REAL® Seal Challenge: Creamsicle Float

Isn't it funny how sometimes things from your childhood which loom so large as the best thing ever don't live up to your expectations as an adult? Take creamsicles for example -- orange popsicles filled with ice cream (or perhaps an ice cream-like substance?!) just aren't the same as they used to be.

So when REAL® Seal asked me to participate in a recipe challenge using REAL® Seal ingredients, and offered me a gift card to pay for them, and then Lucas suggested ice cream floats, I wondered if I could recreate -- and perhaps even improve on -- my fond memories of creamsicles.

And oh my goodness, I sure did!

These creamsicle floats have been the begged-for dessert in our house over the past week. They are delicious and the perfect treat for the oppressive heat wave we've been experiencing in Maryland.

I bought a six-pack of those adorable mini cans of soda, in orange flavor, of course. Then I scoured the ice cream section for a brand with the REAL® Seal.

Here's the quick and easy recipe:

Smiling Mama's Creamsicle Floats

Scoop one scoop of ice cream into a glass.

Add a few ounces of orange soda.

Top with another small scoop of ice cream.

Add straw and spoon and enjoy!

We eat a lot of dairy in our house. Our milk is delivered fresh from a local farm in throw-back glass bottles. But we buy our yogurt, cheese and ice cream from the grocery store. I know my kids are getting delicious, healthy milk and I want to make sure that the rest of their dairy is high quality as well. When Lucas was a toddler, I used to think that he subsided on cheese and yogurt alone. Now Nathaniel is the picky one who eats yogurt daily -- and often multiple times a day.

I never knew that the REAL® Seal is a really easy way for me to know that products we buy are from 100% US cow milk. Products bearing the seal must must meet specific guidelines and be certified by their dairy processing or food manufacturing companies.

And I'll be honest, as a full-time work-outside-the-home mama to two crazy boys, uber-involved community member and blogger, I don't have a lot of time to put together fancy, complicated desserts. I mean, we're lucky to get a well-rounded dinner on the table every night. And because dairy is such a huge part of our diet, I'm grateful to know that the REAL® Seal gives me assurance at a quick glance in the grocery store.

So, here are a few things I love about these creamsicle floats:

• I can feel good about the quality of the REAL® Seal ice cream.
• Even though I just used a few ounces of orange soda, the boys feel like it's the most exciting thing ever because they are getting soda.
• They can be put together in just a few minutes.
• They're amazingly refreshing and, of course, delicious.
• Any excuse to use jelly jars and paper straws to make them feel extra-special is a WIN for me!
• And, finally, it's such a treat to see my kids enjoy something similar to such a strong childhood memory for me.

This is one satisfied customer!

Thanks, REAL® Seal for helping this busy mama feel good about our family's dairy choices and for funding this recipe challenge which was a fun trip down memory lane for me and hopefully is helping to build some fun childhood memories for my kiddos, too.

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Cascarones on The Daily Buzz!!

Many thanks to my good friend in Nashville for pointing this out...

http://www.thedailybuzz.com.au/2013/03/15-easter-crafts-foods-activities/

 

 

 

 And then scroll down to #15...

What's that? A link to my 2008 Cascarones tutorial! Awesome!!

And, crazy! How did they ever find it?

I really hate to admit that this is the one year since 2008 that I actually haven't saved eggs for Cascarones. Ugh! Total slacker! We live in a fairly heavy Hispanic area and found some pretty great pre-made ones at Shoppers Food Warehouse last year. So, we're counting on that again this year. Next year, though, I'll be back on my game. And I'm vowing now to write a new tutorial with better pictures. Here's a slightly better post I wrote for The DC Moms last year!

Happy cracking!

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Sending you elsewhere...

1. I'm over at The DC Moms with a suggestion for getting through a cold or allergy season.

2. I adore this article from the New York Times. Truly. And considering the fact that Lucas likes to tell everyone about his great great great great great great grandfather (# of greats varies every time, and also, it's more like some sort of distant uncle) who fought in the Civil War, I think we're doing a decent job of this already!

3. If you only click on one of these links, THIS is the one. So beautiful.

 


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Class Valentines

I've long wanted to get in on the melted crayon mold fun that's all over Pinterest and the blogosphere and we've finally done it for Valentine's Day!

Lucas has been saving up broken crayons all school year (and perhaps breaking a few on purpose--that silly kid!) and I purchased a silicone heart pan. The hardest part was peeling all the little papers and after that it was a blast to arrange the crayons in the hearts, bake and admire the creations!

Then I discovered this awesome free printable from The Long Thread. They say "Have a colorful Valentine's Day" at the bottom! I'm the queen of enjoying all the wonderful free printables that designers share on their blogs. My trick is to upload them to Staples.com and have them printed in color on card stock. It's cheap and so easy--plus the quality is always great.

Over the past few days, Lucas has been writing his classmates names and his name, then we taped the card to the front of little treat bags, dropped in a crayon heart, tied them up and viola! Fun Valentine's for his class!

 

I'm pretty sure we're all looking forward to having enough crayon nubs to make another batch!

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Nathaniel Turned 3!

Way-too-quickly after Christmas -- as in, we barely got our Christmas decorations down in time for his party! -- Nathaniel turned 3!

This boy is the light of our lives! I surmise that because he barely uttered a sound until about 9 months ago, he spent the first 2+ years of his life developing the most expressive facial and body movements ever seen in such a young child. When he's happy, he doesn't just smile, his entire head lights up and his back straightens and he seems to literally jump with excitement! When he's sad or moping, he doesn't just get a down-turned face, he hangs his head and droops his shoulders and does this crazy, lumbering walk while his arms droop and swing.

And nearly every day over the past nine months, Nathaniel has amazed and delighted us with his new-found words, expressions and songs. He is amazing! (Oh, and also a genius, of course. I mean, really a genius!!)

We had small celebrations with our little family for Naffy's first and second birthdays and for his third -- the first birthday he really, truly "got" -- we had a really wonderful party.

Nathaniel's birthday was on a Friday and our party was going to be that Saturday. But, I wanted to do something to help make his actual day special.

Inspired by a few posts on Oh Happy Day, Lucas and I made this little party hats and ribbon neckties for our dino collection. They greeted Nathaniel at his seat on his birthday morning.

Lucas was pretty pleased with our work!

Panda-cakes are Nathaniel's favorite breakfast (food in general, actually!) so he enjoyed a stack of three pancakes topped with sprinkles and a candle on this birthday morning!

For our BIG celebration on Saturday, we decided to fill the day with Nathaniel's favorite things. There's nothing this boy loves more than WATER! We invited a few families to join us at a local indoor pool for some fun time splashing!

After an afternoon break to give the littles time for a nap, we invited those friends back to our house for a good old-fashioned birthday party filled with playtime, pizza and cupcakes!

Using things we had around the house, I was just thrilled with the little table scape I put together while Nathaniel was napping and Abel was on the pizza and beer run! (If you have a Wegman's nearby, they sell these awesome sheets of pizza which serve 32!)

When Nathaniel woke up, I told him it was time to put on his fancy clothes, to which he immediately replied, "Spiderman!!!" That wasn't exactly what I meant, but why not let the birthday boy wear whatever he wants? I dug out his Halloween costume and he couldn't have been happier!

Does it get any better than this? I don't think so!

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Missing Susan

From The DC Moms

After she died, it took me a long time to write about Susan. And now, suddenly and far-too-long at the same time, she has been gone for an entire year. I did lose count of how many moons it's been since she died, but whenever I look up and see the moon--full or just a sliver--I think of her. So, so often, I think of her. I didn't know Susan as well as so many others. I only knew her for a few years before she died. But she touched my life forever. And I am so, so grateful that I may have touched hers just a bit as well.

I miss you, Susan. I love you, Susan.

As we honor Susan’s memory, please consider furthering her legacy through a contribution to the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

Link to Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation: http://www.ibcresearch.org/

Link to Susan’s Toddler Planet site: http://toddlerplanet.wordpress.com/

Please join bloggers throughout the web in honoring Susan Niebur's life and contributions with a post, and please add your link below.

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Spelling Practice

We've had this magnetic wall and alphabet magnets for several years, but other than the magnets getting batted off the wall at every opportunity, they don't get much use. You see, although we followed the directions and put at least three (or was it four?) coats of magnetic paint on the walls, they barely hold lightweight magnets and you can forget holding up a piece of paper.

Recently, as I was struggling to engage Lucas in the practice of his spelling words (homework is a huge struggle every. single. day.), a light bulb went off.

We ran downstairs and pretended to be on the Electric Company -- pulling the letters down to form words. Yay for our magnetic wall! Yay for alphabet magnets! They certainly make spelling practice a lot more fun -- for both of us!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!