Delicious Summertime VOGA Wine Cocktails ⋆ My Sparkling Life

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Jurassic World, the latest movie in Steven Spielberg’s popular Jurassic Park franchise, hit theaters with audiences eager to run with the dinosaurs once again.
With the film ranking in a jaw-dropping $1.5 billion worldwide, it’s not surprising that Universal Pictures has decided this sort of performance warrants another go. The studio announced that it has given the unnamed Jurassic World sequel a green light, the BBC reports. The movie, which is slated for 2018, will once again feature Chris Pratt, Executive Producer Steven Spielberg, and writer/director Colin Trevorrow.
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This post may contain affiliate links which fund the My Sparkling Life blog.
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.”
I’ve owned many products from TerraCycle®, I just love that they make it easy for you to take care of the environment by offering various recycling programs & upcycled products made from everyday wrappers. Entenmann’s Little Bites® has been a partner with the company for years now. With their recycling program, you can turn in used wrappers from Little Bites® packages and earn money for your school!
In celebration of Earth Day, from now through April 30, 2018, TerraCycle®, an international recycling company, and Entenmann’s Little Bites® are asking fans to make the pledge and recycle Entenmann’s Little Bites® pouches to be placed in the running to win a Classroom Party for a K-12 school. It’s easy to participate: make the pledge, send in the recyclables and earn more rewards.
Pledge: your pledge qualifies you for the contest
First Shipment: your first shipment earns 500 bonus points
Second Shipment: your second shipment earns 1,000 bonus points
TerraCycle Sweepstakes: K-12 schools-only have the chance to win a Classroom Party as long as they pledge. The classroom party will include five (5) cases of Entenmann’s® Little Bites® and 100 upcycled pencil cases. Please see more details and official rules here: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/contests/little-bites-pledge
Each Entenmann’s® Little Bites® pouch is perfectly portioned and a good source of calcium and vitamin D, + they never contain high fructose corn syrup or trans-fat. They are delicious baked snacks, perfect for today’s on-the-go families. From year-round favorites like Chocolate Chip and Blueberry Muffin to seasonal varieties, Little Bites® are baked soft and moist, made with real ingredients.

Disclosure: The Nature’s Harvest® bread information, gift pack, and additional giveaway have been provided by Nature’s Harvest® bread so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Nature’s Harvest® bread. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Nature’s Harvest® bread.
With Disney & Pixar’s “Finding Dory” Swimming into theaters today, I thought I’d share the fun I’ve been having working with Nature’s Harvest®! I’ve been working all week on two fun “Finding Dory” inspired sandwiches both you and your children will have fun making and eating!
Swim into some fun with everyone’s favorite, forgetful blue fish, Dory! As Dory and her friends begin the journey to find her family, you and your family can start a journey of your own – towards nutritious whole grains! Coming to a bread aisle near you, select packages of specially-marked Nature’s Harvest® bread will feature the lovable characters from Disney• Pixar’s “Finding Dory”. Wait..theirs a bonus – Now through July, fans can purchase any four Nature’s Harvest® Breads and receive a free, limited edition Dory TY® Sparkle Eye Beanie Boo™. Visit www.wholegrainsplash.com for more info!
You can feel good about serving their families Nature’s Harvest® bread because it’s not baked with artificial flavors, colors or high fructose corn syrup. Nature’s Harvest® bread is available at major retailers nationwide and comes in delicious varieties including:
I created two sandwiches one with the Stone Ground 100% Whole Wheat Bread & One With the Honey Wheat Made With Whole Grain Bread!
Honey Wheat Clam BLT Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
Honey Wheat Made with Whole Grain bread
Lettuce
Tomato
Bacon
Muenster Cheese Slices
Clam Shaped Cookie Cutter
Instructions:
Cook bacon to liking ( I like mine crisp, easier to cut)
Butter your bread
Place lettuce, tomato, 3 bacon slices & 2 slices of cheese (one on each slice of bread)
Cook in pan until golden
Let cool a min before using your cookie cutter to cut out shape.
Enjoy!
Whole Wheat Whale Of A Club Sandwich
Ingredients:
Stone Ground 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Turkey lunch meat
Ham lunch meat
Cheddar Cheese Slices
Muenster Cheese Slices
Whale Shaped Cookie Cutter
Instructions:
For this one you will want to cut things individually then piece it together. Add toothpick to hold together
Add toothpick to hold together
Enjoy!
Disney•Pixar’s “Finding Dory” welcomes back to the big screen everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres), who’s living happily in the reef with Nemo (voice of Hayden Rolence) and Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks). When Dory suddenly remembers that she has a family out there who may be looking for her, the trio takes off on a life-changing adventure across the ocean to California’s prestigious Marine Life Institute, a rehabilitation center and aquarium. In an effort to find her mom (voice of Diane Keaton) and dad (voice of Eugene Levy), Dory enlists the help of three of the MLI’s most intriguing residents: Hank (voice of Ed O’Neill), a cantankerous octopus who frequently gives employees the slip; Bailey (voice of Ty Burrell), a beluga whale who is convinced his biological sonar skills are on the fritz; and Destiny (voice of Kaitlin Olson), a nearsighted whale shark. Deftly navigating the complex inner workings of the MLI, Dory and her friends discover the magic within their flaws, friendships and family.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. 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.”

Hop aboard the Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train by VTech! This train is designed to grow with your child and can be used for floor play or as a ride on that also transforms into a walker. When your little conductor gets older, the caboose converts into a wagon they can fill with toys and pull along to develop gross motor skills. Play ten activities while learning letters, numbers, colors and more. The train also helps build fine motor skills with a variety of manipulative features including a storybook, clock, gears and 13 doubled-sided letter blocks that your little one can plug into the side of the train to learn letters and build their vocabulary. The train also counts the blocks when they’re dropped down the chute! For role-play fun, pick up the walkie-talkie and press the number buttons to pretend to talk to animal friends. Take a ride on the learning express with this ultimate alphabet train!
Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train (Ages 12-36 months; MSRP: $49.99)
Kids can play ten activities while learning letters, numbers, colors and more
The train helps build motor skills with six manipulative features including a storybook, clock, gears and 13 double-sided letter blocks that little ones can plug into the side of the train to learn letters and build their vocabulary
When little conductors get older, the caboose converts into a wagon they can fill with toys and pull along to develop gross motor skills
My 2-year-old absolutely LOVES this toy! There are so many ways to play! It has lights, sounds and songs, plus it is a rideable train or push toy ! It only took minutes to put together, just a few pieces snap on and a few stickers to place. He loves pushing all the buttons to see what sounds or music will come out, and he loves that he can ride on it! It provides letter activities which will be great to continue to work on as he grows. Each “Block” fits in a slot on the side of the train and has corresponding “activities”. He also loves the slot where you can place your “blocks” and they slide down into the space under the seat.
Right now he’s mastered so many things just in the last 6 months! He learned to climb stairs all by himself…balance on his balance bike, and most recently we are working on counting, colors, alphabets, animals, and potty training…so much for such a little guy, but he can already count to 3 and knows most of his animals!
Ever wonder how some of these toys come to life? I know ME TOO!
VTech® works closely with a panel of children’s learning experts on the development of its infant and preschool learning products. In this panel are 6 experts including Dr. Lise Eliot, Early Childhood Mental Development Expert. Insight from these experts are featured in an online Developmental Milestones resource that offers parents guidelines and recommendations to help them select toys based on the individual needs of children from birth to nine years old. The categories explain different characteristics and occurrences that your child is faced with at each specific age and developmental stage, and are then followed by recommended products that are the most appropriate and beneficial. The milestones are broken down by age and three categories of development:
Language and Cognitive
Social and Emotional
Physical and Motor
We were able to send out questions over to the panel to be answered…below you will find the questions and answers to help you with your concerns about your childs’ development.
In this day of pushing children to do everything earlier and earlier, what age range is truly developmentally appropriate for early reading skills?
As always, it depends on the child, but for the average kid, age 5-6 is plenty early to begin formal reading instruction. Before that age, focus on your child’s mastery of the alphabet and letter sounds. ABC books are great for this, especially if they have clever pictures that tell a story using many words with the same beginning sound. Rhyming books and songs are also great for teaching letter sounds, so once children start focusing on letter patterns, they will already be familiar with the rhyming sounds they make. You can also look for toys that serve as vocabulary builders, like VTech’s Spinning Lights Learning Hippo, which promote phonics and language development that can help with early reading skills.
My youngest seems to be developing later than her older siblings, is this normal and is there anything I can do to encourage her progress? If she is delayed when it comes to early Milestones, will it affect her progress later?
Every child develops differently, so if you have two kids, there is almost no way they will develop on the same timetable. Parents and teachers tend to focus on the more overt milestones, like vocabulary and motor skills. But children are learning in many domains simultaneously, and chances are that your child is absorbing plenty about the social and physical world which may not be obvious from her behavior. Unfortunately, our school culture awards children who mature faster, so look for ways to counteract this for your daughter by finding other areas (art, music, crafts, building toys, sports, dance, etc.) in which she can develop confidence.
What are some inexpensive toys or games that will help encourage gross motor skills in my children?
The least expensive way to build motor skills is to go outside! The extra room is often all kids need to start running, skipping, and jumping in ways that parents often frown on indoors. Your nearest playground adds opportunity for climbing and swinging that also build children’s strength, stamina and coordination. If you are looking or something for your own yard, hang a tree swing, or purchase a jump rope or a soccer goal and ball. A tumbling mat is also a great addition for indoors if you have room in your basement or playroom. And if your child is old enough (5+) for organized sports, many communities have recreational leagues that are less expensive than the fancier club sports.
If my 18-month-old is not speaking words yet, what can I do as a parent to help them with their development?
The most important stimulation any young child receives is verbal–talk to your baby; sing to him; read to him; engage him in “dialogue” even if you are only pretending that his babbles make sense. Your child understands words, even if he cannot say them, and will appreciate the sense of being understood. However, if your child really has no spoken vocabulary at 18 months, you should talk to your pediatrician, who may refer you to a speech therapist.
How do I encourage my 12-month-old to walk, when he seems content to crawl everywhere?
Don’t worry about it! Crawling is a delightful, too-short phase that many children skip outright. And yet, there is evidence that crawling develops a child’s visual-spatial abilities in unique ways that walking cannot replicate. As long as your child is learning to balance on two feet (holding on to a coffee-table or walker toy like VTech’s Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train) he will eventually master those first independent steps. Before long, he’ll be running and racing and you will barely remember this adorable crawling phase.
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One (1) lucky My Sparkling Life Reader is going to win a VTech Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train!! This giveaway is open to residents of the US who are 18+ until 11:59 PM EST Dec 4, 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.
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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This post is sponsored by PicCollage & Hewlett Packard. All opinions expressed are my own.
I do it all the time…you know, take pictures at an event or just of your everyday life on your phone and then just forget about them until you need to make room. Then you just pull out your cord and download them to your laptop or hard drive and forget about them there. I have come across a great app that makes creating collages and printing them straight from your phone so easy! You know gets those photos out of your phone and into a frame where they belong!
The app PicCollage is fun and easy to use! You can create a collage from your hoard of photos on your phone and print it from the app as well. I love having photos of my kids around the house, their little faces just make me smile. I found a variety of photos on my phone and created a collage with some fun stickers…well because they are little goofballs and would have done the same. Instead of having to connect my phone to my computer to print I did everything from my phone and sent it to my Hewlett Packard printer.
PicCollage is really easy to use.
1. Download the app from Google Play or the App Store.
2. Choose if you want a square or portrait image.
3. Add photos, you can clip with your finger for fun crops.
4. Add backgrounds, stickers or choose a premade template.
5. Hit print and send it to your wireless HP printer!
The collage turned out great and I love displaying it where everyone can see. PicCollage makes getting my photos out of my phone easy & The Hewlett Packard wireless printer makes it easy to print and gives a quality look.
Have you checked out PicCollage?
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. 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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