered the ZhuZhu pets (I know.  We are behind!).

We got an awesome party pack that included:
ZhuZhu Babies
Baby Outfits
Newborn Nursery Playset

The kids really enjoyed playing the games that were included in the party pack.  One of the favorite games was "ZhuMama, May I?"  The kids took turns being the ZhuZhu Mama.  The little girls favorite game to play was dressing up the babies in their different outfits.  Since the party my kids have taken scraps of material and paper and made outfits for the babies as well.  But, no matter how many games we played, the favorite things to do were hamster races. :-)

No party is complete without food.  For our party we used some of the recipes that came in the party pack.  Some were also adapted from the recipes.  We made piggies in a blanket and nanners pudding.

The party was a wonderful experience and we can't wait until we have an opportunity to host another one.  Thank you to MomSelect for the party!  If you would like to host parties for your mom's group, you can sign up at MomSelect.

GoGo's Crazy Bones Bonanza

We were recently chosen by Child's Play Party to have a GoGo's Crazy Bones Bonanza.  We had some friends over with their children to see what GoGo's Crazy Bones were all about.  My children were especially excited as we had never heard of GoGo's Crazy Bones before!

The GoGo's are a lot of fun.  They are very small little plastic pieces in hundreds of colors and designs.  They each come with a unique name, design, personality and special ability.    GoGo's are a modern version of old school favorites like marbles or jack.  They are small plastic pieces designed and shaped so that you can throw them with one finger.  The kids really seemed to have a lot of fun playing with the GoGo's. 

The kids all had a good time playing with the little GoGo's and trying out some new games.  They loved the books and stickers that each GoGo came with.  The sticker books had a place for a sticker of each GoGo and also told a little about each one.  One of the things that I really liked is that we got so many GoGo's and there were very few duplicates.  There are a total of 80 different GoGo's Crazy Bones to collect and trade in Series One. 

This was a fun party.  I am pretty sure that my kids will be looking for more GoGo's when we go to the store.  :-)

She Speaks Hormel® Compleats® Kids Microwave Meals

I have been really lucky getting to test products lately. Another campaign that I joined was the Hormel® Compleats® Kids Microwave Meals campaign from She Speaks.  The meals come in 4 different varieties:

• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Pasta and Chicken
• Beef Ravioli
• Macaroni and Beef 

We were given one of each variety and a couple of buy one, get one free coupons. I was excited to get these meals to try because I always seem to be rushed when it is mealtime.  I thought it would be great to be able to microwave lunch for the kids on one of my busy days.  I love the fact that the meals only take 45 seconds to cook.  The meals got  mixed reviews around here.  The Spaghetti and Meatballs and Macaroni and Beef were the favorite meals.  Beef Ravioli and Pasta and Chicken didn't go over so well.

All in all, I don't think these meals are something that we will use regularly in our home.  I can see buying them a few times when we are really busy or if we were needing a fast meal on the run.  I am really glad we had the opportunity to try them.

She Speaks Johnsonville Italian Sausage Program

I recently was given the opportunity to try Johnsonville Italian sausage through a She Speaks campaign.  We were given several free coupons to use and also a few $1.50 off coupons.  My family enjoyed the sausages.  There have 7 different varieties of sausages:

• Mild Italian Sausage Links - Authentic Italian flavor with the perfect blend of spices that’s sure to please!
• Hot Italian Sausage Links - Made with crushed red pepper, Johnsonville Hot Italian Links are sure to make them stand up and take notice!
• Sweet Italian Sausage Links - Italian flavor with fresh, sweet basil for a one-of-a-kind Italian taste!
• Four Cheese Italian Sausage Links - The perfect blend of Mozzarella, Romano, Parmesan and Cheddar cheeses ramp up the flavor of Johnsonville Italian Sausage.
• Mild Ground Italian Sausage - Mild Italian Sausage is now available in an All Natural Ground that adds flavor to any recipe.
• Hot Ground Italian Sausage - Hot Italian Sausage is now available in an All Natural Ground that adds flavor to any recipe.
• Sweet Ground Italian Sausage - Sweet Italian Sausage is now available in an All Natural Ground that adds flavor to any recipe.

My family isn't the biggest fan of Italian sausage.  They did eat it, though, so that means it was pretty good.  We liked the mild sausage and the four cheese variety the best.  (Sampling this Italian sausage inspired us to try other brands of Johnsonville sausage as well.  We recently had my parents over to eat some of the Johnsonville Better with Cheddar sausage.)

If you are interested in this sausage, here is a delicious recipe you might want to try:

Italian Sausage w/Peppers, Onions and Penne Pasta

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound Johnsonville Italian or Sweet Sausage
• 2 medium green and/or red peppers, cut into 2-inch strips
• 2 medium onions, thickly sliced
• 1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce
• 3/4 pound uncooked tube-shaped pasta (penne or ziti), cooked and drained
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage in 2 batches and cook until it's well browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining oil. Add the peppers and onions and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Stir the pasta sauce into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Return the sausage to the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve over the pasta and sprinkle with cheese.

Green Works New to You House Party

If you haven't signed up with House Party yet, you should give it a try.  I was recently chosen to host a Green Works New to You House Party. 

It was fun to get to try out the green cleaning products.  Everyone wished that there had been bigger samples of the new products.  It was nice to get to talk about trying to live a greener life.  It was also good to get to swap ideas about ways to be more green.