Mingle Monday - 8/30

Is it me, or does the weekend go by WAY too fast!?!?
Sorry I'm a little late getting this up today, we decided to go on a family walk tonight to feed the ducks at a nearby pond! There were fish in the pond that I swear were as big as my little guy!! It was a lot of fun though... and while we were out we gathered some supplies for a couple projects this week for the letter "b". For those of you just tuning in, I have started doing a letter a week with my daughter... trying to help her learn (and retain) that letters of the alphabet and their sounds. I have some really fun things planning this week, so make sure you stop by later in the week to see what all we've been up to for the letter "b"!
Don't forget to sign up for my Seventh Generation Giveaway too... only a couple days left and so far there are VERY LOW ENTRIES!!!
Now, on to the real reason I know you all stopped by for! :)


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Here are the rules:

1. To participate you must be a follower of KdBuggie Boutique on GFC. [If you are new, please leave me a comment so I can come visit your fun blog!]

2. Follow our spotlight blog - entry #2

3. Visit as many blogs as you like. Make sure to tell them you are visiting from Mingle Monday!

4. Grab my Mingle Monday button and place it somewhere on your blog - that I can find - and you will be automatically entered for a chance to be next week's spotlight blog!

5. HAVE FUN!

**This linky is open to family friendly blogs/websites ONLY! All others will be deleted!!!


Week #1 - The Letter Aa

My daughter is almost 3-1/2. She can sing her ABC's, she recognizes that letters make words, but she can't recognize letters by name. So, I decided that I am going to make each of the next 26 weeks a letter a week!! I am using things that I already have at home -- because we are saving to buy our first home and I don't want to spend a lot of $! Plus, it's fun coming up with ideas of what to do and what I can use!!
Feel free to use my ideas if you are interested in doing this with me... please though... if you blog about it, I would like to be given credit.
We started out morning by watching Alice in Wonderland. I made sure to point out how Alice starts with the letter A.
[**I know not everyone likes to have their kids watch tv, but as a SAHM and WAHM I find that if I let me kids watch 1 movie each day I am able to get my work done during the movie and be able to spend the rest of the day with my kids!]
For lunch we had ham and cheese sandwiches. I cut the sandwich in the shape of the letter A. We also ate apples. Again, reinforcing that Alice starts with A and apple starts with A. I also asked her where she saw this shape before. My smart cookie said "on the Alice movie".
Once I put my son down for his afternoon nap it was time to work on our A projects!!! I created this sign using Microsoft Publisher and printed it out on cardstock. I enlarged the letter so that they took up most of the space on the paper.

Then it was time to bring out the supply bucket. My daughter decided she wanted to paint her letters to decorate them. So, we put on her apron and she painted away...


I showed her how both the A and the a have a space in the middle that didn't need to be painted. This helps her to practice "staying in the lines" too. Plus, the process of painting with a small paint brush helps her in preparation for writing and development of her fine motor skills!

Once she was done painting, we set it aside to dry. Then we took out her "homework". [That is what she calls her little workbook -- I have been going to school since she was born, so she is very familiar with what homework is!] We turned to the letter A and a pages and she practiced writing her letters. For being only 3 I think she did a pretty good job!

Then we attempted to make an alligator card. I found the instructions on Enchanted Learning's website here. Didn't quite turn out like the illustration, but my daughter had a great time covering it with stickers!
After cleaning up the craft projects we set out to prep dessert for the night -- apple crisp!
I peeled and sliced 2 granny smith apples. My assistant put them all in a big mixing bowl. To the apples I added a tiny bit of lemon juice, about 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1/4 c gran. sugar. My assistant dilligently stirred the apple mixture while I prepped the baking dishes.

I used three 4 inch diameter baking dishes [that I bought at Joann's a while back], and one 6 inch cake pan. Spray each pan with non-stick spray, or grease with crisco. Sprinkle some yellow cake mix in the bottom of each pan and top with small slices of butter.
[For those of you with dairy and egg allergies, Duncan Hines Butter Yellow Cake Mix is dairy free. I also used Nucoa a dairy free "butter" found at my local grocery store.]

Here are my mixed apples.
My wonderful assistant helped to spoon the apple mixture over the cake mix and butter in the bottom of each dish.

Then top with a little more cake mix and butter. I also chose to add some oats to the top of mine... delish!!!
The finished product... just the right size for one person!!!
When daddy got home, my daughter was so excited to show him all the letter A things that she did today!!! I hope her enthusiasm is still there when we get to q!!
Each day this week we will do something fun with the letter A. I had some suggestions from a teacher friend of mine to print out words on a paper and have her find the a's. Each person in my family happens to have an a in their name! When we go out I will have her try and find a's on signs. We are also going to work on the sound of the letter a and try and come up with as many words we can think of that start with that sound!
If you have any suggestions or ideas... or things you have tried that work for you, please feel free to share!!

Mingle Monday

So goes another week.... you know the year is almost over when you can start saying to your kids when they see a great toy that they want, "Let's put it on your Christmas List!"


While you are here entering your info for Mingle Monday, don't forget to enter my Seventh Generation Giveaway! They make super awesome "green" cleaning and baby products. They also have some snazzy-looking handsoaps that I totally want to try!

Read my review and enter to win your own set of cleaning products and baby goods!
Let's Mingle!!!

mingle mondays button



Make sure you add my button somewhere on your blog (that I can find it) and you will be automatically entered in a chance to be featured as the spotlight blog of the week!

Here are the rules:

1. To participate you need to follow my blog through GFC. Leave me a comment and I will come visit your blog!

2. Follow this week's spoltlight blogs (# 2 on the linky list).

3. Visit as many other blogs as you want on the list and tell them you are visiting from Mingle Monday.

**4. To participate to become the spotlight blog next week, grab my Mingle Monday button and place it somewhere on your blog that I can find it.

5. HAVE FUN!

***This linky is only open to family friendly blogs/shops. All others will be deleted. Thanks!

Our spotlight blog this week is: Inspired Moments

Inspired Moments
Tisha is a busy mommy who shares her thoughts, fashion advice, great giveaways, and much more! Make sure you head over and check out her blog!


Seventh Generation Products Review and Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed! Winner will be announced on Friday!


I have been trying to be a little greener lately, so I contacted Seventh Generation to see if I could review some of their products for all of you. I was so thrilled when they said yes and even more excited when the two H-U-G-E boxes arrived filled with all these wonderful things!!!


In my "goodie" boxes I was sent:
1 package of chlorine-free diapers
1 box of chlorine-free baby wipes
1 refill of wipes
1 canister of cleaning wipes
1 roll of 100% recylced paper towels
1 spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner
1 bottle of disinfectant cleaning spray
1 bathroom cleaning spray bottle
1 baby chlorine-free laundry detergent
and 1 reusable shopping bag
It has taken me so long since I received all these wonderful products to write my review because I wanted to use each thing several times before writing my honest review.
Baby diapers: They were great! Not only are they absorbant, but they are chemical free! My little one didn't seem to even notice he wasn't in his regular pampers. (totally wished I'd snapped some pics, but I went through them before I thought of it)
Baby wipes: LOVE them!! They are so soft, and have no noticeable scent (which is great in my house-- my husband doesn't like scents!)
Cleaning Wipes: Great cleaning power! They hold up well too to scrubbing. With little ones running around making messes, wipes are a life-saver! They are disinfecting wipes too which is even more awesome! I used it on the kids booster chairs to get all the mess and germies off. They also have a great scent - lemongrass and thyme... lovely!
Paper Towels: I don't know about you, but we go through a lot of paper towels at our place, so they have to hold up well. To be completely honest, I love the fact that these are 100% recylced, but they aren't as absorbant as my usual ones. They got the job done, but I felt like I used twice as many.
All-Purpose Cleaner: Great product! No scent, no harsh chemicals, and super awesome cleaning power!
Disinfecting Cleaning Spray: Another product I love!! I used this to clean my dinner table, kitchen counters, and stove top! I really love the fact that it cleans and disinfects... so perfect for those of us with little ones around!
Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner: Super great product. The best part is that it comes out of the spray bottle in a foam!! It's perfect because when I spray it on the shower walls... it stays put! It doesn't just drip down the wall. PLUS... you can let the foam sit on your sink or your tub for a couple minutes and it really penetrates those tough stains! I'm totally buying another bottle when mine runs out!
Baby Laundry Detergent: It gets the job done. My little ones (as I stated before) tend to make big messes, not little ones... and their clothes definitely show it! All my stains came out! Plus, it is formulated for baby's which makes it safe for the kiddos!!
Reusable Bag: Who doesn't love these?
So, there is my review of the great products I received. Here are a couple of the other things they have to offer.
100% recylced toilet paper

hypo-allergenic hand wash


chlorine-free training pants

...and much, much more!!

Once you visit their site, make sure to sign up to become a member. It's free and it gives you access to coupons for their products! Plus, you can ask and get answers to questions about "going green" and learn about all of the great causes that their company supports! Seventh Generation products are also available at local retailers, check yours to see if they carry this brand!

(These opinions are strictly my own. I was not compensated for this review in any way.)

Want to win one of these sets for yourself???
Here's how to enter:

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Seventh Generation website, look around at all their great products, and tell me specifically which product you would want to buy and why. (please leave your email address with this entry!)
1 more entry: Become a public follower of KdBuggie Boutique on GFC
1 more entry: Become a fan on facebook of KdBuggie Boutique
2 more entries: Blog about this giveaway, please leave me the link to your blog post.

**Please leave a seperate comment for each entry! I will check to see that you are a follower, a fan, or have blogged.

All entries must be received by Midnight PST on September 1, 2010.

New Sponser - BellOrel Baby

Introducing one of my new sponsers...

BellOrel Baby Boutique

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BellOrel Baby Boutique is an online baby store started by two sisters who happen to be mommies. Meaghan and Danielle combined the names of their first born children and came up with BellOrel. Meaghan manages the online store http://www.bellorelbaby.com/ and a mommy blog http://bellorelbaby.blogspot.com/ where you can read about her adventures with her 9 month old son.

Find great baby apparel and gifts at BellOrel Baby Boutique and save 10% OFF your first purchase by entering coupon code 'GOOGLE' at check out. Save 15% automatically when you spend $50 or more until August 31, 2010.

I have had a chance to look around their store and their blog and the items they carry are super cute! You can also follow them on facebook and get all the up-to-date sales and latest products!

Make sure you stop by and visit their store... you won't be disappointed!

Mingle Monday

It was another busy weekend for us! Helped to cater a friend's wedding... lot's of fun... but I'm exhausted! Hope you had a good one!

Time for a little mingling!
Family Friendly Blogs ONLY Please!!


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As always... here are the rules:

1. To participate you need to follow my blog through GFC.

2. Follow this week's spoltlight blogs (#'s 2 and 3 on the linky list).

3. Visit as many other blogs as you want on the list and tell them you are visiting from Mingle Monday.

**4. To participate to become the spotlight blog next week, grab my Mingle Monday button and place it somewhere on your blog that I can find it.

5. HAVE FUN!

This week, as promised, we have 2 very awesome spotlight blogs!

#1: Style Ingenuity - Shelli is a freelance, Certified Etiquette and Image Consultant living in Upstate, New York. On her blog she shares tips and tricks on how to help communication as bloggers more understandable. She also gives body image advice. Make sure you take a look at her helpful blog!

#2: The Carter Family Table - Nicole, author of this fabulous blog, shares delicious recipes with us! Just looking at her pictures makes me hungry! If you are interested in finding some new recipies to add to your collection, stop by!



Giveaway Winners!

Sorry for not posting this yesterday... due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to get it up. But here are the winner!!
First up... the winner of the Handmade by Nikki Necklace giveaway. The lucky number (thanks to random.org) is #90.
And who is #90??
Proud Wifey And Mommii of 3 said: Blogged about the Giveaway. Check it out here: http://proudwifeymommiiof3.blogspot.com/2010/08/giveaway-ends-today-hurry-and-enter.html

Next, the 3 lucky winners of the 3 free sponser spots. Thanks to random.org our lucky winners are: #28, #23, & #14


#28: Monkey's mama said... 27 Follow you on gfc!
#23: Meaghan said...And I have your button in my left side bar. http://bellorelbaby.blogspot.com
#14: Nicole said... Following from http://www.onelittlemister.com/
If you left me your email, I have sent you an email notification of your win. Please respond within 48 hrs or new winners will be chosen!
If you didn't receive an email it was because the address you left on your post didn't work.

A Couple New Items

First off... to those of you who are new followers... I am slowly working to visit all of your neat blogs and follow you back, I promise!!! I have sick kiddos at home which means everything moves in slow motion!
Also, don't forget to stop by tomorrow to see who the winners of my 2 giveaways are!!

Now for some fun things... I added some new products to my store yesterday. Here are a couple of them to whet your appetite!!



All Star Dots blanket with Circle Stars border. Such cute prints by Riley Blake -- bright and bold for any little boy!

Pink Dahlia Baby Shower Invitation -- A simple and elegant way to invite friends and family to share this time with you!


Blue and Black Dahlia Baby Boy Announcement - I offer this same announcement in pink and white, and green and black.

This is a sneak peek to one that I haven't put up in my shop yet. It will be up soon. It is also available in blue and green!

Digital invitations are the newest thing! I customize the layout and design and email you the finished product. You can then choose to print your own at home, or send them to a print shop. I also offer photo quality printing at a great price! The price includes either a white or coordinating colored envelope.

4"x6" printed invites - $1.50 each
5"x7" printed invites - $2.00 each

Order printing from me and you won't have to worry about doing it yourself! Saves you some time!! Digital designs can also be made for matching thank you cards -- if you don't see a matching one in my store.. please tell me you are interested and I will set one up for you!
Take a look at all the cute digital designs I have so far here.

2 Giveaways Ending Today with Very Low Entries!!

Today is the last day to enter my two current giveaways!! Both have very low entries... so your chance of winning is pretty good!

Handmade by Nikki is giving away this gorgeous necklace to one lucky winner!! Click here to enter.

Also ending today is your chance for a FREE 3 month sponser spot on my blog! With that you get an entire post dedicated to you and your blog/store. Then your button will be placed on my sidebar for 3 months for FREE!! Oh, and did I mention that I am giving away 3 of these sponser spots?? Yes!! So, your chances to win are much greater than for my other giveaways!! Click here to enter.

My New Love -- Digital Design

I recently discovered a new love... digital design! I just added these designs to my etsy store. A set of boy baby shower invites and thank you note cards and a set of girl baby shower invites and thank you note cards. What do you think?

Baby girl thank you note card. Comes with matching pink envelope. Set of 20 for only $20 - $1 each!
Baby girl shower invites ,measuring 5"x7". Each invite comes with a matching pink envelope. Set of 20 invites and envelopes for $35.

Baby boy thank you note cards. Measuring 4.5"x3.5". Each comes with a matching teal envelope. Set of 20 cards and 20 envelopes for $20!


Baby boy shower invitation. Measures 5"x7". Each invite comes with a matching teal envelope. 20 invites and 20 envelopes for $35.

Each invite and thank you card is printed on pure white cover stock paper. The invites are available printed on photo paper for an extra $.25 per invite -- giving your invite a glossy look instead of a matte finish.
Take a look at all my invites here.

Happy Mingle Monday!!

It is time for the beginning of another new week! We just got back from a wonderful family vacation -- and unfortunately because I was away I don't have a spotlight blog for this week's Mingle Monday -- so sorry!! To make up for it, I will be spotlighting 2 blogs next week!
In the meantime, join this linky and don't forget to enter my two giveaways! Both ending 8/10 -- and both have very low entries!! Find more info on the top of my right sidebar!

Make sure you qualify for entry to be the spotlight blog by grabbing my button and adding it to your blog!


new button


Here are the rules:

1. Please follow my blog.
2. If you want me to follow you back - please leave me a comment!
3. Please leave comments on the blogs you visit telling them you are stopping by from Mingle Monday!
4. It would be greatly appreciated if you blogged about my hop so that we can have new visitors stop by and join!!


Foodie Friday - Gluten Free/Dairy Free Chocolate Cupcakes

For anyone new to my blog... my son has life threatening milk, egg, and peanut allergies... so most recipes on my blog are geared towards or adapted so that my son is able to eat them! Today's Foodie Friday is a dairy-free, peanut-free, egg-free, gluten-free chocolate cupcake recipe!!

I am always looking for store bought items to adapt to my sons dietary needs -- because let's face it although we would all love to be Martha Stewart or work on the Food Network and make all of our meals from scratch, in the busy day and age we live in it just isn't always possible! :)

So, while shopping the other week I came across this mix. Most gluten-free things are also dairy-free -- great news for my house!! So I bought it and decided to try it out!
The mix calls for eggs... well, I can't use those, so instead I used this egg substitute I found at Whole Foods. (BTW -- a great store for anyone with allergies or other special dietary needs)
I followed the rest of the recipe on the box (substituting the egg replacement for the required eggs). Then my assistant helped to clean the bowl!

After baking here is what they looked like. Yummy, right? (You can see how well-loved my silicone muffin pan is...)
Now, most store-bought frosting has milk in it (or is processed in a place that also processes milk, peanuts, or egg). BUT... I have found one exception. Thank you Duncan Hines!!! Their classic chocolate frosting is dairy-free!!! So, we stock up when they are on sale!

The mix said it would make 12 cupcakes... it made 12, and a couple extra. I used my mini muffin pan to make the extras thinking that mini cupcakes might be easier for my little guy! We topped them with some colored sprinkles and voila!
They even tasted good too! They were super moist and really dense... so if you like a nice dense cake... you should totally try it!

Here is my assistant enjoying her masterpiece! I took a couple pics of my son, but he doesn't like the flash on my camera so his face always comes out funny...sorry! But he loved them too!
Enjoy!!!

Cupcake Toppings Tray Tutorial - Guest Post from Paisley Passions

Don't forget about my 2 current giveaways! Handmade by Nikki enter to win a gorgeous necklace -- and 3 Free Sponserships and dedicated posts to your blog/shop!!
Today we have a special treat!!! A guest post by Lori from Paisley Passions!
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Hello all of KdBuggie Boutique followers! I am super excited to be guest hosting over here today! It is always so much fun to meet new people out here in blogland :) I hope that you will take a quick minute to pop on over to my blog, Paisley Passions and say hi! I would love to meet you!

A quick intro of myself and then on to some fun! I am wife and a mother of 5. I have been out in blogland for a couple of years now, but I just started my Paisley Passions blog a little less than a month ago. I am a returning college student who will graduate with my BS in Elementary Education with an ELL endorsement in December 2011. I can hardly wait!

Over at my blog I do all kinds of things. I like to do crafts, scrapbooking, home decor, thrift store finds, photography, jewelry, DIY's, etc. I guess I just like all things crafty! :)

ARE YOU READY TO PARTY??? How about a Cupcake Party? I have a fun project to share over here today. I hope you like it :)
I took one of the little magnetic storage kits and did a little revamping with it. Here is what it looked like before I started:



Then I flipped the holder on its side and added ribbon, scrapbook paper, gems, etc.



I found some cute little spoons in the craft store. They were over by the glitter. They are just like the sample spoons you get at an ice cream place. I punched a hole in the end of each spoon and added a piece of ribbon and a gem. Then I put them in a container on the back of the holder.



I cut out a cute little sign on my Cricut and filled the containers with fun cupcake toppings. Now everyone can add their own decorations to their cupcakes. This also works great for ice cream toppings and cookie toppings too!



Thanks Katy for letting me post on your blog today! :)