10/28/11: Ditson Halloween Family Night

Tonight we had a Family Night at Evan's school with a Halloween theme.  It was so much fun.  They had one area with crafts, one with crafts and games and one with pumpkins to paint.  The kids loved it.  Here is Ev with one of his classmates.

Funny enough Lauren found one of her classmates too from her preschool.  Here they are painting pumpkins.

Then all the kids did a parade through the gym.  Very cute and they announced winners for best costumes.  I love that Ev and Lauren were holding hands.  So cute.

10/28/11: Prima Princessa Presents the Nutcracker Giveaway

CONTEST CLOSED:  CONGRATULATIONS DANA B!

Well considering last night we got our first dusting of snow, and we are expecting more snow tomorrow it put me in the mood for "The Nutcracker".  "Prima Princess Presents the Nutcracker" is an adorable video that I watched recently with my daughter.  You may remember my daughter loves Dance!  Her last birthday party was at her Dance School where they did Ballet, so of course this was right up her alley! 

My little ballerina.

The video was adorable and 60 minutes long.  It has won The Parent's Choice Award for Christmas Children's Special.  Lauren got really in to it and was having fun dancing all around.

She loved the music, and I loved how there was a little narration through the video of what was going on in the Nutcracker which features England's world famous Birmingham Royal Ballet.  Plus periodically it would go to little dance lessons.  The video is only $6.99 and would make a great stocking stuffer.

As one of my lucky readers you can win a copy here!  See more details below. 
If you don't win you can buy it on Amazon here and at http://www.primaprincess.com/ and in-stores at ToysRus Wegmans, Krogers in Louisiana and Texas, and Albertsons.

You can also check out a YouTube promo video here.  

Also on the Prima Princessa Website you can find a ballet dictionary, ballet coloring pages, preschool games, ballet number and alphabet games for kids, ballet tutus, and listings of ballet schools nationwide.  

Here is how to enter:

1 entry for each item:

- Comment here on this post on who you would like to give the Prima Princessa Nutcracker DVD to.  (comment section at the bottom). Note if you are logging in anonymously please include your email so I can contact you. Also if you have problems, just Preview the comment and it should work. Make sure you see comment posted.

Additional Entries:

- Subscribe to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (and verify the subscription to be valid) and leave a separate comment that you did.

- Subscribe via Google Friend Connect to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (on the Right hand side)

- Already a subscriber (thank you) then leave a comment stating you are

- Share this link on your Facebook page and leave a comment here stating you did.

- Follow me on Twitter @galiberti If you already follow me, just leave a comment here that you are a Follower.

- Follow Prima Princessa on Twitter @TutuZone and leave a comment here that you are a follower. 

- Tweet this Giveaway (you can do this daily): Win a Prima Princessa Nutcracker DVD from @galiberti. http://bit.ly/rDvN4f #Giveaway @TutuZone

Contest closes Wednesday, November 16th, 2011.

Winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Disclosure: I received the Prima Princessa Presents the Nutcracker DVD in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.

10/27/11: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Coming to Theatres in March, Plus a Pumpkin Template!

Universal Pictures’ is coming out with a 3D animated feature of  Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.  It will be in theaters March 2, 2012 and features the voice talent of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle and Betty White!  Just hearing the line up of celebrity voices makes me excited to see it.  We love Dr. Seuss!

I wanted to share with you a FREE template to carve your very own Lorax O’ Lantern for Halloween!

Here is the link to the Pumpkin Template:  http://www.theloraxmovie.com/pumpkin

What better way to celebrate Halloween than to create a Lorax O' Lantern for all to see!  Once you’re done post/tag your creation on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/theloraxmovie.

You can also see the Trailer on iTunes here.

ABOUT THE FILM:

Release DateMarch 2, 2012

Studio Universal Pictures

Starring Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle and Betty White

Directed By Chris Renaud

Screenplay By Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio

Produced By Chris Meledandri, Janet Healey, Audrey Geisel

Plot Outline

The 3D-CGI feature "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" is an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of the Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler. Also bringing their talents to the film are global superstars Zac Efron as Ted, the idealistic young boy who searches for the Lorax, and Taylor Swift as Ashley, the girl of Ted's dreams. Rob Riggle will play financial king O'Hare, and beloved actress Betty White will portray Ted's wise Grammy Norma.

"Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" is the third feature created by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment ("Despicable Me," "Hop"). http://www.theloraxmovie.com

Disclosure:  I will receive passes to the screening of The Lorax for this post.  No other compensation will be received.

10/26/11: Celebrate Kambiri's First Birthday at the Franklin Park Zoo

Kambiri is turning 1 and she wants you to come join her to celebrate her birthday at the Franklin Park Zoo!  Isn't she adorable?

Picture courtesy of Robert Klein

We love going to the Franklin Park Zoo and on November 5, they will be celebrating the first birthday of Kambiri, the baby gorilla. Visit the Tropical Forest to see the gorilla exhibit festively decorated and watch as Kambiri and the gorillas enjoy birthday treats made especially for them! The first 250 visitors will receive complimentary treats of their own - delicious miniature dark chocolate cupcakes with banana buttercream frosting, courtesy of Sweet Cupcakes.

WHEN: Saturday, November 5, 10 AM - 3 PM in the Tropical Forest

ADMISSION: Adults, $16; Seniors, $13; Children, $10 (2-12); all children under 2 are free.

ZOO HOURS: 10 AM - 4PM daily

WHERE: 1 Franklin Park Road, Boston, MA 02121

In addition, beginning Saturday, November 5, through end of day, Friday, November 11, all four Sweet Cupcakes locations will offer a "Bananas for the Zoo" cupcake, inspired by Kambiri, and will donate $1.00 from each cupcake sold during that week to Zoo New England. The limited-edition cupcake will feature homemade banana buttercream frosting atop rich, dark chocolate cake, finished with a banana chip.

Sweet Cupcakes locations:

BACK BAY: 49 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, BOSTON, MA & 225 NEWBURY STREET, BOSTON, MA

HARVARD SQUARE: ZERO BRATTLE STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MA

DOWNTOWN: 11 SCHOOL STREET, BOSTON, MA

To learn more about Sweet Cupcakes visit http://www.sweetcupcakes.com.

Disclosure:  I was provided Zoo passes to this event, no other compensation was received.



10/23/11: Our 6th Annual Monster Mash Party!

We had our Monster Mash party again this year and it was a huge success.  Here are the some of the kids (missing 8).  Some came in later, but I was trying to get them before they started taking off pieces of their costumes.

 The fun family all dressed up.

Ev and Lauren

 The Graveyard cake I made.  All edible!

 The cupcakes.  You can have cupcakes like the ones here with Evan and Lauren on them by entering my giveaway for Sweet'n Tots.

 Some of the girls snacking.

 Candy necklace time.

 Fun with candy necklaces.

 Cookie decorating time.

 

 

Sean

 Ev with our neighbor.

  YUM!

 

 

 Sophie showing off her makeup.  The girls were doing makeup and nails in Lauren's room.  :-) 

10/22/11: Boo at the Stone Zoo

This is our 4th time going to Boo at the Zoo at the Stone Zoo.  We always have a great time and today was no exception.  The weather was perfect for it.

The highlight of this trip was seeing the Jaguar eat goodies from a pumpkin.

He got up close and personal with the kids because he was eyeing the Zoo Keeper behind them.  They thought it was super cool.

Don't want to mess with this guy!

He is checking out all the kids in costume.

Lauren loved it!

Posing for a picture.

Trick or Treating!

And they competed in the Costume Contest.  They didn't win, but had a fun time!

Lauren being asked her name and costume.

10/21/11: Halloween Family Night at the Billerica Library

We went to the Halloween Family Night at the Billerica Library again.  We always have a good time at this event.  It is usually the first time the kids wear their costumes.  Here are Jessie and Woody all ready to go outside the library.

Evan with one of his friends from class.

And another friend.

Evan loved playing the games and winning prizes.

 Lauren having fun with the Frog craft.

 And Lauren having her face painted.

What a great time! 

10/21/11: Sweet'n Tots Adorable Edible Artwork of Your Children: GIVEAWAY!

You may know that I love to make cakes and cupcakes, and I love to customize things for my kids.  I found a wonderful website recently named Sweet'n Tots which was created by a Mom!  It is adorable.  You can go on to the website and build a Sweet'n Tot image.  It is a image of your children in which you can customize hair style/hair color/eye color/eye shape/skin color and accessories.  After you customize your image you are able to add it to Stationary, Art Prints, and in my case I added it to edible cookie/cupcake toppers.   

We have our Halloween Party coming up and Evan and Lauren are Woody and Jessie from Toy Story.  For our Monster Mash Halloween party coming up I decided to use the Sweet'n Tots edible cupcake toppers and add a Woody and Jessie hat to them.

Here are Woody and Jessie.

The cupcake toppers were super easy to use.  At first I was very nervous about removing the paper backing from them, but the trick is putting them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.  This was on the directions that Sweet'n Tots provided me.  Once I took them out of the freezer the paper was so easy to remove.

As one of my lucky readers I can offer you a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Sweet'n Tots online shop so you can create your own image and add it to the product(s) of your choice. 

Bonnie Sweeten (hence the business name) is the designer and owner of Sweet'n Treats and Sweet'n Tots!  She has over 10 years of experience in graphic design, art, sales and advertising, including a Bachelor's of Art in Graphic Design.  She founded this business because of her desire to have a flexible schedule because of her growing family, and beautiful daughter who was born in August of 2010.  Due to her numerous requests through Sweet'n Treats for custom artwork and "can you draw my child?" questions, she decided to create Sweet'n Tots.  I am very happy she did.  Here is my final product of all my cupcakes.

 

Please check back often to the Sweet'n Tots Website as it just launched in Sept of 2011. Bonnie will be adding many new features in the future, including bodies, scenes, new options and many others.

Give them some love:

http://www.sweetntots.com/
Friend them on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/sweetn.treats
Follow them on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/sweetntreats 

Here is how to enter:

1 entry for each item:

- Comment here on this post as to which product on the Sweet'n Tots Website you would like to customize. (comment section at the bottom). Note if you are logging in anonymously please include your email so I can contact you. Also if you have problems, just Preview the comment and it should work. Make sure you see comment posted.

Additional Entries:

- Subscribe to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (and verify the subscription to be valid) and leave a separate comment that you did.

- Subscribe via Google Friend Connect to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (on the Right hand side)

- Already a subscriber (thank you) then leave a comment stating you are

- Share this link on your Facebook page and leave a comment here stating you did.

- Follow me on Twitter @galiberti If you already follow me, just leave a comment here that you are a Follower.
- Follow Sweet'n Treets on Twitter @Sweetn'Treats and leave a comment here that you are a follower. 

- Tweet this Giveaway (you can do this daily): Win a $25 gift certificate for Sweet'n Tots from to customize products with your child's image @galiberti.  http://bit.ly/mSv1Uw  #Giveaway

Contest closes Tuesday, November 3rd, 2011.

Winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Disclosure: I received the edible cupcake toppers in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.