Be There: Involved Parenting Through the Life Span

This summer I am taking a class called Principles of Effective Parenting. It's been a great class and I had to complete a project for it. My project is an eBook on being an involved parent! It has some ideas on how to be involved, a little bit about what's going on with your child at certain stages of development, and some great book recommendations to help you keep reading with your child!

Check it out here!

Glade Expressions Review

I'm a Bzz Agent and I was sent a coupons to try the new Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist and Oil Diffuser for free, and then to spread the word about what I think about them!

I am in love! I've always been a febreeze air effects girl, but, the Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist is taking over as my new favorite! I'm in love with the Cotton & Italian Mandarin scent! It makes my house smell so clean, and the scent is so light it's not over powering but makes everything smells so fresh! They fragrance mist starter kit comes with a plastic cover that goes over the spray refill. It looks and is super easy to use!

They oil diffuser is also awesome! I love the way it looks, and the fact that it's refillable. It lasts about a month scent wise. The scent is the perfect strength to fill our bedroom with scent!

I highly suggest this collection to anyone!

You can find these anywhere home fragrances are sold!

Best Place in Town!

If you ever find your self in Southern Utah you have to check out The Little Brick House! Now, you might be wondering why would I ever be in Southern Utah? Well here's a few ideas!

You might be here to check out the Utah Shakespeare Festival! They're Celebrating their 50th year!

You might also be here for Utah Summer Games! 

Or maybe the Neil Simon Festival!

Or maybe you've come to visit Tuacahn to see some amazing shows in this beautiful outdoor theater!

Maybe you've come to see the amazing National Parks and Monuments that surround this area! Such as Zion, Cedar Breaks, or Bryce Canyon!

Anyway Southern Utah is a pretty amazing place, and I've found an amazing place to eat in Cedar City, UT. It's called The Little Brick House They seriously have the best sandwiches of my life!

Sorry for the bad quality cell phone pic, I must remember to bring my camera with my to these places! This is what I ate this weekend, half a sandwich and a cup of soup! I got their Thunderbird sandwich, which is grilled chicken, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce in a honey mustard sauce. It comes on this amazing hogie roll! And the soup! Oh my this is their Tomato Basil soup, and it is amazing! It has these little cheese filled ravioli in it! All their sandwiches also come with chips. And if you dine in you get a little piece of fudge with your order!

Check out The Little Brick House on Facebook for some
amazing pictures of their sandwiches! 

My boyfriend, got the Ham and Cheese, which is delicious and is served on sour dough bread! If you're ever in Southern Utah you have to check this place out! They also serve a variety of desserts! They also are an antique shop with the cutest things in the city! 

So there you go, what to do and where to eat next time you're in Southern Utah! 

St. Patrick's Day Mani!

I have a love for St. Patrick's day! I love holidays in general, plus it's my little sisters birthday! So that makes the day even more special! I'm not really one to wear green in any way shape or form, but on St. Patrick's day I always do! Of course I had to do my nails green, so here's what I did!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in 34 Going Green, Sinful Colors Green Ocean,
topped of with Seche Vite! 

I think I might have gone a little overboard with the Green Ocean. But it turned out super sparkly, and I loved it! Seche Vite was not thick enough to smooth all the flakies out. This was a perfect mani for St. Patrick's day!

Green Ocean comes out around St. Patrick's Day every year. If you see it pick up a bottle! It is very worth it! On a side note I've never had staining problems before, but Going Green stained my nails, so if you use it be sure to double up on base coat! 

4-Layer Pudding Pie

For my first post I thought it would be nice to share one of my many loves with you, cooking! This is a recipe that I grew up with! My mom makes this every year at Thanksgiving and for all those special occasions! It is my favorite chocolate fix!  

How to Make 4-Layer Pudding Pie

The ingredients: Instant Chocolate and Vanilla Pudding, Cream Cheese, Butter, Powdered Sugar, Flour, Cool Whip, and a Chocolate Bar. 

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Then melt the butter, and add in the flour as soon as the butter has completely melted. 

Stir until it reaches a paste like consistency. Let sit until the dough is cool enough to touch. 

Now pat your dough into a 9X13 pan. This will be a very thin layer! Try to get the dough pressed evenly across the entire pan. 

Your base layer should look like this before going into the oven. 

Bake for 15 mins, or until golden brown. After about 10 mins watch it carefully, you do not want this to get overly brown! While the crust cooks beat together your softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar. 

Now fold in the whipped topping! Using two 8 oz containers will get the exact amount you need for this recipe.  Put an entire container in, then on the second one I always just use my spatula to divide it into fourths. Put one of the fourths into the cream cheese mixture. After you've folded in the whipped topping and mixed thoroughly it will have a very glossy sheen. It reminds me of marshmallow cream. This mixture will be your second layer. 

Now pull your crust out of the oven, it should be a very light golden color and look slightly scaly. Now let it cool before you add the second layer. About 5 mins in the refrigerator should do the trick!  

Once your crust is cool fill the pan with the cream cheese mixture. It works best if you put dollops across the whole thing and then smooth it together. The mixture will stick to and pull up your crust if you try to spread it to far. 

Place the pan in the refrigerator for the layer to set up while you mix the next layer. Place both pudding packages into a mixing bowl and whisk in the milk. 

Remove the pan from the fridge and smooth the chocolate layer over. Place back in the fridge to set up for at least 10 mins. 

Once the pudding layer has had a chance to set up spread the remaining whipped topping on the top for the final layer. You're almost done! 

Now using a peeler hold the chocolate bar over the pie and shave off little bits of chocolate. The chocolate will curl if you use the peeler! This is a very messy process as the chocolate will melt in your hand as your shaving it. So work quickly and switch to a new chocolate piece when the one you're working with melts to much to be shaved. And voila you're finished! You can eat it now if you wish, but giving it a little bit more set up time will make it easier to get out! 

Bon Appetit! 

I didn't get a picture of the finished product on a plate, the boyfriend and I were to excited to eat it to remember to take a picture!

4-Layer Pudding Pie

INGREDIENTS: 

1 C Flour

1 Cube Butter

1 C Powdered Sugar

8 oz Cream Cheese

16 oz Whipped Topping

3 oz Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix

3 oz Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix

3 C Milk

1 Chocolate Bar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Melt the butter over medium heat and stir in the flour as soon as it is melted. 

3. Press the butter/flour mixture into a 9x13 pan.

4. Bake for 15 min, or until lightly golden brown. 

5. Let crust cool. 

6. Mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar. 

7. Fold in 10 oz whipped topping, mix thoroughly.

8. Spread cream cheese mixture across crust in an even layer, place in fridge to set up. 

9. Whisk together chocolate pudding mix, vanilla pudding mix, and milk. 

10. Pour over cream cheese mixture and spread evenly. 

11. Spread remaining whipped topping over pudding layer. 

12. Place chocolate shavings over the top. 

13. Enjoy! 

**To make this recipe a little lighter, I used neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese, I also used Lite whipped topping.**