shampoo + young kids = big mess

My nearly 5 year old has been learning to take care of herself a lot over the last year, and one of the tasks she request to do "all by myself" is shampoo her own hair. After letting her do it and watching to make sure she was doing it right, I decided to allow her to take a shower alone. So of course she does what all 4 year olds do when left alone in the shower, she dumped her shampoo all over the place, wasting a brand new bottle.  After learning her lesson she still has a little trouble figuring out exactly how much shampoo is the right amount, not to mention the shampoo comes out of the bottle way to fast, sometimes even pouring more out than needed when I do it. I decided to find a way to save shampoo from the drain and teach my daughter the appropriate amount to use and the answer came to me when I was washing my hands. As I emptied out the last of my bath and body works sweet cinnamon pumpkin hand soap (leftover from last year) I couldn't help but notice that one squirt is the perfect amount of shampoo. I rinsed the dispenser and filled it with my daughters kid shampoo and told her to use one squirt only. Since integrating this system I have noticed a significant drop in shampoo waste and since pumping the shampoo takes so much time I know that she would not intentionally try to dump it all out. win for everyone.  =)

Chocolate Cupcakes with caramel filling and salted caramel frosting

Made some delicious cupcakes today for a family reunion. These cupcakes are very rich so I made mini cupcakes instead of normal size so no one would go into sugar overload.Here is the recipe I used, it's a mixture of several recipes from around the internet with a few of my own touches.

Ingredients

Cupcakes
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 package of chocolate pudding mix
ingredients cake mix calls for, usually eggs,oil, etc

Filling
18-20 oz of caramel soft candies, I used 2 bags of Kraft caramel bits found n the bakery aisle near choc. chips.
6-7 table spoons of heavy cream or milk

Caramel butter-cream frosting
2 sticks of room temp butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 table spoons of heavy cream or milk
half of the caramel filling
 zip lock bag
 course sea salt
Directions

make the cupcakes first, they will need to cool. make as many cupcakes as your box mix will make, I got 4 dozen mini's out of it. Let the cupcakes cool. While the cupcakes are baking and cooling mix 1 bag of caramels with 3-4 table spoons of milk or cream. Microwave in 30 second increments and stir until the mixture is smooth. Set in refrigerator to cool. Beat the 2 sticks of room temp butter in a bowl for a minute or 2 until it is fluffy. slowly add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Add vanilla extract and liquid and mix until smooth.  Slowly add the caramel, be careful not to add too much if it is still warm as it will melt the icing. The mixture should be smooth, if it is still a little grainy add a little more liquid, a tablespoon at a time until it is right. refrigerate frosting until ready to use.

Mix up the other bag of candy and cream or milk. Use a butter knife to cut a hole in the top of each cupcake cutting in a cone shape. save tops in a bowl and set aside for later. Once the filling has cooled a little use a table spoon to drip filling into the open cupcakes. if the filling is too warm the cupcake will absorb it so be sure that it has cooled enough, but not so much they you can't work with it. After filling the cupcakes replace tops back on the cupcakes, covering the caramel filling.

Spoon the frosting into your zip lock bag and snip the corner, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch is good. Use the bag to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. they might not be the prettiest but they will be delicious. Sprinkle course sea salt over the top of cupcakes. Refrigerate for at least an hour, then enjoy!

Birthday Freebies

Yesterday was my birthday and I spent the day going around town getting free food from my favorite places. Most of these places require that you sign up for their email and they send you a coupon to print out and bring in for a free item. Others only require that you show your ID to prove it is your birthday. I have had some inquiries about birthday freebies so I will share a few of the local places to get free stuff. most of these are good for the week, or the month but a few are good only on your birthday.

Firehouse Subs- Just bring in your ID for a free medium sub, no purchase required
 arby's  - sign up here and get a free milk shake, they also send random offers throughout the year
Auntie Ann's - bogo pretzels
Bruster's - Bogo icecream
Captain D's- free dinner
Chili's- Show your ID for a free dessert
Denny's- Click denny's rewards at the bottom right and sign up for a free grand slam breakfast - 1 day only
Hooter's  - 10 free wings
IHOP-  free breakfast -good for one week
Moe"s - free entree
ruby tuesday - free hamburger
smoothie king -bogo smoothies
Sonic - your choice of slush, tots, or drink
Starbucks - register a GIFT CARD and receive a free drink
steak n shake -  free steakburger and cheese fries
Zaxby's - free meal deal


Local Deal
Sweet by holly - 2 free mini cupcakes

Miss holly has 2 locations, the coupon says waterford lakes locations but the St. Johns location will honor the coupon


This is not a complete list, many mainstream restaurants offer a free dessert or appetizer with coupon on your birthday, just register for their email on the website