Wannabe Cake Boss's, take 2!

On Tuesday, it was my Brother in Laws 20th birthday and after seeing my previous attempt at making my Sons 1st Birthday Cake my Sister got it in her head that we should attempt to make him a fire truck cake. (He's a volunteer firefighter)

I started to Google different ideas and came across this fantastic tutorial over at Beki Cooks Cake, it was very ambitious! You should most definitely check out all of her cakes, they look absolutely delicious!!

My sister, Taryn and her friend Kelsey came over on Tuesday lunchtime and we put ourselves to work. Baring in mind that this is what the cake was supposed to look like, I don't actually think we did that bad!! Obviously ours didn't turn out quite as well!

Photo courtesy of Beki Cooks Cake

There were a few differences though, we couldn't find the right size box of fondant. Michaels only had the HUGE box that we would never have used in a million years, so we went for gum paste. It worked great, but, if I ever used it again, I would wait to make the accessories for the cake until we were actually ready to use them. It dries a lot harder than fondant and when we tried to add them to the cake later, some of them cracked and the ladder broke :( We also made the fire truck yellow, as this is the color of the fire trucks at the station he volunteers at! Oh! And I had to use a butter knife to ice it! It would have looked so much better with the proper tools!!!

This is how it went!

We chose French Vanilla and Strawberry

Taryn diligently working on the accessories!

A blurry photo of the stacked cake...

Ready for accessories!

One side finished

And the other!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!!

~ Tasha

My Cotton Bunny Review

Firstly, I need to start off by saying how absolutely INGENIOUS this idea is. It's one of those ideas that I seriously wish that I had thought of first. Always a day late and a dollar short, haha.

My Cotton Bunny is a new Monthly Subscription Service just for that time of the month!! Each month, they will send you a box filled with everything you need for your period (and some things that you didn't know you needed, but you really did!) Your choice of Tampons or Pads, in your choice and size of brand; U by Kotex, Tampax Pearl, Always Infinity, o.b. Procomfort, Tampax or Tampax Radiant. If you are like me and end up stuck without tampons every month because you forgot to buy them, this could quite possibly be a lifesaver! Each box is packed with care, by hand and shipped from Los Angeles, California.

My Cotton Bunny kindly sent me their January 'Warm & Cozy' box to review. It contained;

• An 18 Count Box of U by Kotex Click
• A Pair of Warm & Fuzzy Socks very cleverly packaged as a cupcake!
• A Single Serve Packet of Hot Chocolate by Cocoa Amore
• A Dark Chocolate with Deep Forest Mint square by Endangered Species Chocolate
• A Gourmet Lollipop
• A Pumice Sponge

 
 You have several subscription options:

• Month to month which costs $13.75, per month.You will be billed each month on the same day you subscribed. If you no longer wish to subscribe, you can cancel with no further obligation.
• Every 3 months which costs $39.16 and saves you 5%
• Gift Subscription of 6 months which costs $74.25 and saves you 10%

 Each month, you get different products and you can sometimes get other things added to your box by completing tasks such as, re-tweeting one of their Tweets, getting one of your friends to Like them on Facebook, Re-Pinning one of their Pins on Pinterest, or posting a picture of your box. You could end up with a full sized product and more!

You can order your very own care package by visiting their website and registering. It is very simple to sign up!

You can visit them on Facebook and Twitter where you can get information on box contents each month and enter giveaways or just show them some love! They are very friendly!

I also highly suggest following them on Pinterest! There is a great tutorial on there regarding the cupcake socks!

Enjoy!

~ Tasha

*Disclaimer - I was sent the above product for free, to give my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a good review, all opinions are mine, and mine alone. I received no compensation for this post.

(Blogger Opp) Cloth Diaper Starter Set Giveaway

Hosted By: My Four Littles

Sponsored By: Natural Littles LLC

Coming soon to New English Mum in America!!

A Cloth Diaper Starter Set Giveaway

Diapers, Wet Bag, and Cloth Friendly Detergent from Natural Littles LLC!

Two Free Links with announcement post.

You can write your own announcement post or use the text HERE.

$2 for Additional Links (up to 2)

$4 for Daily Vote/Comment Links

$10 for Cohost 

(Up to 5 Links on Your Own Host Page)

(You Will Make the RC Form and Pick the Links)

(Back Link in the HTML)

Click here to sign up!

EatSmart Precision Digital Bathroom Scale, Review and Giveaway!

Can I have a show of hands who made New Years Resolutions this year? (My hand is up...) How many of you have resolutions to lose weight in 2013? (My hand is up again...) How many haven't put their resolutions into action yet? (Yep! Me again!) Over the last year or so, my weight has slowly climbed up and up, so much so, that I now weigh 8 pounds shy of what I did when I was 9 months pregnant. As I'm sure you can imagine, I am not happy about this situation.  Not at all!

I have made a goal for myself. I intend to start a DIY WeightWatchers program next week, which my Husband is going to be on too. Hopefully we will help each other stay on track! My goal is to lose 35 pounds this year, hopefully by the summer so I don't scare small children away, screaming when I put my bathing suit on. These reasons above are why I am super excited to have the chance of reviewing the EatSmart Precision Digital Bathroom Scale!

Product Features:

• EatSmart Step on Technology - Love this! You don't have to tap the scale first before you get on! You just step right on and get an instant reading!
• Weight capacity of 400 pounds
• 3.5" LCD display with a cool blue back light for easy viewing, even in low lighted areas of your bathroom or home
• 4 High precision sensors to ensure accurate results every time
• Slim, sturdy, tempered glass design - Very sleek!
• Large 12" by 13" non-slip platform
• 4 AAA batteries are Included and a handy tape measure too! 

I was a little concerned at first about the fact that it was glass. 2 year olds and glass don't normally go hand in hand. My concerns vanished however, when my Son decided to use it as a bounce house. It held up just fine! He tried picking it up too and realized it was a little too heavy for him and dropped it with quite a crash, not a scratch!

I really do love the design too, it's pretty fancy looking and goes with pretty much everything.  Sometimes scales can look like a bit of an eyesore, so I'm glad that I can keep it in my bedroom and it doesn't really look out of place (I don't have room in the bathroom)

Cole's svelte self

See this? By August that will be GONE!

EatSmart was founded in 2005 and have been devoted to designing innovative health care products to meet the needs of their customers ever since! They really do stand behind their products. Every product that they manufacture, carries a 100% EatSmart Satisfaction Guarantee! Customer Service is their highest priority (If you read some of their reviews on Amazon, you will find this to be completely true!) Also on top of that, each month, they donate a portion of their profits to a charity :)

If you visit their blog, they have all kinds of information to help you keep on track with your fitness and weight loss goals.  They have recipes, success stories, tips and even giveaways!

If you want to buy an EatSmart Precision Scale all of your very own then you should head on over to Amazon.com - they are priced very reasonably! You should check out all of their stuff! They really do have some great products!

They would love it if you would follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus and Instagram too!

The extremely kind people over at EatSmart have very generously offered up a scale, just like the one I received, for one of my readers to win!!

Please enter below on the Giveaway widget. Open to residents of the US only.  You must be over the age of 18. The winner will be selected at random on January, 25th at 11.59pm and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.  Please read the full terms and conditions located at the bottom of the entry form.

GOOD LUCK! 

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*Disclaimer - I received the above product for free. I was under NO obligation to provide a good review. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

This giveaway is in NO way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. Information collected is NOT collected by Facebook. In signing up for this promotion, participants release and indemnify Facebook from all liability.

Fussy Pantitus...

Yes. My Son has a case of Fussy Pantitus. It's starting to drive me insane. He has a very small list of foods that he will eat and I'm not quite sure how he is so healthy.

He will eat:

Mac & Cheese (But only recently)
Fruit (Any fruit)
Goldfish
Yogurt
Cheese
Ham
The occasional Chicken Nugget
Ramen Noodles
Cereal
Toast
Bacon (But not really)
Sausage (But not Hot Dogs)
Chocolate (He is my Son after all)
Ketchup (Like me, he would drink it out of the bottle if he could)

That's pretty much it. If something looks even remotely like a vegetable, he will NOT eat it, he won't even try it! He eyes up 'un vegatized' plates of food very suspiciously as though I have laced them with arsenic, puts the food in his mouth and holds it there for a second to see whether it is acceptable to his delicate and highly trained palate and then either gestures with his hands for my hand so he can spit it out, or nods his head and swallows. I'm thinking I may have a Zagat food critic on my hands in a later life.

I've started giving him a Gummy Vitamin every day and Carnation Instant Breakfast every once in a while and just hope to hell that he is getting what he needs.

Anyone else have a case of the 'fussies' in their house? I am determined to find a way to trick him! That might be my mission next week.

~ Tasha

$10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all my new fans today! Although I didn't reach my target of 150, I still want to celebrate!  I am giving away a $10 Amazon E-Gift Card!

You have until Friday to enter!

Entry-Form

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GOOD LUCK!!! 

Edited to add: By the time I woke up this morning I was well over 150 and have now almost reached 200, so yay!  Thank you all!

 

This giveaway is in NO way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. Information collected is NOT collected by Facebook. In signing up for this promotion, participants release and indemnify Facebook from all liability.

This giveaway is sponsored and will be fulfilled by New English Mum in America and will end on Friday January 18th at 8pm.  Winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.  Prize will be emailed to the winner in the form of an Amazon E-Gift Code within 24 hours of confirmation. Open to US residents only age 18+

Crockpot Chicken Fiesta!

Tonight I felt a bit like Old Mother Hubbard when I went to my cupboard!  There wasn't a whole lot in there at all so I dug the crockpot out and cooked up a masterpiece. (Well actually, I would do it a bit differently next time!  Sounds good though, huh?)

If I had my camera, I would have taken a picture...  But I will add one next time I make it.  I will definitely make it again because My Husband loved it.  Cole not so much.  He is getting a bit fussy with his food!

To make my Chicken Fiesta Masterpiece I chucked in:

4 Chicken Thighs
1 Can of Corn
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Can of Pinto Beans
1 Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Can of Tomato Paste
1 Packet of Taco Seasoning
1 Packet of Fajita Seasoning
1 Chopped Onion
1 Cup of Rice (This is the bit I would change...  Next time I would most definitely do the rice separately, it was far too mushy!)
1 Cup Water

Mix it all together and cook on high for about 5 hours and VOILA!  Delicious!  I absolutely love my Crockpot and I have no idea why I don't use it more often!!

What are some of your favorite Crockpot recipes?

~ Tasha

To IUD or not to IUD...

Bit of a personal topic today... But, this morning I found out that I can no longer have my Depo Provera shot.  I'm upset because I love it, it does not however, love me back.  I am now in a dilemma.  I can't take anything with estrogen in it, because it raises my blood pressure really high.  My doctor put me on progesterone only pills before I left England and they were fine for a few months, but my blood pressure rose again. I stopped taking birth control for quite some time, mainly because I couldn't afford it and then got pregnant with Cole.  They gave me the Depo shot at the hospital after I gave birth and I had 2 doses but then stopped because it was getting pricey. When we moved, I realized that I could go to the Health Department (I had no idea...) so in July I started it back up again, only to go today and find that my blood pressure is ridiculously high again.  So apparently it's hormones in general that do not agree with me. I have also not been feeling all that great for the past 6 months or so, and I put it down to everything that has been happening over the past couple of years. Turns out, that this could also be the Depo.  One of the main side effects is depression.  Again with the ugh'.

I have an appointment on January 24th to see the doctor about a copper IUD (Paragard).  I really need some advice here!  I have been researching it and have seen very good reviews and some very, very bad ones!  I know people are different and things affect people in different ways, I just wanted to hear from a few people who have one or have had one so that I know a little more of what to expect.  I'm a bit nervous!

~ Tasha

Salt Dough Results

The picture really speaks for itself.

Don't think THAT will be hanging on the tree next year...

So, yes.  The salt dough crafting session failed. Miserably. The above is what I made.  Cole smooshed his creation into the floor and all over the couch and my Husband started making things that I will not mention.  I gave up.

On a different note, I promise that my picture quality will get better some day soon...  I need to buy a new camera charger.  I wish I knew where the old one was.  I hate moving!

Homemade Craft Clay (Salt dough)

I was watching Sprout earlier with Cole and something on The Noodles and Doodles (whatever it's called) Bus show jolted my memory of something my Nan used to do!  (I have also seen it on Pinterest several thousand times over the past few months) Anyway, I got out all my ingredients and went to town creating something fun for Cole and I to do tomorrow!

You will need:

4 cups of flour
1 cup salt
2 cups water (may need more)
Food coloring

Add the 4 cups of flour and salt to a large bowl, pour in the water and stir.  When all the water is absorbed, start kneading!  If it's still too crumbly, add a little more water.  You don't want the dough to be too dry, nor do you want it to be wet and sticky...

I separated mine into 5 balls, poured some food coloring on each ball, one at a time and kneaded the dough until it was the desired color adding more food coloring if needed.

I do advise using gloves to do this part though...  I didn't think about that with all my enthusiasm and now look like this and probably will for quite some time:

After scrubbing.

After the balls of dough were the right colors, I put them into individual zip lock bags so that the dough doesn't dry out.

All ready for tomorrow!

I'll be back to post some of Cole's creations!  I'm excited, I love playing with Play-doh!

~Tasha

Parenting update

As I said before, Cole is now 2 and as ornery as ever!  He has been one of the things that has kept me sane over the past year! Well, almost...  His terrible two's 'could' actually be the end of me, haha.  

He is just about to join a pre kindergarten program called Head Start.  At the moment, we have weekly visits at home from a teacher while he is on the waiting list.  He starts in February and will be going to school (I can see it from my living room window) Monday through Friday, 8.30am - 2pm.  It seems like an awfully long time each day!  But they will have breakfast and lunch, play time and nap time.  It will be so good for him to be around other kids though!  I will miss him, it'll be weird not having him here all the time!  I'm sure I'll get used to it quite quick though ;)  He has turned into Stewie from Family guy with the whole 'Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mom, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mama, Mom, Mama, Mama, Mommy, Mom' thing and why is it that boys have to bang things on things?  He seriously does, bang EVERYTHING on EVERYTHING! And, I have given up on cleaning his room too!  He has this couch in his room with all these stuffed animals on (I have no idea where half of them came from, I swear he visits Toys 'r' Us whilst we are sleeping) anyway, literally 5 seconds after arranging them all neatly back on there again, I walk into this:

Excuse the bad quality, I can't find my camera charger anywhere...

I love my little man.  We have fun.

Gomez for Halloween.  I have NO idea what that is on his sleeve....

Telling Santa that he wants beach front property in Florida

~Tasha

Tasha went AWOL...

Hi guys,

I have been AWOL for quite some time now as my life took quite an unexpected turn. Way back in March, I blogged about how we had to move in with my parents for a while whilst we got back on our feet.  My parents lived in the middle of nowhere, and to be honest it probably wasn't the best decision in the world to go there.  I appreciate everything my family did to help us but because we didn't have transportation at that point, finding a job for my husband was pretty near impossible.  Anyway, to cut a really long story short, we bit the bullet and moved to a different town.  We were lucky enough to find out about this amazing non-profit organization called HSP (Human Services Programs) and if it wasn't for them we would STILL be extremely stuck. They offered us somewhere to live for 4 months whilst my husband searched for stable employment.  They put us in touch with local resources that we would never had known existed.  They basically saved our butts.

Thanks to them, and the sheer determination of my husband, he now has a very good job (actually 2 jobs), we have found an AWESOME place to live, we have ALL our stuff back with us in one place and my baby boy (who is now 2!!!) is happy!  I can also go back to work in May which I am so excited about!

This past year has been the most stressful, horrible, HORRIBLE year ever and I never, ever want to go through any of that ever again, nor would I wish it upon anyone else.

2013 is going to be our year.  I can feel it.

So, there you go.  That's where I have been and I am now going to try and get this blogging show back on the road!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2013 is kind to each and every one of you!

~Tasha

Blogger Opportunity! Review a Diamond Candle! First 100 to sign up, be quick!

Diamond Candles are looking for bloggers!  Go HERE and fill out the form.  They are accepting the first 100 suitable bloggers!

Good luck, these candles are awesome!

~Tasha