Month: March 2015

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

One of my favourite things to put together during the Easter season are children’s Easter baskets. I love designing, decorating and choosing chocolates that they will love. Creating our own baskets allow us to tailor the items in the basket to their likes and creates a personal gift for them.

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

For this basket you will need:

  • Easter basket (I picked up mine from the Dollar Store – two baskets for $1)
  • small chocolate eggs (I chose Hershey’s cookies and creme)
  • Kinder Surprise Eggs
  • foam
  • green filling for the basket
  • styrofoam eggs (these came attached to a stick so it was easy to insert)

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

Directions:

Using a knife or scissors trace the bottom of the container on the foam to ensure it will fit in the bottom of your basket. Using a knife cut out the foam and place it in the bottom of your basket.

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

Fill the basket with the green filling to cover up the foam.

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

Insert the styrofoam eggs and place the Kinder egg in the basket.

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

Fill the basket with chocolate eggs (or another favourite of your child’s).

Easy DIY Easter Baskets

And voila – your basket is complete!

These are perfect for the little ones that come over during the holidays or a friend’s child. I have stopped buying the store packaged Easter baskets due to the quality of items included so these are great alternatives to store-bought baskets!

Do you make your own Easter baskets? What do you like to include?

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March Break Fun with Linky! #WW

March Break #WW

Last week we were off enjoying March Break and here is a glimpse of our week!

We attended a Raptors game (where unfortunately they lost) but my son taught me a lot about basketball and it was fun to just spend some one on one time with him. He has quite the humour!

March Break #WW

We went for a couple of hikes as the weather has finally let up and the snow is starting to melt. The views by the lakefront were spectacular!

March Break #WW

We went bowling where my eldest and I tried to re-gain our Number One Title but we lost to my husband and youngest son (we still say there was definitely some cheating going on by those two!).

March Break #WW

To top it off we baked and baked!!

Mommy and Me Baking During March Break #DKCanada

What have you been up to this week?

Make sure to link up below so that I can visit you too!

 

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Who Is Egg-cited for Easter – This Kinder Mom Is! #KinderSmiles #KinderMom

Kinder Canada

The sun is finally shining and the snow has melted (in my part of Canada because I know my friends in the East are still having quite a bit of snow falling!) and Spring has finally come. We have been busy preparing our hearts and home for Easter and our children are excited for all the fun that Easter brings – time with family and all of the Easter egg hunts!

Kinder Canada Easter

I have been busy preparing the children’s baskets this week, preparing crafts for the boys and working on our Lenten promises. While it is usually a busy time in our family it is also the most rewarding.

Kinder eggs have always been a family tradition in our home. Our children look forward to finding them in their Easter baskets on Easter morning – not to mention how much their Mom loves those mini eggs!!

Kinder Canada Easter Collection

This year Kinder Canada is celebrating Easter in a big way on Facebook by unwrapping your very own Kinder egg online!

So how does this work you may ask?

Between March 16 and March 31st head over to the Kinder Canada Facebook page and open the new Kinder Easter tab at the top of the page. Tap the image with your mouse to unwrap the egg. The Kinder egg will reveal either an instant prize or a message to try again. Every time you unwrap a Kinder egg you are automatically entered in to a grand prize draw. Awesome, right? Make sure you get those entries in soon because this unique giveaway will end soon.

Kinder Canada Easter Collection

 

How do you celebrate Easter? Are Kinder eggs a part of your tradition like they are in our home?

Make sure you are following Kinder Canada on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with new products, games and giveaways!

Disclosure: I am a #KinderMom and receive perks associated with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

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The Promise of Palm Grove

The Promise of Palm Grove

Leona has a tough choice to make: should she follow her heart or stay on the course planned for her? In The Promise of Palm Grove we watch Leona grow in strength, courage and determination.

The Promise of Palm Grove

About the Promise of Palm Grove

A young Amish woman finds herself torn between the man who she is pledged to marry and the man that her heart desires.

Leona decides to take a trip to Florida to help relax in the small town of Pinecraft. Her friends think that she is happy to be away from the stress of wedding planning. Little do they know she is just happy to be away from her fiance.

Her fiance, Edmund, is a good and honest man who will make a good husband but just not for Leona. The more time she spends with him and his overbearing ways makes Leona realize he is not the man for her. Everyone else is so sure that he is the man for her but why can’t she make herself believe this? A chance encounter with a fun-loving Amish man brings Leona face to face with two different futures.

My Thoughts

A lovely story of honour, duty and following your heart. Leona is a young woman who feels like she must do her duty to her community and the promises she makes. She feels influenced by those around her and tries to conform her heart to their wishes but it is impossible to do so. She is a fun, caring and light-hearted individual who needs to spread her wings.

Meeting the fun-loving, Zachary, opens up a whole new person in Leona. She is allowed to be herself and truly shines around Zachary which love is meant to do. Both of them know it is love at first sight but they are both terrified of what this means.

I love how Leona grows in strength and courage throughout the book. Marriage is an important step in one’s life and should never be taken lightly even when duty and family pressure you do so. A fantastic and heart warming book that you will cherish!

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page here. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York best-selling author and a two-time USA best seller. She lives in Southern Ohio where she writes, bakes and can often be found on the trails walking her dogs.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Visiting The Sins by Melanie Denman #review

iRead Book Tours

Visiting The Sins is a darkly funny story about mothers and daughters, ambition, redemption and the acts we commit in the name of family.

Visiting the Sins Review and Giveaway

About Visiting the Sins

Visiting the Sins is set deep in the Bible Country of Texas and follows three generations of women in the Wheeler family. A family of women with lofty social aspirations but whom always seem dissatisfied. Pokey is the quirky matriarch, Rebanelle the former beauty queen and Curtis Jean the gospel singer. Their aspirations are matched only by their poor taste in men and their capacity for holding grudges. A legacy of feuding and scandals threatens to bring down all they have sacrificed to build.

My Thoughts

An interesting story told from the viewpoints of the three women and those closest to them. They are a family that loves each other deeply but also are not afraid to speak their mind nor hold a grudge. With the story being told from each of the women’s own thoughts and feelings you are given a different angle of each situation. While Pokey feels Rebanelle is cold and calculating, Rebanelle feels hurt and that she must bear the greatest burden of the family. The three women constantly perceive each situation differently and of course each one is always the most correct individual. This did get confusing at first until I became quite clear with the names of all the characters but it really gave a great picture of the situations each one endured.

While dark at times, Visiting the Sins is a true portrayal of depression, family love and perseverance against the toughest odds. The Wheeler family pulled themselves out of poverty to become high standing members of their community and did it in a way that only the Wheeler family could achieve. The comedy relief from Pokey balances the novel out perfectly.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Melanie is a native Texas and a graduate from Stephen F. Austin State University. An eighth generation Texan and a former banker and cattle rancher, she currently lives in San Francisco working on her second novel.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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