Oz: The Great & Powerful Movie Trailer Debut

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL hits theaters March 8, 2013!

Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking, until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Watch the trailer debut below and learn more about the movie at Disney.com/TheWizard

Zooper Stroller Giveaway: Free Blogger Sign Ups!

Zooper Twist Stroller giveaway hosted by Mom Powered Media! One super lucky reader will win a Zooper Twist!

Cost: $5.00 or free with announcement post. See bloggers wanted post for more details.

Prize: Zooper Twist Stroller in either Mountain Flowers, Ocean Blue, Canyon Red, or Flax Brown fabric! Average retail value is 199.99.

Giveaway Open to: US and Canada.

The event dates: August 6th- August 27th.

Free Link Option: Facebook

Optional Paid Link Option: Twitter for $3.00.

Special thanks to Real Mom Reviews, Mom To Bed By 8 and Powered By Mom for coordinating this great giveaway event!

Blogger Notes: Bloggers worldwide are welcome to participate as long as you have a large amount of US and Canadian traffic to your website.

Summer Fun with Crayola (Review & Giveaway)

My kids love to draw, create, and craft, so we are huge fans of Crayola products. We were sent a fun box full of great Crayola products perfect for providing summer fun for kids, both at home and on the go. 

I really like the Color Wonder line of products from Crayola. We've used these products for several years and my kids have tried to use Color Wonder markers on walls, the couch, the seats of the van, chairs and pews at church, and themselves. Yet no matter how hard my kids try, these markers only mark on the special Color Wonder paper. This makes these products perfect for the car! For several years when we had beige carpet, these were the only markers my kids were allowed to use! 

We received several Color Wonder products: a Hot Wheels themed coloring pad with markers, Color Wonder Barbie mini coloring pad and markers, Princess and the Frog Mess Free Color Wonder Activity Set, and the Color Wonder On the Go Tiny Tube.

Color Wonder On the Go Tiny Tube

The Color Wonder On the Go Tiny Tube is cleverly designed! It fits in the cup holder of your vehicle. The inside of the Tiny Tube holds mini Color Wonder markers, while the outside contains a roll of activity pages, perforated for easy tearing and backed with adhesive so they will stay in place while kids draw. It has a convenient carry handle that makes it easy to bring from the car into a restaurant or Grandma's house. 


The Princess and the Frog Mess Free Activity Set has all kinds of Color Wonder fun. It includes a coloring pad, drawing pad, gel paints, paintbrush, and markers. 


We also received some Crayola Dry Erase products. The Dry Erase Travel Pack has a dry erase surface, and comes with special dry erase crayons, an eraser, and a crayon sharpener. The pack contains templates that slide beneath the dry erase surface. This is a very fun product that the kids love. However, I would not recommend this for travel when it's insanely hot outside like it has been lately. Our package was delivered on a day when it was 100 degrees outside, and our crayons had melted. They were still useable. However, if the kids had left these in the van on a hot day, they could have melted on the seat or carpet.   



The kids favorite product was definitely the Crayola Dry Erase Zany Play. It comes with 4 dry erase markers for drawing and coloring. It also contains boards with mazes and games like tic tac toe. We had a couple of arguments over who would get to use this one first! This is a very versatile toy, offering lots of ways to play, which makes it perfect for travel. Just take note that unlike the Color Wonder markers, the dry erase markers will write on other things as well, so make sure to supervise their use. 


One very lucky reader is going to win a Crayola box full of products, just like the one we received! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below!

Easy, Healthy Frozen Yogurt Pops

I picked up a popsicle mold at Ikea last week for $1.99! When we got home, I was excited to use it, but started looking around and wasn't sure what to put in it. We didn't have any juice, but we did have a whole case of strawberry yogurt that we got free from Publix*, so I decided to use some yogurt as the base. We also had a whole bunch of peaches from the farmer's market. I thought that strawberry-peach yogurt pops would taste great!

Strawberry Peach Yogurt Pops  

popsicle mold (makes 4)

1 large peach

1 8 oz package Yoplait strawberry yogurt

First, I peeled the peach. I cut it into chunks to make it easier to mash. 

I then used my potato masher to make the pieces smaller. You could also use a fork, a blender, or even a baby food maker, depending on how small and mashed up you want the fruit to be. 

Then I poured in the strawberry yogurt and mixed it all up. Mashing the peach gave it some peachy liquid, which made the mixture more pourable than if I had just used the yogurt by itself. 

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze 6-8 hours or overnight.

My kids were thrilled with these yogurt pops. Emily said they were the best popsicles ever and the other kids agreed. Jaxon ate all of his, so I think he liked it, too! As soon as I they were done, I made another batch and stuck it in the freezer. They are super easy to make! 

The great thing about this is you know exactly what is going into the pops (no added sugar!), and you can tailor them to what your kids like. Britain doesn't even normally like fresh peaches, though, and he still ate his popsicle and declared it yummy, so this can also be a way to sneak some new foods by your kids and control the sugar content of their frozen treats.

Here's a few more suggestions for flavors:

Strawberry yogurt with kiwi

Blueberry yogurt with strawberries

Vanilla yogurt with peaches

Do you make homemade popsicles? I'd love to hear some more ideas on ways to make easy homemade popsicles.  

*This deal lasts through 7/11. Purchase a box of Cheerios and receive a Yoplait Yogurt 8 count Fridgepack for free. Visit bestmealsathome.com to get the coupon or look for the in-store display.