Mommy Has to Work

SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular 2015

October 11, 2015 By Marijean

If you want to have a fun filled day with your family, full of Halloween excitement, I highly recommend going to SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular event! This event is fun for all ages, but especially for the kiddos. There is so much to do and so much to see!

I got to attend the Media opening day event on October 3rd with my husband and two children. My children were super excited about trick or treating and seeing all of the Halloween decorations that SeaWorld has.

Here is some information about the SeaWorld Halloween Spooktacular:

Children and adults alike will be immersed in an underwater “fantasea” filled with trick-or-treating, dancing sea creatures and pumpkin fish, where kids can also create sea-themed arts and crafts.

Trick or Treat – Kids can follow the special Halloween Spooktacular pathways through many different stations filled with a wide array of sweets and treats as fun loving sea creatures greet and mingle with guests. Hop aboard the Seven Seas Railway with Otto the Octopus and enjoy a whimsical train ride through Shamu’s Happy Harbor®.

Penelope’s Party Zone – Located in Bayside Stadium, Penelope’s Party Zone comes to life when families dance and play along to the spooky sound waves broadcast by a live DJ, listen to spooky stories and enjoy fun activities with countless bubbles floating overhead and colorful pumpkinfish gliding beside. Dine with Shamu® Spooktacular

Brunch – Enjoy a delicious menu of seasonal and sustainable items while sitting at a poolside table that brings you closer than ever to our majestic whales. Sesame Street’s Countdown to Halloween – Join Count von Count, Elmo, and everyone’s favorite friends from Sesame Street for the kookiest, funniest Halloween hullaballoo ever!

This event is set up in the back of the park at the Ports of Call entrance. The event starts at 12pm, so if you want to get to the park early to enjoy some rides and see the Shamu show before trick or treating, that is a great plan! The event also closes at 7pm and runs weekends in October (3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, and 31) and is included with park admission. Costumes are not required but I do recommend wearing one!! Seeing all of the different costumes was so much fun.

I loved the different trick or treating candy stations. The signs are actually labeled with what kind of candy that specific station is giving out, which I think is a fabulous idea. So if your child doesn’t like Tootsie Rolls then you don’t have to waste time in that line!

The trick or treat trails are filled with colorful and friendly Halloween decorations. If your little one is scared of halloween ghosts and goblins, no worries!! Nothing scary at all. The trail is also filled with bubble blowing stations and I just love the fun music playing.

The event has “boardwalk” type games to play for prizes. Some of the cute prizes include a stuffed colorful skeleton and a stuffed bright orange pumpkin. They also have merchandise available, I love the bright orange SeaWorld Spooktacular tshirts! Over near Penelope’s Party Zone there are coloring activities and more fun games to play.

If you are hungry there are food stations set up, and also a kids cookie station!! For $7 your child gets an adorable Shamu souvenir bucket, frosting, candy toppings, milk or apple juice and of course a yummy freshly baked cookie. There are tables set up so the kids can decorate it right there, or they can take it to go.

This event is a ton of fun, and let me add that I LOVE that the event is included with admission price! I can’t wait to bring my children back next year!

To read more about this event, and/or to buy tickets please go to http:// seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/events/seaworlds-halloweenspooktacular/?from=Top_Nav

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn by Shelley Shepard Gray

September 23, 2015 By Anne

A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn is the third book in this series, however you can read this book without having read the first two books. Shelley Shepard Gray is one of my favorite authors. I love reading her Amish stories. Especially when they are set in Florida. All of her books are easy reading and this one is no exception. I could just curl up and read her books all day.

A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn is a wonderful story about falling in love a second time. Two widowed parents meet and discover they can and do love another person after the lose of their spouse.

A wedding brings together two young widowed parents . . . and gives them a second chance at love.

Emma Keim was heartbroken when her husband, Sanford, passed away, leaving her to raise three young daughters alone. Though several years have passed, her relatives have made it no secret that they expect Emma to remain a widow, mourning Sanford indefinitely. But when she meets Jay Hilty—a handsome widower with three young sons of his own—Emma is delighted to have a new friend who understands her struggles. Still, she is dismayed that her family is so opposed to their friendship—and the idea of it ever becoming anything more. She honors her husband’s memory every day, but is she destined to be alone forever?

Emma’s gentleness with Jay’s boys stirs something in his heart that’s been quiet for far too long. But when his oldest son becomes engaged to a local woman, suddenly Jay, Emma, and their children are swept up in wedding preparations. Witnessing his son’s joy, Jay wonders if it’s time for him to move forward, too, and find happiness again.

Once again, love has come to Pinecraft. But can these two parties of four become a happy, healthy family of eight?

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1USUEQM

To see other reviews go to: http://litfusegroup.com/author/sgray

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

Find Shelley online: website, Facebook, Twitter

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

NETFLIX: DUST OFF YOUR “SHELFIES” FOR FALL

September 23, 2015 By Marijean

I am a Netflix Stream Team Member.

I love to watch TV. Love my drama tv shows but hardly get to watch them because I am a busy mom. During the day I am tied up volunteering at my daughter’s school or doing house work, at night I am making dinner and then want to spend my time with the kids. I need to start making some “TV” time for myself and catch up on some Netflix shows. Time to dust off my “Shelfie.” You may be asking yourself what a Shelfie is? A Shelfie is a virtual shelf of shows that you have been wanting to watch, but haven’t had the time. Netflix has a great line up of tv shows to catch up on. Whether you have watched some episodes already, or just starting out, you will not be disappointed. I am going to share with you the top 3 shows I want to either catch up on, or start watching this Fall.

#1 SCANDAL I have been hearing awesome things from friends about this show, and have seen previews and the show looks amazing. Kerry Washington (who I love in movies) is the main character named Olivia Pope. The show takes place in Washington, D.C. and focuses on Olivia Pope’s crisis management firm, Olivia Pope & Associates (OPA), and its staff, as well as staff at the White House, which includes President Fitzgerald Grant III, Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene, and First Lady Mellie Grant. This show has received numerous awards, and had been renewed for a fifth season.

#2 Once Upon A Time I watched the first season of this show and I absolutely loved it! I love Disney, so once I heard that this show was based on some of the Disney Characters I was hooked. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to keep up with the show, so this is on my Shelfie list! The show takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, whose residents are characters from various fairy tales transported to the “real world” town and robbed of their real memories by a powerful curse. This show really did keep me hooked to it and wanting more. I am excited to catch up on the episodes. The show displays the growth of relationships between the doctors, either friendly or sexual, often stemming to a clash between their personal and professional lives.

#3 Grey’s Anatomy I am probably the “odd man out”, but I have never seen any episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. I am always hearing about the show, so I am looking forward to watching. This show follows the lives of surgical interns and residents at the fictional Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital (formerly Seattle Grace Hospital, Season 1–6, Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, Season 6–9, and then Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, Season 9– present), as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, with the help of their competent mentors. Need some shelfie suggestions? Check out the great library of fall shows you can stream this month on Netflix.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Fall Is On The Way: Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Menu Returns This Month

September 22, 2015 By Merrilee Kaminski

Autumn is just around the corner and Dunkin’ Donuts is sweetening the season with exciting, new additions to their fall lineup!

This lucky lady was invited to visit our local Dunkin’ Donuts to sample the new fall menu items. Who would pass up this opportunity I ask you? Not me! I love pumpkin. Period. No matter what form it comes in, I’m all over anything with pumpkin in the title. So with an empty stomach and a sense of adventure I embarked on my Dunkin’ Donuts Tasting Experience.

The first on the list to try was the new Tailgater Breakfast Sandwich. This hearty breakfast sandwich serves up the spirit of game day grilling. Featuring a mouthwatering combination of egg, reduced fat cheddar cheese and juicy split smoked sausage topped with fire-roasted peppers and grilled onion mix and Ancho Chipotle sauce on an oven-toasted French Roll. This breakfast sandwich is so hearty and delicious I couldn’t help but eat every bite of the sample we were offered. A real winner!!

The next item offered was pumpkin coffee and lattes served hot and iced. These are a delicious staple I look forward to each fall at Dunkin’s. Pumpkin K-Cup pods and pumpkin packaged coffee are also available again this year.

The new Reese’s Peanut Butter Square was next on the tasting menu. This donut is filled with rich and creamy Reese’s peanut butter buttercream, topped with chocolate icing and finished with an orange icing drizzle. Scrumptious and sweet, this was a delight to devour.

Also brand new this year is the Pumpkin Cheesecake Square. This was my favorite new offering from Dunkin’s. This is pumpkin perfection! You need to try this if you love pumpkin as much as I do. Seriously! You can thank me later.

Three returning favorites were next on the tasting agenda. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin donuts and donut hole treats. Perfectly paired with a warm cup of coffee, these sweet treats were delicious.

For guests in the Jacksonville area, Dunkin’ Donuts is also offering the Pumpkin Pie Coolatta. Featuring real pumpkin puree and spice flavors, with crumbled graham cracker pieces mixed in. Those graham cracker crumbles bring an unbelievable element to the drink. While they are small, their pie crust texture and flavor put the pie in this pumpkin drink. Whipped crème topping is the perfect addition to this unique offering.

Dunkin’ Donuts announced the return of its delicious Homestyle Apple Pie for the month of September only. A handheld pie made with real apples and a braided crust, topped with cinnamon sugar. One can never go wrong with the classic flavor of apples in autumn. If pumpkin isn’t your thing, this warm apple treat is guaranteed to make your taste buds smile and dance a little jig.

Coming in October……..Pumpkin Macchiato! Served hot or cold. Yep, I’ll be seeing you there!

What new treat will you try?

September 29th is National Coffee Day!

Celebrate the season with a

FREE medium cup of Dunkin’ Donuts Dark Roast Coffee!

Merrilee Kaminski

Sweet’N Low Sampling Truck Coming to a Town Near You! #ad #IC #DontHesitaste

September 21, 2015 By Anne

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Sweet’N Low. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

Sweet’N Low Launched a sampling truck tour this summer, “Don’t Hesita(s)te”. You can catch their truck at a town near you and sample some tasty Sweet”N Low drinks.

I had a few stops on the tour near my house. I choose to attend the event on September 12 in Jacksonville. My daughter and I drove over the local Winn Dixie and she was the first to see the big, pink truck.

We pulled into the parking lot and saw a few pink men and women and what looked like a fun photo frame. The truck had the side open and tasty samples of sweet tea using Sweet”N Low to try. Savannah and I both received a cute gift. A little purse to put your Sweet’N Low in to carry in your purse. Inside the purse was lip balm. It reminded me of the lip balms for the 80’s.

If you do get a chance to visit a truck near you, tell them that Mommy Has to Work sent you and receive a free gift.

Sweet”N Low has been around for a while now. Have you tries it lately? Tastes change so give a try and taste the sweetness!

“Don’t Hesita(s)te” represents that moment when someone hesitates before tasting something which can mean they miss out on something delicious.

Did you know that one packet of Sweet’N Low, made with saccharin, is about as sweet as two teaspoons of sugar. I usually only use a half a packet myself. A little bit goes a long way.

The American Diabetes Association, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, World Health Organization, and National Cancer Institute have acknowledged saccharin’s safety for human consumption and its benefit in helping to develop a healthy eating plan for long-term weight management.

Do you like to enter contests? Well this one is easy! To enter the #DontHesitaste photo contest, upload a picture of your favorite Sweet’N Low-sweetened drink for a chance to win money, prizes and more! To be considered you must use the hashtags #DontHesitaste and #contestentry in your post.

Make sure to check out the Sweet’N Low website at http://www.sweetnlow.com/ and their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sweetnlow.