Werther's Original Baking Caramels MommyParty #WerthersBakingBash

No compensation was received for this post. I received a Party Kit to allow me to host a Werther's Original Baking Caramels MommyParty, as well as recipes, party ideas, invitations and coupons to share with my guests. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

I am not really sure why it is, but sometimes, I have the worst timing when it comes to hosting parties. Whether it is a gathering for a catalog item party or a social gathering just to visit, I either have a couple guests or a houseful. I love to host parties, so my preference is generally to have a houseful, but even though it can be disappointing to only have a few guests, it is still a great time and really gives you a chance to visit with friends.

Today, I hosted a Werther's Original Baking Caramels party. It was a chance to try out the new Baking Caramels and share the experience with friends. I already knew that there were several conflicts and that there would be a smaller group of friends (and their families) joining in on the fun. Unfortunately, with several days recently that were rainy, there were several conflicts that arose late due to rescheduling of things and decreased an already small party to an even smaller one.

On a positive note, that just meant more treats for the rest of us. In order to share the desserts with more friends, I think I might have to do a bit of an encore party and create and share the treats yet again (if for no other reason that it allows me to enjoy the treats again.

Here is a pic of the party pack that I received:

The first treat that I prepared for the party was a delectable Caramel Brownie. I started by baking up a standard brownie mix and baking it as directed. Then, I unwrapped a package of Werther's Original Baking Caramels and melted them in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. I poured them over the partially cooled brownies and allowed them to set up. I cut them into squares to share:

Just look at the ooey gooey goodness:

I must say, with the way the caramels are wrapped, it was really easy to open them and be ready to make a recipe. Especially, when I compare it to other baking caramels that I have used in the past.

The next dessert that I tackled was a Caramel Apple Tart. This recipe uses a frozen puff pastry and some apples to make a great dessert, especially when served ala mode. You can find the Caramel Apple Tart recipe here.

I also made up a batch of Caramel Mocha Hot Chocolate, with some slight adjustments. I used 2 cups of water, 2 cups of milk, 1 cup of brewed coffee and added powdered cocoa mix to the right ratio. Then, I heated the cocoa on the stove top to a low simmer. I added half a bag of caramels and allowed them to melt over low heat. It was a sweet treat:

I set out the treats on the counter, along with the Halloween pumpkins that are awaiting decorating and left the cocoa on the stove on low.

Each guest prepared a plate with each of the desserts and a cup of the cocoa:

I had planned to make a few other recipes, but as the attendee list shrunk, I decided that too much of a good thing meant that there would be more left for me to eat. I think that I would like to use them to make some caramel chocolate chip cookies and I saw some really delicious recipes on the Werther's website. I also think I will use them in some of my favorite recipes this holiday season - treats like Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars or Caramel Tassies.

What is your favorite recipe using caramels? Have you tried Werther's Original Baking Caramels?

No compensation was received for this post. I received a Party Kit to allow me to host a Werther's Original Baking Caramels MommyParty, as well as recipes, party ideas, invitations and coupons to share with my guests. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Dial It Back - Fruit2O Mommy Party #gotitfree *

* no compensation was received for this post. I received information and product to share with friends as a host of a Fruit2O MommyParty.

I don't know about where you live, but here in North East Ohio, it was a rather cool Memorial Day weekend. Last year, it was close to 90 every day of the weekend - trust me, I was sweltering at an all weekend baseball tournament. This year, it was closer to 60. In some ways, a cool weekend was nice, but in others it made the weekend more of a challenge. For instance, the kids were asking about setting up the slip'n slide. I'm not sure exactly what they were thinking, wearing jeans and sweatshirts and thinking that it would be warm enough for a swimsuit and water. In addition, we had to move our picnics indoors - leaving us with less place to eat and hang out than we have when we can use picnic tables and the table on our deck. Thankfully, we did all of our picnic-ing and marshmallow roasting on Saturday and Sunday, because Monday turned out to be not only cool, but also wet!

One of the fun features of our weekend gatherings, was the Fruit2O Mommy Party (dads and kids were included!) that we incorporated into our gatherings. In fact, instead of having just one party, it was more like 2 1/2 - spanning Saturday and Sunday. Everyone seemed to enjoy trying the variety of flavors that we received in the party pack, as well as the additional bottles I picked up at the store on Friday evening to make sure that we had plenty on hand for the gatherings. We used some fun temperature sensitive cups to serve up samples (and really all of the beverages over the course of the weekend). It reminded me a little of those Hypercolor t-shirts that were all the rage 25 years ago. The kids thought it was fun to watch them change colors and then to see the track of where they had drank the water.

There were several flavors of the water that we got to experience at the party - Strawberry, Raspberry, Cucumber Lemon, Grape, and Watermelon. Unfortunately, the two new flavors, Cucumber Lemon and Watermelon, I wasn't able to find at my local store, so we only had a little to sample and share for those flavors. I had picked up two 6 packs (on special for only $2.50/6 pk at my grocery store), one each of Strawberry and Raspberry, for the party, anticipating that the samples we had wouldn't be enough. We drank them all, so it was a good decision on my part.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the water. The water has a nice subtle fruit flavor, enough to taste and identify the flavor, but not so much that the flavor was overwhelming. We had some disagreement about whether the cucumber or lemon flavor was more prevalent in the Cucumber Lemon water. We talked about the available flavors and decided that the lemon was the one we were least likely to buy, because you could just as easily get the flavor with a lemon wedge or a bit of lemon juice in your water, but the other flavors really offered a nice change of pace from 'plain' water. Even the little kids enjoyed the water, with one little girl asking for more juice when she finished hers.

The water was a great beverage option for the picnics. It wasn't hot out, but the drinks were still refreshing and a nice accompaniment to our dinners and snacks.

One of the other things that we checked out briefly was the Fruit2O Dial it Back Facebook App. The app 'audits' your Facebook posts and make suggestions on where you might want to dial it back and show a little restraint. You can even check back to see what your progress is in dialing it back.

Above is my report. You can see that I evidently spend my time talking about the kids, the weather and sports. It doesn't surprise me, seeing as how my kids have had lots of spring sports that involved us wearing winter coats and gloves and snow. You can check out the stats on your posts, by heading to www.dialitback.com, clicking on Like and then running the app. While there, be sure to enter to win in their daily prize giveaway, too.

As the guests headed out, I gave them a coupon to pick up their own 6-pack of water to enjoy at home. Luckily, I still have one more for me and I will be on the watch for the Cucumber Lemon or Watermelon to show up at my local stores.

No compensation was received for this post. I received information and product to share with friends as a host of a Fruit2O MommyParty. I was selected to be a host of a MommyParty through my participation in MomSelect. All opinions shared are my own or that of my family.

Oral-B Stages & Crest and Oral B Pro-Health FOR ME

My daughter LOVES to shop for new toothbrushes and toothpaste. Every time we go to "our CVS" the first thing she does is head to the toothbrush row to see if any are on sale. She will try to convince me that they are (even if they aren't) and ask if she can check how much they are on the price check machine. When we do get a new toothbrush or new toothpaste, she wants to open them right away and use them, even if we just have been using the current ones for a few days.

And yet, when I ask her some mornings, she will tell me that she already brushed her teeth when she has not. I'm not sure why, it seems like a complete disconnect to me. A little girl that is so enthused about toothbrushes and toothpaste and yet tries to get out of brushing her teeth.

Recently, I had the opportunity to host a MommyParties sponsored by Oral-B Stages III & Crest and Oral-B Pro-Health FOR ME. When the party pack arrived, the kids were pretty excited to check out the contents. The box was filled with toothpaste, toothbrushes, flossers, mouth rinse and more. In addition, it included Cars II DVD, Popcorn and Popcorn boxes for the party, tips/trivia for healthier teeth, balloons and gift bags for everyone to take home their new toothbrushes and more.

As I shared with everyone the products that we had to share, I'm not sure who was more excited, the moms or the kids. The moms were pretty excited to get such a variety of products. One mom mentioned that she hadn't tried the Oral-B Pro-Health FOR ME line, but figured that since her kids loved mint toothpaste, that they would enjoy trying the new toothpaste.

My daughter was certainly excited, amongst the goodies were Flossers featuring Toy Story characters...she couldn't wait to floss her teeth. Now, I remind her that we should brush first and then floss. She hasn't tried to get out of brushing her teeth lately. Maybe, just maybe, it is the power of Buzz Lightyear (flossers) that is inspiring her...I just know that I am glad not to have to ask twice.

No compensation was received for this post. As a host of the MommyParties sponsored by Oral-B Stages III & Crest and Oral-B Pro-Health FOR ME, I received a package of products and information to share. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

LeapFrog “Learn, Create & Share” Party

Recently we had the chance to host a LeapFrog Learn, Create & Share Party through MomSelect and MommyParties.

When the party pack arrived, I was really excited to check out the products that we received.

First was the new LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet that was just launched in August. The tablet and available apps are targeted for children ages 4 to 9 years.

"LeapPad is the personalized learning tablet just for kids with a built-in camera and video recorder! LeapPad offers limitless learning and endless play through a library of 100+ cartridge games and activities with innovative creativity and reading apps! This tablet is the ultimate combination of high-tech features in a kid-friendly form factor! Touch the screen with a finger, tap it with the stylus or turn, twist and shake it for exciting motion-based gameplay! A broad curriculum includes school basics like reading, mathematics and science, plus geography, art, music, language and culture, health and more. Skill levels adjust automatically so kids can learn at their own pace, and progress is remembered from game to game and book to book. LeapPad also hosts a robust suite of creativity apps to nurture kids' innate curiosity!"

In addition, there was the LeapFrog Tag Reading System and Interactive World Map.

"Tag is the #1 selling reading system and recommended by 99% of teachers to help kids learn to love reading. Tag brings stories to life with each touch of the interactive Reader to the pages of specially printed storybooks. Words talk, pictures come to life and stories live out loud, engaging children's senses to make reading a rich, fulfilling experience. Children can use Tag as they begin their own personal learn-to-read journeys, then continue to enjoy it as their skills grow, from hearing an entire story read aloud to seeking help with individual words. With a library of 40+ books, maps and more, children can also take the fun beyond reading with fun play patterns that broaden curriculum experiences such as exploring other cultures, building skills in life science or even learning how to write!"

We had planned to have a party to have everyone over at once to play with products, but some schedule challenges and illness resulted in us sharing the toys slowly over time with several friends at little mini-parties. Not as much fun as getting together for a big party, but still everyone got the chance to play with everything. I think my daughter probably liked the chance to share her toys multiple times, plus it made for less of a struggle in waiting to take turns!

After we opened the LeapPad Explorer tablet, we spent time together exploring the tablet's features.

The LeapPad comes with a camera and video recorder. Once a picture is taken, you can use the tools to add effects to the picture. Surprisingly, the LeapPad Explorer Tablet will hold up to 30,000 photos or shoot 120 minutes of video. Using the Story Studio experience, the kids can create their own stories to share with us.

My kids recently have decided that making videos is fun. It is great that they have a camera now that they can use to make videos. Just this morning, they pretended to be sword fighting and shot a video of themselves. I like the creative play.

The LeapPad tablet also had Ultra eBooks available in many titles. (I was actually surprised to see the selection on a recent visit to the toy store - considering it was just released in August, I wasn't expecting so many options) The books come with different story levels and modes optimized to support reading development. While reading the books, they can touch the screen to get word-by-word support or definitions.

There are also game apps available for the tablet. They use the microphone and the built in motion sensors to allow the kids to play a variety of interactive games.

For the parents, connecting the LeapPad Explorer Tablet to the computer allows you to see how your child is progressing and to send their artwork and pictures to friends and family.

What everyone thought:

My daughter was so excited to share the LeapPad tablet with everyone, that she even took it to school (unbeknownst to me) to show her friends and play with after nap. I found out when I picked it up and it was in her cubbie in plain sight. I told her that we shouldn't take it to school without asking first, but she was so excited to play with the LeapPad that she tried to slip it into her back pack the next day. I decided to check the bag when I dropped her off and found it (she wasn't happy when I told her that for not listening, not only would she not get to keep it at school, but she also wouldn't get a chance to play it after school either). The teachers commented about the LeapPad Tablet and based on watching her play with it, thought it was a really nice toy to help the kids learn.

One mother that I worked with thought it was great and her girls really loved that they could play games, read books and take pictures on the tablet. She recently purchased a portable game system for them, so she didn't feel that now was the right time for her to buy one. but said that she definitely would recommend this to her sister-in-law that was looking for something for her daughter.

My daughter is still drawn to the LeapPad Tablet. Which is a good thing, as many toys seem to lose their luster quickly. She surprised me the other day when she was sitting at the kitchen table working on her LeapPad Tablet. She paused, looked at me and said "It's helping learn my letters and how to spell words too!" I thought it was pretty neat that she was having fun and learning, and recognized it.

There was also the LeapFrog Tag Reading System to explore and enjoy. We have had other reading systems - including an older reading system from LeapFrog - and all of them have required a book, a cartridge and reader. I was very intrigued by the Tag Reading System. The technology is very impressive (at least to me). As a parent, I love that there aren't any cartridges required. It makes it more portable and easier to store.

The books allow the child to select read the page to hear a single story page. They can also use the Say It, Sound It and Spell It buttons to explore each word on the page. Many of the books also include Games that can be played.

The Interactive World Map for the Tag Reading System is a two-sided interactive map. One side shows the countries and the other has animals and people to allow the child to learn more about the countries. There are games available to encourage the children to explore the map and learn about the countries.

My daughter, who is starting to learn to read at preschool, is really enjoying the Tag Reading System. There are a variety of books available, including familiar characters and stories, as well as Learn to Read Sets. We have been exploring the Learn To Read set focused on short vowels. I like that it gives her the freedom to read books when she wants to and at times where I am busy.

Everyone that has played with both toys has really enjoyed the experience and excited by the options presented.

You can see these toys in action on the LeapFrog YouTube channel. You can find LeapFrog on Facebook.

No compensation was received for this post. I received free LeapFrog products and information from LeapFrog in order to host a Learn, Create and Share Party from LeapFrog through MomSelect. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Zhu-niverse Ice Cream Party

What will they think of next? The group behind ZhuZhu pets sure have my children hooked. When the party box arrived a couple of weeks ago, my daughter was so excited to see more ZhuZhu Pets, an ice cream parlor and an ice cream truck. She was ready to open it all up and start playing. When I told her she would have to wait for the party, she started asking daily, when will we have a party?

Finally (from my daughter's perspective), this past weekend we hosted a Zhu-niverse Ice Cream Party. Okay, I guess maybe we didn't technically host since we weren't at our house, but we brought the party with us! I had planned to host at our house, , but things got busy and my daughter couldn't wait, so since we were off to a party with my nieces and nephew, we decided this would be a good time to have a Zhu-niverse Ice Cream Party.

The newest ZhuZhu Pets (at least that I know of, seems that they are always coming up with something new) are very colorful - I would describe the ones that we received as bright pastels - I know, it seems a bit like an oxymoron, but they came in pink, purple, blue and green. They were light shades like pastels, but very vivid colors at the same time. My son was quickly drawn to blue (it was the most "boy" color in the set) and my daughter, of course, liked them all. She eventually selected the pink one as the one that she would claim after the party.

The ice cream parlor came with many accessories, including a picnic table, "tubs" that looked like a variety of ice cream flavors, an ice cream scoop, sundaes, shakes and scoops of ice cream. It has an awning and serving window on one side and a slide open "Zhu-m" up window on the other side (that was bad, wasn't it?). I will say that if you have younger kids, this is one item where the accessories will need to be stored out of the way.

The hit of the party though was the ice cream truck. My video doesn't capture the sound but you can see the truck driving along with the ZhuZhu Pet wearing his ice cream driver hat. The kids kept wanting to be the next to drive the ice cream truck. They loved the music it played, sounds just like you would expect the ice cream truck to sound. They would stop the truck to push the button. When they did, sometimes the hamster would keep trying to push it along and other times, it would simply back out of the truck and go on it's merry way.


My kids are enamored with ZhuZhu Pets. As they continue to evolve, they are still very much intrigued by the toy and very excited to play with them when we get new ZhuZhus or accessories.

These new bright color one's were definitely more appealing to my daughter and nieces than to my son and nephew. When we wrapped up the party, we left two of them with my nieces to play with. We already have a "horde" of hamsters (although in trying to find the name for a group of hamsters, I learned that they don't usually live in groups - which made me think, do you still find hamsters in the wild?) at home anyways.

Myself, I think it has been an interesting evolution. The first ZhuZhu Pets that we played with - they were the colors of hamsters, their habitat, although having "room" stickers to enhance them felt like hamster stuff complete with a hamster wheel and ball. The first ZhuZhus felt to me a little like a pet without the responsibilities of a pet. Somewhere in the middle we had the KungZhu Pets, which came with battle armor and were ready to fight. Now, here we are with these new brightly colored ZhuZhus that have an ice cream parlor. The good news is that the rooms/shops are all modular and can connect to build an extensive habitat for the hamsters (especially since most of our play space is carpeted, if it weren't for the habitat, they would only be able to play with them in my kitchen. Which, is where things like the ice cream truck have to be played with - a bit of a disconnect with the rest of the toy in the basement. Another challenge (one that make my husband says "enough!") is that when all of the pieces hook together to form an elaborate and complex habitat, it's not compact and if all the rooms are used, it can take up a lot of space on the floor.

They are still fun to watch as they wander around "free" on the floor.

No compensation was received for this post. Through MomSelect and MommyParties, I received the ZhuZhu Pets and Ice Cream Parlor and Truck, for the purpose of hosting a party and sharing the experience with my readers. All opinions expressed are my own and those of my family.