Mother's Day Made Sweet

There really and truly isn't anything I need for Mother's Day. I mean, sure, a new designer purse would be nice, but I'll settle for a day at home with my children. After all, they're the reason I get to celebrate Mother's Day, and I don't get how on a day where you're being honored for being a mom, you'd want to spend it away from your children!

Sure, I'd accept a gift certificate to the spa, but I'll wait a few days to go for my massage. On Mother's Day, I just want to be home with my boys. And you know, maybe, just maybe, being served breakfast in bed? Just an idea I'm putting out there... ahem. Mother's Day breakfast would be grand!

I love eggs, and bacon and toast... and a fresh coffee would be nice. I'd love to actually drink my coffee warm, too... that's not too much to ask for, is it?

You know what else I am totally craving? Baked caramel pecan french toast. Oh, my goodness... just saying that makes me hungry!

No matter how you spend your Mother's Day, I hope it's as sweet as the picture above!

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Easter traditions

Every holiday becomes more special and meaningful once children are in the picture. Before having children, I loved Christmas and Easter, but since becoming a mom? These special holidays take on a whole new meaning.

Being Greek Orthodox means we celebrate Easter (most years) a week or two after Catholic Easter. The bonus to this? I get to stock up on all the chocolates after they're on sale!

The tradition for my family is attending church on Good Friday, and again on Easter Sunday morning. But first things first! When the children wake up, they are given a basket and off they go, on an Easter egg hunt. Yes, breakfast on Easter morning usually consists of just chocolate, but that's okay, because the rest of the day is spent eating. And eating. And eating. We celebarte with all our family, and we enjoy a lamb on the spit, along with so many other delicious food. It's a day of feasting, drinking, eating, dancing, and celebrating. Of course, we also crack red eggs, and eat tsoureki, special Greek sweet bread.

Besides the Easter baskets of goodies the children get to enjoy, other traditions are when the Godparents buy their Godchild new shoes or clothes for Easter, and a decorated candle to bring to church.

This year, I also got the children something extra for Easter - a new light saber for my six year old, and the Fisher-Price batcave for my four year old. He's completely fascinated with Batman, and this is all thanks to the amazing Batman Fisher-Price toys we received because I'm part of Fisher-Price Moms.

Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Mom and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Easter treats in time for Greek Easter!

Tomorrow is finally my Easter! Yes, last week I was able to celebrate a long weekend with my family, while stocking up on Easter chocolate - on sale - and tomorrow? My boys get to finally take part in their Easter egg hunt, followed by a big Greek feast. Easter is the holiday Greek people celebrate the most, almost even more than Christmas. We are always at my inlaw's home, or at my parents home, for Easter, enjoying the lamb on the spit, along with a dozen or so side dishes and appetizers, so I don't have to sweat it in the kitchen, which makes me ridiculously happy.
However, I don't mind making yummy Easter treats for everyone enjoy. I've perfected the carrot cake, and even decorating can be fun, as long as I keep it simple. That's why I love the Easter sweets page with Life Made Delicious. So many adorable ideas, and easy to make! I need easy!

Like these little cookies. They're almost too cute eat, you know? But you know they're going to taste so good, too...

I think these would be perfect cookies to bring to a relative's house during the Easter festivities - they'll be a hit with the adults and children alike! Also? I can get my children involved in making these, too! Baking with kids can be fun, and easy, if you pick something simple to make with them!

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Decorating a child's room with style and ease

One of the things I looked forward to the most when I got pregnant was getting to design the perfect nursery for my children.

Decorating the nursery was a blast, from start to finish, and I had a very hands-on husband who did all the hard work, from installing the hardwood floors, to adding new baseboards, chair rail, and crown moulding, as well as painting the room.

 Of course,  I spent hours online looking for the perfert TheRoomPlace.com furniture for their room. From cribs, to change tables and bookcases, selecting the perfect items was not as easy as I thought it was going to be! And of course, I would get distracted online, and start looking at furntire for other rooms in the house, making the decision to narrow down what I wanted for my children even harder.

Although it was a bit challenging to find just what I was looking for, decorating kids' rooms is a blast, and I had so much fun with both my children's rooms, I couldn't wait for them to outgrow their baby furniture so I could start getting their new 'big boy' furniture. And now that my sister is a mom of two little ones, I had a say in decorating her children's rooms, too, and gave her some great advice on where to look online to make her decision easier, as well.

The most important items in a child's room, I think, are their night tables and book cases. My boys basically have a library each in their rooms! Also important? Making sure you've place the furntire in the rooms in the best possible way, making the best use of the space you have to work with. You may have to move some pieces around until you find the perfect fit for your new furniture, but eventually, the room will just perfectly come together - just like that! And all  your hard work will have paid off, and your children can finally enjoy their new, beautiful, well-furnished bedroom.






Disclaimer: I was compensated for this post.

Cooking With My Boys!

I could write a book about all the things I love to do with my children to keep them - and myself - happy and busy. Since cooking is not the thing I do best, I often do other things, like crafts, painting, and having fun with outdoor adventures, like looking for fossils, swimming, and going for walks to the park. However, sometimes, I do cook with my children, despite the fact that my kitchen looks like a tornado went through it after we are done!

I usually stick to cooking safe (read: easy!) recipes, and I always go to here to find the best and easy recipes for my family.

As soon as I saw the recipe for the Broccoli and Tortellini Light Alfredo  Sauce, I knew it would be a huge hit with my boys, and a great way to get them to eat their veggies, too!

I get them to help out by grating fresh cheese, setting the table, and helping serve the food. It's a family affair, and we are left full and completely satisfied - this dish is delish, and healthy - a family favourite, for sure!

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Easter treats made easy with Life Made Delicious!

Today is cold. But, it's still not April. We were just spoiled with really nice weather last week. We're talking plus 30 degrees nice weather. We're talking kids running through the sprinkler nice weather! Today, we have the fire place on. However, spring is officially here, and that means it's time to start thinking about Easter. Easter is the biggest celebration for my family, because we're Greek. Easter is even bigger than Christmas for Greek people!

We enjoy the lamb on the spit as well as dozens of other dishes, but I always love to make a few special treats for the entire family to enjoy, like carrot cake with fresh cream cheese icing.

I also love making cupcakes with my children, especially for special holidays like Easter, and this Easter cupcake recipe from Life Made Delicious is simply adorable, don't you agree?

Actually, all the Easter dessert recipes look amazing, and I know I'll be making a few this year!

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Celebrate and Save with Fisher-Price!

As a busy mom of two little boys, I always looking for new educational and fun toys to help keep my children busy. Fisher-Price is a very familiar name in our household, because Fisher-Price is tried, tested, and true. Ever since I was a child, I have loved Fisher-Price products. I love that I've passed my love on to my children now, and I love how they old classic toys are back in stores now, from the record player to the musical television that I enjoyed as a child. When I was a new mom, most of the baby products and toys in my house were made by Fisher-Price.

Right now, Fisher-Price has some amazing deals for moms to help them save on the items that they'll need to help keep their little ones busy, while having fun. Fisher-Price's Celebrate and Save promotion is amazing! You can save up to $90!

What other excuse do you need to shop, right? It's the perfect time to stock up on all those gifts for friends who are having babies and for the little infants in your life, whether your own, or for a close friend. You can even think ahead and get some items checked off your Christmas shopping list. That's planning ahead! With deals like this, you're going to want to start shopping now.

Coupons are available in-store at Toys R Us and Zellers and online.

You can save $20 off any Fisher-Price swing that's $130 or more, and save $10 off the Ocean Wonders Awuarium - my boys loved this when they were babies! You can also save off any Little People items, as well as Imaginext items.

Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Mom and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.