S'mores anyone?

Today is a really exciting day for me.  One of the awesome food bloggers I have known online for many years has published a cookbook.  Her S'mores cookbook looks incredible and you can purchase one for yourself here right now!  But, since Susan is so awesome, she is offering one of my followers a chance to win a free copy!!


Susan is not only giving away a cookbook, she has allowed me to put one of my recipes on her amazing website.  I am so honored to be posting there.  Since I knew I would be posting a recipe a few weeks ago, I really hoped to have time to create an amazing and complicated s'mores dessert, but with our new puppy I have not had time to accomplish anything.  Well I have had time to walk 12,000 steps a day, that is something, right? So my Krispy Smores recipe is an old family favorite and is simple (your kids can make it themselves) while also being quite delicious.

If you are not familiar with Susan's website, check it out here, Doughmesstic.  Susan's recipes are delicious but the cakes are truly so amazing.  Make sure you stop by the cakes tab. So unbelieveable! Susan's talent is endless.

Back to s'mores.  They are easy to make, messy to eat, and a wonderful comfort food.  I will be honest, I do not make them very often (because I am the annoying Mom who only likes to serve healthy foods).  But once in a while we all need a really sweet treat and smores hit the spot.

If you would like to win a copy of Susan's new Smores cookbook, leave me a comment.  Tell me what your favorite comfort food is.  I will pick a winner in one week, on August 8th at noon.  Good luck!!

It is feeling like a zoo in here

If you had told me last year at this time that we would now have
3 birds
1 fish
and a dog
I would have said, YEAH RIGHT.
I did not have any pets growing up. But my DH always had tons of pets. I know he misses his dogs, turkeys and birds.
It all started about a year ago when Diane turned 5 and she was given a betta fish as a pet.  This fish is still alive and really has a great personality.  Lucy just upgraded her tank to an awesome fish tank on the bottom and grow some herbs for your recipes on top.

You can see all about it at this link:
http://www.abesmarket.com/aquafarm-at-home-aquaponics-kit.html?utm_source=WeeklyEmails&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2013_07_10_theflash
I am not joking that in 24 hours we had sprouts on top.  Now 4 days later we have 6" of wheatgrass and big sprouts of lettuce and basil too.  This is the easiest way to take care of a Betta and a super easy way to grow fresh herbs in the kitchen.  Many thumbs up from our house!
So then a friend said their children were afraid of their new parakeet.  So Daisy joined us soon after Lucy.  Daisy is hilarious and super low maintenance.  Diane's Junior Kindergarten class has 2 birds who needed a home for the summer so they are here temporarily.  They are so cute and sit in their house on their 7 eggs.
And three days ago our big time waster joined us.  Molly Shadow.  She is a border collie/terrier mix  from a NC kill shelter.  She is super sweet and wonderful for keeping us active.  She wants to pee every 30 minutes, so about 12 walks a day it is.  Jake was often getting 5000 steps a day on his fitbit.  In the past 4 days he is getting 18,000 steps and he lost 2 pounds!!
You can follow Molly's escapades here:
Molly Shadow's Facebook Page
So if you come visit us, be prepared to meet our zoo and take a few walks with us.

Real Parents Review: Pacific Rim and a note on Grownups 2

Pacific Rim:  This is what summer action blockbusters should all aspire to be.  This movie was fun, fast, action packed and BIG. It has been described by many as a cross between Transformers, Power Rangers and Godzilla.  What you haven't heard though, is that this movie tops each of those in almost every area.  We were able to catch two screenings of this movie last week, one in  IMAX 3D and one on a regular screen and wow, the difference was stunning.  For most movies I would normally tell you that the extra money for IMAX/3D is probably not well spent, but that is not the case here. Spend the few extra bucks to see this on the true IMAX screen and be amazed at the visuals throughout.  But, beware of the very real and lifelike big screen movements, because children have been known to get nauseous at an IMAX/3D movie. (Don't ask me how I know this.)

The first 10 minutes of the movie gives you the entire backstory of how the kaiju (giant monsters) arrived on Earth through a portal at the bottom of the Pacific.  To defend against them, the rest of the world bands together to build giant robots called Jaegers, which are controlled by pairs of pilots.  The Jaegers are successful, but the kaiju keep coming and coming and they must find a way to close the portal for good.

There are no A-list stars in this movie, but there are plenty of faces you will recognize who put in good performances.  There is tons of action and robot-on-kaiju violence, but its mostly cartoony in nature and not something I would think would be objectionable.  The monsters themselves are very scary and I think children under 10 could easily be scared by them.  There is no nudity and very little profanity (I can't really remember any at all), but the fight scenes are really intense.  I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a fun action movie that incorporates sci-fi and great visuals.  Dad gives this movie 4.5 stars and 9 year old son gives it 5 stars.

Grown Ups 2:  My 17 year old son asked me to take him to this preview screening.  I did not see Grownups 1.  And I don't have much to say about this movie.  I had a few chuckles and
maybe a few laughs and that was about it.  The movie starts out with a deer urinating all over Adam Sandler, his wife and other family members.  I have to believe this is actually a metaphor for how the
cast feels about its audience.  The movie is filled with these types of inane moments without any real purpose.  I have to believe that the target audience for this movie is 14-17 year old boys (based on the
amount of cleavage shown throughout the movie).  Needless to say, this is NOT a movie for young children (or even adults with functioning brains) despite the fact that there is no actual nudity (aside from very brief shots of the 4 stars jumping in the water naked - I tried really hard to forget that scene too) and not that much in the way of profanity.  There are a few fight scenes with some minimal violence, but mostly it is just really juvenile humor that's really not very funny.  My 17 year old son laughed throughout the whole movie. But he even said, this movie was really lame.  0 STARS

Camp Mommy is in session

School has ended, YAY!
But that only means that Camp Mommy has started. BOO say the older kids.
I refuse to allow the kids to sit in front of screens 24/7 for 3 months. Nope, not happening while Camp Mommy is in session.
Here was the first day activity list:

The first day was OK. Older boys begrudgingly did what I asked them to. But Diane loved it.  At the end of the day she told me it was so much fun. WHY? Because she got to spend the whole day with me.  I love this girl.  Girls are so different than boys.

I have some awesome recipes to post for you this summer. I got an amazing box from Bob's Red Mill, filled with bags of grains. I can't wait to share these new recipes with you.

We visited Disney's Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge last week and we had an amazing time. I have some more Disney tips to share with you as well.  Here is a video of the animals we could see on our balcony.

It was so much fun seeing the animals right outside our window each day.  If you plan to visit Disney, you really should stay here.

Power Snack: Quinoa Oat Muffins

Happy Memorial Day everyone!
Just because I have not posted any recipes in a few weeks does not mean that I have not been cooking. It means that I have not had time to take any pictures or post recipes. School is winding down, life is crazy, but I am still cooking healthy.
Today's recipe was created by me because I am a snacker. I love to have healthy snacks that I can quickly grab as I am on my way out.  These muffins are packed with powerful protein, are vegan, and are amazingly delicious!!
Use the ingredients you have on hand.
Make your quinoa in advance. I use my rice cooker. Put 1 and 1/2 cups dry quinoa and 2 cups of water in your rice cooker. Cook it on the white rice setting and then use it as needed.

Quinoa Oat Power Muffins
1 cup of cooked quinoa
1 and 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup small nuts and seeds ( I used sunflower seeds, crushed walnuts, and cashews)
1/2 cup dried fruit and chips ( I used vegan chocolate chips, golden raisins, and dry apricots)
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used 3 kinds to make a 1/2 cup, sunflower, better n PB and regular PB)
2 flax eggs (Mix 2 T flaxseeds with 6T water, let sit for about 15 minutes, till egg-like)
1/2 cup almond coconut milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Get two bowls.
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl (quinoa, nuts and seeds, fruits and chips)
Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl.
Then add both the dry and wet together.
Spoon the mixture into your muffin receptacle. I love my reusable silicone muffin papers.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Enjoy with some fresh strawberries!

Animal Kingdom Lodge- Kidani Village

We are gearing up for a trip to Disney soon!!  So much work goes on behind the scenes to get the family ready for a big trip like this.  Disney really is the best place to take kids of varying ages. The teens like it, the tweens like it, and the 5 year LOVES it!  There really is something that appeals to everyone.
If you have never heard of Disney Vacation Club before, you should really check it out.  The DVC rooms are huge.  Full kitchens, multiple bedrooms, and many other perks make DVC a family favorite.  Last year we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village.  The family enjoyed the hotel so much we are headed back there again this summer.
We have a short video that will show you some tips and tricks for staying at Kidani Village.

If you have any DVC, Disney, or Animal Kingdom Lodge questions, please leave a comment or email me cookwith5kids@gmail.com.

This post was sponsored by MomTV.  All thoughts, ideas, content, and cute kiddos belong to me.  See you in Disney!

Real Parents Review: Now You See Me

How do they do that?  The art of being a magician is one that has been
passed down from ancient Egyptians through Houdini and on to the great
acts of today.  Now You See Me is a movie that
takes you on an adventure through the world of magic by highlighting
four magicians with different specialties who team up to pull off some
of the biggest and best tricks of all time.  They are being guided by
a shadowy figure who you never really know, a leader of an
ancient guild of magicians .  They follow this figure's instructions to
pull off amazing stunts in an attempt to earn their way into
the elite group.  For their first major trick they rob a bank in Paris
while doing their show in Las Vegas.  This trick gets the FBI involved and
the movie goes from four magicians who can do amazing things, to four
people tricking the FBI and everyone else, while they complete their
announced trio of tricks.  There are some great twists and turns
throughout the movie which all lead up to an ending we really did not
see coming.

If I had to compare this to another movie, I would have to describe
this as Inside Man meets Oceans Eleven.  There are some great
performances from a variety of actors I really enjoy: Jesse
Eisenberg (as the leader of the magicians group), Woody Harrelson (a
mentalist who can hypnotize you in a matter of seconds), Morgan
Freeman (who makes his living exposing magicians and their tricks),
Mark Ruffalo (the FBI agent in charge of taking them down) and more.
There is very little in the way of sex (one scene where one of the
magicians is with a girl while she is getting undressed and he has to
leave - no nudity though), minimal violence and only a minimal amount
of bad language.  If you have a child who likes magic at all, they will really

enjoy this movie.  My 9 year old so attended the screening with me and he

cannot wait to see it again.  This sleeper movie is such a pleasant surprise!