Sea World San Antonio

     Recently, my family and I visited Sea World San Antonio. Since my children are HUGE animal lovers, we knew that they would really enjoy it.

Thing 1 waiting to see Shamu

     When we got there, the One Ocean Shamu show was about to start. So, we headed over there and took our seats. During the video at the beginning of the show, it showed a clip of the newest baby Shamu being born. Of course, the girls loved watching the killer whales jump and flip and splash everyone.

Shamu at the end of One Ocean

     After One Ocean, we headed over to Elmo's Bay of Play to let the girls run around and ride the carousal before the next show started. My only complaint about Elmo's Bay of Play is the way the playground is built. Instead of having one entrance/exit, there are several. What makes this worse is that you can't see your child the entire time they are in the playground. So, they could run out the other side and get hurt/take off/be approached by a stranger and you may never know. Needless to say, we didn't play on the playground very long. This mama is too paranoid for all of that.

     While they had fun there, the girls wanted to see more animals. So, we consulted our map and found that the Azul show had the next start time. This show was my favorite out of any Sea World show I've ever seen. There were synchronized swimmers, divers, acrobats, birds and several other animals. There was also a lot of comedy.

     After Azul, it was time to eat. We headed back towards Elmo's Bay of Play and had pizza and pasta at Rosita's Cafe. We were even lucky enough to meet Rosita while we were there. The food wasn't bad and the kids enjoyed the atmosphere.

     Next, we headed back into Elmo's Bay of Play to ride more rides. Because Thing 1 and Thing 2 are only 42" and 37.5" respectively, there were only 4 rides that they could ride. However, they really enjoyed doing those rides and even wanted to do them over and over again.

     Lastly, we headed to see the penguins. Thing 2 LOVES penguins. She would have stayed there forever if we had let her. Even though it was already "night", some of the penguins were playing and showing off in the water. On the way out, each kid picked a stuffed animal. Thing one got Shamu and Thing Two got a penguin (big surprise, right?).

     Over all, it was a pretty awesome day. We'll definitely go back. To see more photos from our visit, check out my Sea World San Antonio album on Google+.

***Disclaimer: I may have received products at no or reduced cost to help facilitate my review. No money exchanged hands and the opinions expressed above are 100% my own.*** 

Pinterest Weekly - DIY Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

     This weeks Pinterest Weekly was inspired by Money Saving Mommas and Poppas.

     Sunday, Thing 2 broke my liquid soap dispenser. It was the second one that had been broken in less than 2 months (the first was broken by my 20 year old sister...not entirely her fault). I wasn't thrilled at the idea of buying yet another liquid soap dispenser. Then, I remembered I had pinned a DIY Mason Jar Soap Dispenser.

     Her instructions were very good and I didn't need to alter them at all. I left my ring and lid silver instead of painting them and I didn't have any ribbon that matched my bathroom decor. So for now, it's pretty plain. But, it's doing its job (and it's still in one piece!). All in all, it took less than 10 minutes to complete this project.

     If I were to do it again, the only thing that I would change would be the screwdriver that I used to poke the hole. I didn't think that the hole would need to be too large, so I started with a medium width screw driver. If I had started with a larger screwdriver, I could have been finished in 5 minutes.

Pinterest Weekly - Button Letter

     My friend Marisa has started trying one project from Pinterest each week. You can see her crafts at The Scholarly Homemaker. Since I spend quite a bit of time exploring Pinterest, I have decided to do the same. Thank you for your inspiration, Marisa!

     This week, I was looking for a way to get rid of a bunch of miscellaneous buttons that I had. This craft was inspired by American Crafts Studio. They have a wonderfully detailed tutorial.

     Below are 2 pictures. Because I put it in a shadowbox, it was difficult to get a picture where you could see the entire letter and the actual color of the buttons. The first picture is the letter. The second picture is a more accurate portrayal of the colors.

     Because I'm slightly OCD and I picked a letter that is 95% curves, I found it to be a little harder than the tutorial seemed. I used only green and cream colored buttons. I had several different greens, so that gave it a little variety. When I first started, I thought that my edges looked too planned because I was trying to fill in all the space. As I put more on, it started to look more random. You know the saying, "less is more"? Yeah, that doesn't apply here. Less is not more, more is more!

     I did use craft glue, (NOT suggested in the tutorial). It worked really well, however because it doesn't dry very quickly, I found that it was easiest to do it in stages. I would put on about 15 buttons and then take a 30 - 60 minute break to give those time to dry. When I wasn't taking breaks, I was accidentally knocking buttons around and getting frustrated. Due to the breaks, it took almost an entire day to finish, but I love the end result!

Weighted Lap Quilt Giveaway

Weighted Lap Quilt Giveaway

Sponsored by:
G'ma's Monkey Business

Hosted by:

Raising Extra Special Kids & Five in Ohio

2 lucky readers will win their very own weighted lap quilt.

Weighted Products are becoming more popular with the special needs community! Even typical children love the relaxing input that the weight on the muscle provides. G'ma's Weighted Body Quilts are made custom to your child weight and height. They come with a matching travel pillow case & pillow. How cool is that!!!

Weighted Quilts provide deep pressure stimulation to the muscles, which helps the central nervous system process tactile (touch) and proprioceptive input (body movement, pressure processing). Weighted quilts can help calm children and improve attention and body awareness. They can also help with decreasing sensory seeking behaviors and aggressive behaviors.

G'ma's Weighted Lap Quilts are a great alternative to the body quilts, because they are great for travel! They are made to fit across the thighs and work with the same concept as the full body quilts. Most schools will now allow them in the classroom to help improve attention in hyperactive children. These can be made with clips that can attach to belt loops or clothing. This is a great idea for individuals that are in wheelchairs!



G'ma sews all of her quilts with soft flannels and double seams. She fills them with hypoallerginic poly pellets that are machine washable! They offer super cute patterns for all ages!

Giveaway!

G'ma's Monkey Business is giving away 2 weighted lap quilts!!!!

There will be 2 winners!

One Winner will receive the 2lb lap quilt & One winner will receive a 3lb lap quilt.

This giveaway will start on 8/17/2012 and will end on 8/31/2012. It is open to US Resident's Only.

To enter, all you need to do is follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter form below. There are multiple chances for entries, as well as a daily entry so come back and enter daily!

Good luck and be sure to show our sponsor some love!



a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclaimer: Life in Texas was not compensated for this post and is not responsible for the shipping of the prizes.

Thing 1 Party Planning - Part 1

In your wildest dreams you can not imagine the SURPRISES that await YOU 

~Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Golden Tickets

   My oldest is a planner. She loves to plan way ahead (which is fine with me). So when she told me several  months ago that she wanted a Willy Wonka party, I started looking for ideas. One thing that she insisted on was golden tickets. She wanted her invitations to be golden tickets. While looking, I thought that it would be cool to wrap chocolate bars in Wonka Bar wrappers and include the golden ticket. The idea was that the invitee would find the ticket just like Charlie Bucket found Wonka's ticket.

     When Thing 1 heard this idea, she was very excited. There was no going back. I started scouring the internet for Wonka Bar Wrappers. I found several places where you could purchase them. This would have been an option if we had found something we liked and they weren't $1 or more for one candy bar wrapper (that I would have had to wrap around the candy bars myself). So, I decided to make one.

     Once it was done, I was very satisfied with the results. So, I am sharing them with everyone. Here it is for you to download and/or print all you want. I hope that you enjoy them!

Wonka Bar Wrappers

 
     Once you print the wrappers, assembly is very easy. These are made to fit 1.55 oz candy bars. Tape the flaps of the original wrapper to the bar. Then, lay it face down on a piece of foil large enough to wrap the entire bar. If you have golden tickets, place your golden ticket face up on the candy bar. Then, wrap the bar and ticket in the foil. If you feel like your ends aren't staying down on their own, a little piece of double sided tape is an easy fix. Cut out your Wonka Bar Wrappers (I printed mine on regular printer paper but if you think that's too flimsy, you can use cardstock). Hold your candy bar so that it is behind the Wonka logo. Then, gently press the paper back at the top and bottom of the candy bar. Run your fingers the length of the candy bar. Lay the entire thing face down and use double sided tape to secure your Wonka Bar wrapper. It's that simple and they look great!

Weighted Lap Quilt Giveaway Signups!

G'ma's Monkey Business is giving away weighted lap quilts to 2 lucky winners!
We want YOU to be a part of it! 

You can get one free Facebook link on the Rafflecopter Form.

Additional links are $1 each.

Blogger sign ups are open until midnight on 8/15/2012

The giveaway will run from 8/17/2012 - 8/31/2012

Each winner will receive 1 weighted lap quilt.

Prizes are:

One 2 lb Weighted Lap Quilt.($27.00 value)

One 3 lb Weighted Lap Quilt($27.00 value)

Bloggers Wanted!! Sign up HERE

G'ma's Weighted Lap Quilts are filled with a hypoallergenic poly pellets and are machine washable.

They provide deep pressure stimulation to the muscles,

which helps promote better focus and are a soothing reminder to sit still.

Many schools now allow these in the classroom!

They are perfect for children who may:

-become overstimulated by loud and chaotic surroundings

-have a hard time sitting/focusing at school.

-cannot sit through a meal due to high energy & distractions.

Hunger Games Champion Giveaway!

In celebration of The Hunger Games coming out on DVD August 18th,
Mommy and 4 Peas in a Pod will be giving away The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set (Hardcover)
and The Hunger Games [2-Disc DVD + Ultra-Violet Digital Copy]!

OR the winner can choose $50 Paypal cash OR a $50 Amazon gift card. 

Giveaway will start August 11th and end August 17th at midnight.
Open worldwide.
Just enter the rafflecopter below.
Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Life in Texas received no compensation for this post.
Nor are they responsible for the shipment or delivery of any prizes won.***