Mommin' It Up!

August 12, 2013August 10, 2013

Getting KuKee with my Hello Kitty Cutie

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and KuKee, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #KuKeeapp http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

I’m sure you know from reading this blog that I loves me some fashion, and one thing I love about having a daughter is dressing her. Luckily for me, most of Sophie’s clothes come as hand-me-downs from Emily’s daughter Kate, and she and Kate have excellent taste! Since we have so many great hand-me-downs and Sophie wears school uniforms during the school year, I don’t often shop for new clothes for her. So when she and I do purchase something new, it’s special for both of us. That’s why I jumped at the chance to work with Evy of California to shop at Macy’s for clothes from their Hello Kitty line (Sophie big puffy-hearts Hello Kitty!) and unlock some fun after shopping with their go-along app, KuKee.

It did not take her long once we got to Macy’s to find a few things she wanted to try on!

Shopping Kukee App — She’s not excited at all!

I really enjoyed watching her admire herself. I love a girl with self-confidence! In the end, she picked two shirts and a skirt.

The fun thing about this Hello Kitty line from Evy of Calfornia is that each item of clothing has a special marker on it that you can scan with their companion app, KuKee, so you can have some interactive fun with your new clothes as well. Sophie wanted to unlock the KuKee fun as soon as we got home, but of course I made her have a fashion photo shoot first. These Hello Kitty clothes are gorgeous, fun, whimsical, and easy to move in, as you’ll see.

We switched shirts for these next few shots – I think both shirts look great with her twirly skirt!

Ok, so twirling in a pretty skirt is always fun, but as I mentioned these clothes come with a bonus – special tags on the clothing activate the Kukee app, and each item of clothing comes with either a plush finger puppet or finger puppet tattoos you can use with the app. All three of the items Sophie picked happen to come with the tattoos.

Here’s how to use the KuKee app! It’s really quite easy!

Here’s a green KuKee marker you can scan to get started having fun with KuKee even if you don’t have any Hello Kitty clothes yet.

If you purchase the Hello Kitty clothes from Macy’s, each item of clothing has a special Hello Kitty KuKee marker on it like this one on Sophie’s shirt:

Simply scan the marker with your KuKee app and get started playing! Sophie had fun using her finger puppets to make a little scene after scanning the Hello Kitty KuKee marker:

And I had a little too much fun with the effects available when I scanned the green KuKee marker that is shown above:

Sophie and I had a great time shopping with Macy’s and Evy of California and she loves her Hello Kitty clothes! Thanks to KuKee for making it extra fun!

Do you have a Hello Kitty fan in your house? If she’s in sizes 2T-6x, head to Macy’s to pick up some cute Hello Kitty items for back-to-school!

Want to know more about KuKee? Find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

August 9, 2013September 16, 2013

Giveaway: Summer Splash Package from Kalahari Resort!

Last December, Jenny and I had the opportunity to take our families to Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio, and we had a blast!

Kalahari is the world’s biggest indoor waterpark, and with attractions for toddlers, big kids and adults, it’s the perfect getaway for the whole family. The guest rooms and restaurants are fantastic, too!

We’re excited to be giving away a Summer Splash Package to one lucky reader! The package includes:
· 1 Sandusky Overnight stay (some restrictions apply)
· 4 Sandusky Safari Outdoor Adventure Park Passes
· 2 Kalahari ball caps
· 1 Kalahari CD
· Temporary Tattoos from Summer Splash
· 2 Kalahari magnets
· 2 Kalahari shirts
· 1 DIY kit

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us one of your favorite memories from this summer. For an additional entry, pin the picture above on Pinterest, and leave a separate comment letting us know you did so.

Comments will close on August 16 at 2:00 pm, and a winner will be chosen at random.

Good luck!

Pin It

August 7, 2013August 19, 2013

3 Flavor-Themed School Lunch Ideas ( + Kroger gift card giveaway!)

Guess what? My big kids start back to school ONE WEEK from today! Guess who’s excited?? THIS GIRL! You guys know how I am…I’m a happier mom when we’re on the school schedule and Jonah and I have our “alone” time. We’ve had a fun summer, but I. Am. READY.

So, when Kroger came to me asking if I’d like to be in on a back-to-school lunch-making challenge, I was all for it. My engine was already revved up! Now, I am not very creative with school lunches, but that’s pretty much because my kids are p-i-c-k-y, especially Sophie. So instead of designing my delicious, nutritious, affordable school lunch ideas around a cutesy theme, I designed them around FLAVOR. Flavors that I KNOW my kids will eat. And so, I present to you:

Of course I made all of these ideas with ingredients I bought at my local Kroger, at a price that’s nice! I’m still enjoying their fuel points I earn for purchasing and loading their easy-peasy digital coupons (you can click right there to load some – you’re welcome!) to my Kroger Plus card to help me save too. Another thing I love about Kroger? My kids’ school receives 4% back on my purchases as part of the Kroger Community Rewards program. A BIG bonus!!

So anyway. You know I love Kroger. (Especially when there’s a mega-event, right?!?!) Here are the school lunch ideas I made for my kiddos based on their favorite flavors.

Berry Bonanza

My kids, they love the berries! Here’s what I used for this lunch.

Kroger Brand Yogurt & Berries rice cakes $1.39

Old El Paso flour tortillas $1.97

Kroger Brand creamy peanut butter $2.00

Polaner All-Fruit spreadable raspberry fruit $2.69

Driscoll’s blueberries $2

Driscoll’s strawberries $2.50

And here’s how it turned out:

I sliced the strawberries, left the blueberries whole, threw in some rice cakes, and made a peanut butter and raspberry wrap. Yum! A very fruity twist on the regular PB&J, with lots of sweet fruit and a crunchy flavored rice cake treat.

Next up? The kids’ very favorite flavor of all:

Peanut Butter Blitz

For this lunch I used:

Kroger Brand Round Top wheat bread $1.00

Kroger Brand bagged apples $3.99

Kroger Brand peanut butter $2.00

Kroger Simple Truth brand lemon-yogurt covered almonds (sooo GOOD) $3.79

Kroger Brand celery hearts $1.49

Here’s how I created a Peanut Butter-themed lunch!

For this lunch I made a classic peanut butter sandwich (PB only is Sophie’s favorite!), added in some crunchy celery smothered in peanut butter, sliced apples, and a container of peanut butter for dipping. A sweet bonus? Simple Truth lemon yogurt-covered almonds – a different kind of nut flavor, but one that both my kids devour! I love the products from the Simple Truth line!

And now, for my last creative lunch idea:

The Cheeser Pleaser

I personally adore cheese and I am very suspicious of anyone who doesn’t! Here’s what I used to put this lunch together.

Cheez-it crackers $2.88 (only $1.88 after the mega-event, HOLLA!)

Hillshire Farm honey ham lunch meat $3.99

Kraft American cheese singles $2.99 ($1.99 after the mega-event!)

Old El Pasto flour tortillas $1.97

Kraft string cheese $3.49

Kroger Brand baby carrots $1.49

Here’s how I put together these cheesy treats:

This is pretty much as simple as it can be! I made a wrap sandwich out of the tortillas, ham, and cheese singles. The string cheese stands alone as do the Cheez-its (one of Sophie’s main food groups, by the way), and I added the carrots because they were orange and healthy. This is a very cheese, crunchy, satisfying lunch!

So, what do you think of my school lunch creations? I think they’re simple and tasty – just the way my kids like them! I hope you really like them and will re-pin them by clicking here (this goes directly to the pin) – because I’m in a contest with other bloggers to win a $250 Kroger gift card, and the blogger with the most re-pins wins! You have to re-pin the original pin I linked to. Pinning it yourself won’t count, so please re-pin and help a sister out! The contest ends August 16th so please re-pin me now! 🙂 Thank you!

To further entice you to visit Kroger for you school lunch needs, I’ve got a $25 Kroger gift card giveaway! Here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me what YOUR favorite school lunch was as a child

2) Re-pin my pin (click here to re-pin – don’t create a new pin!) and then come back to this post and leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.

It’s that easy! The giveaway will end August 16th as 5 pm – happy entering and re-pinning!

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