Hurry though…this deal expires in about 5 hours!

Each day, Groupon will list deals from your city with a limited amount of time to purchase. Many times, the deal can sell out before the time is expired.

Be sure to read the fine print before you purchase including (but not limited to):

• Expires August 1, 2012
• Limit 1 per person, may buy 1 addtional as a gift
• Limit 1 per visit
• Not valid with Pretzelmaker Loyalty Cards

E-Mealz.com

A deal for $29 for 12 months of Online Meal Planning ($58 value) is also going on right now.  This deal is good for another two days.  We actually subscribed to E-Mealz for a few months and I really enjoyed getting my weekly meal plan.  They make it easy for you with printable shopping lists, recipes for each meal and more.

Be sure to read the fine print before you purchase including (but not limited to):

• Expires August 8, 2012
• Limit 1 per person, may buy 4 additional as gifts
• Must activate by 8/8/12, program expires 12months from activation date

To purchase either deal, click the link below:

A deal a day great things to do, eat, see, & buy in your area. Shop Groupon.com today!

*This post includes an affiliate link.  Please see our disclosure page.

After getting an email from a reader about good grades rewards (I love getting ideas from you all! Thanks!), I posted on our Pensacola with Kids Facebook page and got some great feedback about different good grade rewards that can be found in Pensacola.

Unfortunately as I started to call around and confirm the rewards, I found that many of the participating businesses only honor the rewards if your child received a certificate from his or her school.  Certificates included rewards from Fast Eddies, Baskin Robbins, Arby’s and more but if your child’s school does not participate, he or she won’t get the certificate or the reward.

In addition to the certificates, your children can bring their report cards to the following businesses to earn good grade rewards:

Krispy Kreme – For each A, your child will get a free doughnut up to six doughnuts.  (We are headed here this afternoon so I will update the post to let you know how it goes!)

Chuck-E-Cheese – Bring in your report card and receive free tokens for good grades.  Valid with a food purchase only and up to 15 tokens.

Cordova Lanes – Bring in your report card and receive a free game of bowling.  When I called, I was told that certificates were handed out but when I mentioned my son didn’t receive a certificate they said that they would probably honor the report card.  **Be sure to call ahead of time to confirm.

Sam’s Fun City – Bring in your report card and receive your choice of one complimentary Go-Kart ride, Lazer-Tag game or limited Arcade Tokens.  They also passed out certificates to participating schools but when I mentioned my son didn’t receive a certificate they said that they would honor the report card.  **Be sure to call ahead of time to double check.

Mardi Gras season is here!  Pensacola kicked off the Mardi Gras celebration this week with Twelfth Night.  I love that Pensacola has such a family friendly parade for Mardi Gras.  We love to go to the parade but that isn’t until the end of February so we celebrated Mardi Gras this weekend with a homemade King Cake.

The “King’s Cake” represents the three Biblical kings that journeyed to Bethlehem.  King cake season goes from the end of Twelfth Night through Mardi Gras Day.  The cake is a ring of twisted cinnamon dough with a variety of fillings.  The most common is cream cheese but you may also find a variety of fillings like cherry, peach, lemon, rasberry and more.  The cake is covered with a sweet icing and then purple, gold and green sugar.  Often, there is a baby or a small bean hidden inside the cake but seeing as this presents a choking hazard, we leave it out.  Tradition states that whoever finds the hidden bean or baby is the person who brings the next king cake.

This is the first king cake I have ever made and I admit that I totally cheated!   We used a can of cinnamon rolls!  I might attempt a more difficult recipe.

Ingredients:

1 can of cinnamon rolls and the icing that comes with it

1 cup of sugar divided into 3 bowls

Directions:

Open the can of cinnamon rolls and fold each roll in half to resemble a hot dog bun.  Lay the rolls in a circle so that they are barely overlapping.

If you want to add a cream cheese flavor to it you can put a dab of cream cheese frosting in the middle of each roll.  In the picture, you will see the cinnamon rolls open facing out.  I wish that I had faced the opening towards the inside of the ring.

Bake the rolls according to the directions on the container.  My recipe called for 13-17 minutes and they were ready right at 13 minutes.  Be sure to watch the oven.

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make your colored sugars.

Put three to five food coloring drops into the sugar and mix thoroughly.  I used this tutorial on how to dye your own sugar.

Take the metal lid off of the icing container, discard, and microwave icing for about 10-15 seconds so the icing is a little runny.  Pour the icing over the top of the cinnamon rolls and coat with the colored sugars.

Monday

1. Color the Letter K.
2. Trace the Letter K.
3. Color the hidden picture.

Tuesday

1. Read Spot’s Windy Day by Eric Hill and Curious George Flies a Kite by H.A. Rey.
2. Color the picture of the kite.
3. Fly a kite.

Wednesday

1. Read a book about a king.  We don’t have any in our home library, but I did a quick search and found one called The Frog Who Would Be King by Kate Walker.  I might look for this one at the library or the bookstore.
2. Make a crown with construction paper and decorate it with glitter, stickers, etc.

Thursday

1. Read Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?by Eric Carle.
2. Color a kangaroo picture.

1. Kangaroo toilet paper roll

Each day, Groupon will list deals from your city with a limited amount of time to purchase. Many times, the deal can sell out before the time is expired.

We love Oops Alley and this is a pretty good deal!

Be sure to read the fine print before you purchase including (but not limited to):

• Expires July 4, 2012
• Limit 10 per person and limit one per visit.
• Valid for option purchased only.
• Subject to availability.

Here are some craft ideas and activities for Christmas.  If you have any ideas to share, let me know in the comments or via email!

Christmas Coloring Pages

Colors and Shapes Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree Maze

Twelve Days of Christmas Coloring Pages and Number Practice

Handprint Angel

Puzzle Piece Picture Frame

Handprint Christmas Tree Craft

Christmas Pages – Mazes, math pages, cryptograms, etc

When Thanksgiving weekend came around, I couldn’t wait for it to be over so that we could put up our tree and get our house decorated.  Now that it is almost Christmas, I am having a hard time keeping up the holiday spirit.  Today, I spent the afternoon baking sugar cookies, a yearly tradition, with my family and it was just the ticket to get me back into the holiday mood.  We like our sugar cookies covered with icing and sprinkles.  This is not a healthy recipe at all, but it is the perfect holiday treat.  My kids love making these cookies and I am ready for the next few days of holiday activities!

This recipe is great because it is easy and uses ingredients that you most likely have in your pantry.  I shared this recipe here last Friday but I thought I would share it again.

To make the sugar cookies:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 egg

1 t. cream of tartar

1 cup margarine, softened

1/2 t. almond extract

2 1/2 cup flour

1 t. baking soda

Mix powdered sugar, margarine, vanilla, almond extract, and egg.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours.  When it comes out of the refrigerator, it may seem crumbly.  Mix it up and knead the dough by hand.  Roll out on a lightly floured surface and use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.  The longer they cook, the crispier they will be.  Cool on a baking rack.

To make the frosting:

Ingredients:

1lb powdered sugar

1 stick of butter

1 tsp vanilla

a few ounces of water

Combine butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in the mixer.  Add water and until it is a frosting consistency.  Dish into bowls and add food coloring if desired.  When you aren’t using the frosting, keep covered with a damp paper towel so frosting doesn’t harden in bowl.

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?  If you would like to share it, please leave us a note in the comments!

Here are some craft and activity links for Hanukkah!  If you have any Hanukkah activities to share, please leave a comment!

All About Hanukkah

Paper Menorah

Paper Plate Menorah

Word Searches and Crossword Puzzles

Coloring Pages

Activities for Preschoolers

 

Monday

1. Color the letter J.
2. Trace the letter J.
3. Color the hidden picture.

Tuesday

1. Read Jack and the Beanstalk.  (You can watch the story told here.)
2. Jack and the Beanstalk coloring sheets – here,here

Wednesday

1. Read Jellybeans for Sale by Bruce McMillan.
2. Practice counting with jelly beans!

Thursday

1. Read Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae.
2. Talk about the animals of the jungle.  Color Jungle pages.
3. Watch The Jungle Book.

Friday

1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Handprint
2. Candle Jars (or you can just decorate some already bought candles)
3. Hot Chocolate Cones

Please note that times are in CST.

Dec. 6

All I Want for Christmas: 1 p.m on AMC

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: 5 p.m. on ABC Family

A Michael Buble Christmas: 7 p.m. on NBC

A Christmas Story: 8 p.m. on TCM

A Christmas Carol (the version starring George C. Scott): 7 p.m and 9:30 p.m on AMC

Miracle on 34th Street: 11 p.m. on TCM

Dec. 7

Meet Me in St. Louis: 1 a.m. on TCM

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: 6:30 p.m. on Cartoon Network

A Christmas Carol (the version starring George C. Scott): 7 p.m and 9:30 p.m on AMC

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: 8 p.m. on ABC Family

Dec. 8

Frosty’s Winter Wonderland: 6 p.m. on ABC Family

The Year Without a Santa Claus: 8 p.m on ABC Family

Dec. 9

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town: 6 p.m. on ABC Family

Frosty the Snowman: 7 p.m on CBS

Frosty Returns: 7:30 p.m on CBS

Yes, Virginia: 8 p.m on CBS

Dec. 10

A “Holiday Movie Marathon” will be shown all day long on ABC Family

To see the full schedule of shows and movies that are being offered through the rest of December, please visit Go West Young Mom.