Maggie's Direct Social Buck Giveaway

Welcome back to our 12 Days of St. Patrick’s Day Recipes and Crafts! The past few days have flown by with some amazing creations by our bloggys friends. Today’s recipe for day TEN is from Mom Does Reviews. It is called St. Patrick’s Day Bon Bons and I’m floored at what she did with her old cake ball recipe!
With the help of a rolling pin, freezer, sprinkles, and some super yummy chocolate, she turned cake balls into a sweet and savory treat that will have everyone you know going “Wait… what’s in this? Oh my gosh – that’s awesome!”, just like her oldest daughter did the first time she took her first bite! Check it out HERE.

Looking to give mom something to make her feel like the queen she is? Check out Cleopatra’s Choice…There mission is to scour the planet to find the most rare and unique, highest quality and most effective skin care and beauty products and deliver them quickly to your door! They have been in business since 2005 and have had thousands of satisfied customers since.
Behind the name:
Cleopatra was a Queen of ancient Egypt and is legendary as the most beautiful woman in the world at that time. She was famous for her youthful skin and looks which stayed radiant and healthy even as her age progressed. Cleopatra thought so highly of skin care products from the sea, that she went to great expense to have cosmetic factories built on the shores of the sea. Their remains can still be seen today at Ein Bokek and Ein Gedi. Since we started Cleopatra’s Choice by selling primarily Dead Sea products and Dead Sea salt, and we believe that Cleopatra was no fool when it came to beauty, youthful looks and healthy skin, we decided to name our website Cleopatra’s Choice. Our belief is that you too deserve to treat your skin like royalty.
Cleopatra’s Choice sends 3 free samples with every order, has personal customer service via phone or email, and a 3 month return and exchange policy. Their products are very high quality, and they never test on animals!
Check them out on Twitter, Facebook
Cleopatra’s Choice has offered a Mom of 3 Boys Follower the chance to win some fabulous products from their collection!! This giveaway is open to residents in US; 18+. Winner will have 48 hours to confirm before a forfeit is assumed. Giveaway is part of the MOTHERS DAY GIVEAWAY which runs May 1, 2012 – May 12, 2012 @ 11:59PM (EST).
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

My little toddler just loves to play pretend. He loves getting his action figures and peoples and build houses for them. So he was super excited when VTech sent him the Go-Go Smart Friends Busy Sounds Discovery Home to play with. I tell you what, he plays with it EVERY day since we got it almost two weeks ago!
VTech’s Go! Go! Smart line lets little ones discover cause-and-effect learning as they engage in imaginative role play and develop fine motor skills with help from fun, friendly vehicles, animals and figures.
The Go! Go! Smart ranges each feature colorful, interactive playsets includes a variety of track pieces that easily snap together and connect to other playsets in the lines.
For even more excitement the Go! Go! Smart Friends figures can be placed on MagicPoint™ locations found throughout the playsets. They will respond with phrases, music and lights while teaching cause and effect, first words, letters and more. The sets and characters are completely interactive and ready to fuel your child’s creativity!
His favorite feature of the Go! Go! Smart Friends Busy Sounds Discovery Home…the elevator..you place the Go! Go! Smart Friend Norah on the elevator, and it goes up, you take her off, then place her back on and it goes down…pretty simple..but he loves that he can make it do something cool like that! He giggles every time Norah goes potty, because the toilet flushes…But don’t try to put your figure to bed…you will get knocked out of bed and across the room..lol..He also really likes the slide, and always has someone going “weee”. He tends to bring in his little batman figures to play with her as well. Norah likes having her super friends to play with
The house itself wasn’t too hard to put together…but I will say, find the page with sticker placement and put those on before you piece it together…it will save you time.
As he grows we can get more into the lessons that Norah gives on each MagicPoint™. This teaches while still giving him the ability to use his imagination.
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WIN IT!!
One lucky My Sparkling Life Reader is going to win a Go! Go! Smart Friends Busy Sounds Discovery Home! This giveaway is open to residents of the US who are 18+ until 11:59 PM EST Oct 7, 2015.
The Fine Print: Entering this giveaway means that you accept both my rules & disclosure. I will notify winner via e-mail and they will have 48 hours to reply before I am forced to redraw winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Each household is only eligible to win this prize via blog reviews and giveaways once. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Many will enter, few will win! Please allow 8-12 weeks for delivery of prizing. My Sparkling Life is not responsible for any lost or misdirected packages. Prizing provided and shipped by VTech. In the rare occasion that a prize does not arrive (which has happened), please notify me and I will try to contact the sponsor.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

As you can probably guess, my little guys have a love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and it started with the original movies & cartoons…so when it comes to the new movies they were so excited to see new movies that have more action and adventures to offer. When they aren’t watching the movies they enjoy acting them out and playing with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie toys. The new TMNT2 toys are awesomely detailed and provide hours of imaginative play for my little guys.
Playmates Toys has introduced a new collection of products inspired by the upcoming film from Paramount Pictures & Nickelodeon Movies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. The Collection of movie toys is available now at retailers nationwide! It includes a broad assortment of products for Turtles’ fans of all ages, including action figures, vehicles, playsets, role play gear and more!
They still love playing with their t-sprints they received for Easter, and were excited when they received a few action figures from Playmates Toys the other day! We received Basic Movie Michelangelo & Basic Movie Shredder…they both have fun detail and come with unique accessories. Michelangelo comes with his nunchucks and a hoverboard & Shredder comes dressed in his movie inspired outfit & some removable arm blades.
When my boys are playing there is plenty of action packed fun! Shredder & Michelangelo do NOT like eachother…lol…they can not even “rest” in the same toy bin. Of course growing up with TMNT, my husband and I feel the need to complete the collection for this movie…come on, they have Casey Jones, April O’Neil & Bebop & Rocksteady! I’m really not sure who’s more excited about the line…but I do know who will play with them more…
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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It’s just about spring time and what better way to bring in spring than a Lemon Cake Pop! These Lemon Cake Pops are so simple and absolutely delicious!
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3 eggs at room temp.
1 c. sugar
2 T. butter softened
1 t. vanilla
2 t. lemon extract
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. oil
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 350
Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan
In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt
In a medium bowl combine eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and lemon extracts, and lemon juice with a mixer.
Scrape bottom to make sure all is combined
Pour Flour mixture into wet mixture and blend until smooth, scraping sides and bottom of bowl
Add oil and lemon zest to the mix and mix it well
Pour into prepared loaf pan(s) and bake for 45 min. (9 x 5)
Insert toothpick to test…it must come out clean
Remove from oven and let cool
Combine icing ingredients..the butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and confectioner’s sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add more confectioner’s sugar, or lemon juice to adjust the consistency as needed.
Once frosting is made, take a spoon full and add into the crumbled cake. Using a spoon to combine. Add more frosting until you can form a small round ball. To form a ball take a small ice cream scoop amount and roll in your hands to form a ball.
Melt White Chocolate in a double broiler or you can use a microwave.
Once White chocolate is melted dip a cake pop stick into the chocolate and then push it into the rounded cake.
Once that chocolate has hardened, dip it cake ball into the chocolate until fully coated.I then use a green foam found in crafts stores or a cake op holder to place my cake pops in while it dries.
Have fun decorate your cake pops with royal icing in a icing bag and tip. Another idea is to roll the cake pop in sprinkles while wet
My Sparkling Life https://mysparklinglife.com/

Audiences will fall in love all over again with the treasured classic, and a new generation of fans will laugh with Timon and Pumbaa, cry with Simba and Mufasa, burst into song, and find their place in the “Circle of Life.” The Walt Disney Signature Collection release includes over three hours of classic bonus material and exclusive, brand new features inviting viewers to sing along with the film’s award-winning music, observe recording sessions, step inside the story room, witness the evolution of a villain, and join Nathan Lane (voice of Timon) and Matthew Broderick (voice of Adult Simba) for an extended conversation regarding the legacy of “The Lion King.”