Frozen Bananas with Chocolate & Sunflower Seeds

I love bananas that have spots on them. They are so very sweet. Just like this they are a treat and so good for you. I have been wanting chocolate but not wanting it to be too much of a goodie. So I thought I will dip something good for me in chocolate. If I add sunflower seeds its even better for me right?! lol

First cut the banana in half and stick a kabob skewer into the middle. I cut the pokey side off my kabobs to leave a flat end on both sides. Place them in the freezer minimum 1 hour in a freezer safe dish.

After the bananas were frozen I was ready to add the chocolate to them. I melted my chocolate chips in a bowl that I set in a sauce pan of hot water. Stir the chocolate chips until melted. Have your other items ready since the chocolate chips will get stiff if you let them cool.

I did not want to dip the whole banana in chocolate since I am trying to still define this as fruit :)

I gave them a nice topping of chocolate then rolled them in the sunflower seeds.

Place your dipped bananas back into the freezer for 2 hours. I made these before I cooked dinner and they were ready for dessert.

I let my frozen bananas sit for 5 minutes then enjoyed. If you have not eaten a frozen banana it is sooo good. Almost like a frozen yogurt flavor. Do not let them sit out too long or they will get mushy.

Toddler Perspective

My son has had his picture taken since the second he was born. I think its possible I have a million pictures of him! Digital is free right?!? So I take pictures of him all the time, everywhere we go. I have hard drives full of his pictures that I love to look at.

For the last few weeks my son has been asking me to take pictures of him. He will pose or grab something to hold and show me. But this week he has asked if he could take a picture. He told me my turn, then put his little hands together in a plea of Please! How can I resists those big blue eyes when he says Pllleasssse!

So I turned on the camera for him and he knew exactly where the shutter button was! I was surprised how easily he could take photos. He is only 2 years old! I have let him snap one of two photos then take the camera away in fear he will chuck it like a baseball. Today he went to the closet where I keep the camera and said he needed to take some pictures. This made me laugh since he did not ask but inform me of his need to use my camera. I said what do you say, his little "please mama" was all it took for me to hand it to him.

This is his first photo shoot of my very messy office:

His cute feet as he tried to take a pic of his BFF Giraffe

His new ball and his fav blue blankie he has slept with every night since he was born

this made me laugh he turned it around to capture himself like I do with he and I

His monkey pillow pet  we won on a blog before I was a blogger

Loved this one! His snack he was having

This one is called Mama Puter Work (my laptop on my desk)

This made me laugh he said oh no Mama ate my chips. I had my own pretzels but what is mine is always his. lol

Funny that he took a pic of my Huggies Rewards points I set aside to enter

Him being so VERY mad I took the camera back. He is saying NOOOOOO! 

Do I have the next famous photographer, cinematographer or a epic blogger? Only time will tell. I took my first pictures in 3rd grade on a field trip to an aquarium my mom let me take our 35mm camera and film was expensive to develop. Thanks Mom for letting me take photos! 

Donating Champions for Kids Elmer's Bag It Forward School Supplies

Having the opportunity to help a teacher and kids in my own community makes me happier than I can explain. I have always admired teachers for what they do and elementary school was a magical time for me. I loved school for the reading, writing, art and projects. I have read statistic and news articles about the cut backs to schools and how teachers are paying out of their own paychecks for supplies. I remember when I was kid it seemed there were limitless supplies or my teachers made it be that way for us kids. Most teachers love what they do and provide what the kids need, not asking for help. That is why I am so happy Champions for Kids teams up with Elmer's to inspire people all over America to Bag It Forward.

My son and I went shopping at our local Walmart for Elmer's products and other back to school supplies. We found a Elmer's display that had lists of items needed for back to school for each grade. I grabbed a 2nd grade list since I wanted to donate to a local 2nd grade class in my neighborhood. For me 2nd grade was great! I had a fun teacher and there was lots of reading. I have always loved books! We even went to a school for a year that had a huge ship in the middle of the school where kids could take a book on board to read. It was a cozy ship made from like squishy matting, I wish I had a picture of it. It was the coolest thing I have seen at a school! We lived in WA at the time,  rain and snow up there makes for a need to have cool indoor stuff like the Reading Ship.

I have always assumed that I alone was not enough to impact the life of anyone. That just one person doing something was not enough (I was so wrong!). Through taking part of the Champions for Kids Simple Service Projects I have realized that if I am one of the people doing a project that we all add up to millions! Even as a budget savvy Mom I still can donate. Shopping at Walmart we were able to find great prices on back to school supplies. We spent almost $26 and got 46 items to donate! I was so happy to be able to give that much stuff to a teacher and her students.

I selected a local elementary school Lichen Elementary to take my donation to. This is a school in my neighborhood where the kids play at the park my son does and as parents we all shop at the same local stores. I wanted to help kids that I may not know but are a part of my community. My son is not old enough for school, to me he is still a baby! :) He sure did love being on the school campus though. He was telling me over and over "Mama, Kids!!" He waved to people, pointed out to me posters and the characters he saw on back packs. He was super excited to be there!

My son was running all over her classroom he was so excited. He grabbed a book and climbed into the reading area too.

We were so excited to meet the 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Rhodes. We took the giant bag a supplies with all the Elmer's glue products and other supplies to her classroom. (I still think the Elmer's purple disappearing glue is so cool!) Mrs. Rhodes was super nice! Teachers do a tough job and there a many kids in her class that she is responsible for shaping into the future adults of our world.  I hope our donation lets her know the community is behind her and we appreciate all she does for our neighborhood kids. She was very thankful for our donation and super sweet to my son. My little guy even shook her hand when we met her. (I have taught him to be a little gentleman and shake someones hand when first meeting them since he was 1) Too cute! I was talking to her about the statistics I read about for teachers expenses for supplies for their own classroom. She told me that yes she does spend a large amount each year for her students. I hope more families and even companies will take part in the Bag It Forward campaign to help teachers and students.

It had been over a decade since I had been in a classroom at an elementary school, since my little sister was in Kindergarten but the joy of a classroom came immediately back. I loved all the posters, books, the little desks and small touches of a teachers personality. I am hoping we will have the chance to come back to Mrs. Rhodes classroom to donate more supplies all year long. I encourage everyone to give back to the community you live in through the Bag It Forward Simple Service Project from Champions for Kids. The teachers and the kids will be grateful for it.

You can read my first blog post about the Champions for Kids Elmer's Bag It Forward project to see the low prices and variety of supplies we purchased for our donation here. #BagItForward #Champions4Kids

You can read my Google+ story for ideas on what to buy for your Elmer's Bag It Forward donation.

To learn more about Champions for Kids you can follow them on twitter and facebook. 

For great ideas on items to donate from Elmer's you can follow them on twitter and facebook.

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Champions for Kids #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Thats Pinteresting.....

I will be doing this with my son today, its simple but the first pin I plan to do :)

I admit it I am a Pinterest addict. But I have been the type of person who keeps pictures from magazines, recipes, helpful tips and gift ideas from magazines and ads for years. This is the digital version right!

Oddly though no one ever looks at my folder full of torn out magazine pages. If they had what would they learn about my personality? I was just telling my Mom how I feel like her Pinterest wall is a peek inside her mind. Strange to think that yes but its like a reflection of her personality. Even when I look at boards of people I know from the blog world I am often surprised by some things I see they have pinned and others I feel as though we are twins lol.

So now I look at my boards and wonder what does it say about my personality?? Somewhat that I am unorganized lol I need to make more subcategories of things especially if I plan to do the things I pin for recipes, DIY or kids fun stuff. I am going to be trying to do a recipe and DIY or craft from my boards at least once a month.

Have you made any recipes, DIY or crafts you found from pinning? Id love to see it, and repin it lol.

Holiday Inn Express Roseville CA Deals

The summer is not over yet!! There is still time to take a trip to CA or if your in Northern CA you can take a day trip to Roseville CA and stay at Holiday Inn Express Roseville. We had a wonderful stay there in July. The rooms were nice and the staff super nice. The pool was the part my kids loved the most. In CA its still hot enough to go swimming so get in pool time while you can.

If you are planning a trip to Sacramento or Roseville CA area Holiday Inn Express Roseville has some great deals right now.

 Save on a Last Minute Special Summer Offer
 Summer is one of those times people are always ready to go whenever last-minute      opportunities arise. Don't miss your chance to getaway for one last fun, summer escape.   Now until Sept. 4, book your next stay up to 24 hours in advance and still get the best savings of the summer season.



Info About Roseville CA:
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Roseville Galleria Area. Ideally located in Roseville, California and nestled between the lush Sacramento Valley and the Sierra Nevada mountains, our hotel is convenient to many local attractions and just 20 miles west of Sacramento. Explore California's natural beauty during your stay at our Roseville hotel. Families will enjoy experiencing all that Roseville has to offer. Local attractions such as Golfland Family Fun Center and Amusement Park, Magic Circle Theatre, the Maidu Indian Museum and Folsom Lake are within minutes. You can shop at the Westfield Galleria Mall or pick up some local produce and crafts at the Denio's Farmer's Market. Sacramento is just a short drive away, so families can easily explore the California capital during their stay at our Roseville hotel. With convenient access to companies such as Pasco Scientific, Surewest Communications, Union Pacific Railroad, Hewlett-Packard and NEC Technologies, our choice Roseville, CA hotel is perfect for business travelers who plan to attend meetings in Roseville. 

 If you are 62 years or older, learn about how you can book a room with a senior discount.

My sister and her family are trying to plan a trip to South Lake Tahoe next month for their wedding anniversary.  They would love to stay at the Holiday Inn Express in South Lake Tahoe.

 We hope you get a chance to stay at the Holiday Inn Express Roseville in sunny Cali!

What city has your favorite Holiday Inn Express?

*Thank you Holiday Inn Express of Roseville for our stay during our Road Trip event in July.