Mommy Octopus

Yesterday, my baby girl turned 3.  THREE.  That’s crazy.  If you have been following me since she was born, you know she had a little bit of a rough start to life including a NICU stay, but now she’s a happy, healthy, rambunctious three year old.  She loves cows, Chickfila, and shoes.  Such a joy and a blessing.

My sweet girl asked for a cupcakes for her birthday party and also said she wanted a cow cake, so we pulled the two of those together.  I don’t think we did too bad for not being professional cupcake makers 🙂

I wasn’t planning on sharing how we made it so I didn’t take the best of pics, but when I shared it on my personal fb page, everyone was asking.  Here goes:

First, make a batch of cupcakes.  You’ll need 28 cupcakes to make the form that I did.

I started with a rectangle that was 4 across and 3 down, using 12 cupcakes.  Then I added 2 cupcakes to make each leg and 2 for the tail.  Then I used 9 in a 3 x 3 pattern for the head, making the middle row come down a little to shape the face.  Finally, we added 1 to make a cow bell.

Then start decorating.  We did a simple quick buttercream frosting for the base on each cupcake.  We used the ready made frostings that you can buy at the grocery store with a tip on the end to make the designs.  You’re simply adding features to make it look cow-ish.  I’m sure this could easily be adapted for a horse or a pig as well.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

I’m totally new to cake pops but they are so much fun to make!  You can use a Baby Cakes Cake Pop maker to make the process much easier!  Now comes the fun part!

Simply prepare your cake batter according to the directions.  You can add some sprinkles to the batter to make it a little more festive.

Pour it in your cake pop maker and magic happens!  Then dip as you wish!

Then it’s done and ready!

This is a guest post by my friend Alexia.  Alexia is a Disney Vacation Specialist with Destinations in Florida.  When she is not helping plan magical vacations, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.  Click here to contact her and she’ll help you find the best rates for your magical vacation!

When you think of Walt Disney World attractions, you probably think of Soarin’, Peter Pan’s Flight, Kilimanjaro Safari, and Toy Story Mania.  You know all the attractions that usually have at least an hour wait.  However, there are some attractions that you can usually walk right on without a wait.  Most people assume that these attractions are that great since there is little to no wait, but most of these attractions are very underrated.  Here are the top 10 underrated attractions at Walt Disney World:

Living with the Land:  I have no interest in gardening at all.  In fact, I have a black thumb.  If there is a way to kill a plant, I will find it.  Because of this, I find Living with the Land fascinating.  I love learning how Disney grows so much of their own food.  This was actually the very first ride that my girls rode on their first trip to Disney World.  My step-daughter even asked to ride it a second time.

Gran Fiesta Tour:  Okay, so there are some people who really don’t like this ride, but my girls and I love it.  It’s colorful, loud, and fun.  Plus my girls had a blast trying to spot Donald.

Great Movie Ride:  Confession time:  on my first trip to Hollywood Studios, I didn’t know that there was a ride behind the giant Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat.  Obviously, it was a must do on my second trip.  Many people complain that this ride is outdated and newer movies should be featured; however, I disagree.  I love the fact that this ride features classics.

Tomorrowland Transit  Authority Peoplemover:  Personally, I love this ride.  It takes passengers on a leisurely tour around the second floor of many attractions in Tomorrowland.  Sure, it isn’t the most exciting attraction at Disney World, but it is a great ride to put up your feet and relax as you take a journey through Tomorrowland.

Swiss Family Tree House:  I will be the first to admit that this attraction is not very stroller friendly.  If you have time and it isn’t crowded, take a leisurely stroll through and pay attention to the elaborate details.

Flights of Wonder:  This is a live bird show where one of Anandapur’s bird researchers educates a tour guide with a fear of birds about natural bird behaviors and the effects of habitat loss and conservation efforts on bird species, such as the Black Crowned Crane and Bald Eagle.  Sure, the story line and jokes are cheesy, but the birds and the information learned are amazing.

Tom Sawyer Island:  Much like the Swiss Family Tree House, Tom Sawyer Island is not very stroller friendly.  However, it is fun, interactive, hands-on attraction if you can navigate it.

Carousel of Progress:  This attraction was created by Walt Disney himself for the 1964 New York World’s Fair.  The attraction’s premise is an exploration of the joys of living through the advent of electricity and other technological advances during the 20th century via a “typical” American family.  Even if you don’t love the storyline, the attraction’s history is fascinating.

Liberty Square Riverboat:  In case you haven’t noticed, some of my favorite underrated attractions are those where I can kick up my feet and take a break but still feel like I am taking in the sights and sounds of Walt Disney World.  Liberty Square Riverboat is another one of these attractions.  The entire ride takes about 17-minutes and takes guests around Tom Sawyer Island.

Mickey’s PhilharMagic:  This 12-minute long show features 3D effects, scents, and water as well as a number of characters from Disney movies. It is shown on the largest purpose-built 3D screen ever made, at 150 feet wide.  Sounds awesome, right?  It is, but you would be amazed how many times I hear people say, “Let’s skip it since it’s not a ride” as they walk by.

Do you agree with the list?  What’s your favorite underrated Walt Disney World attraction?

WOW ya’ll!  Yesterday marked 4 years that I’ve been blogging here on MommyOctopus.com!  Thank YOU for making this a fun place to share deals, reviews, recipes, and random tidbits!

In celebration, how about we do a quick giveaway?  Through the end of the month, enter to win a $100 Amazon.com gift card!  Fill out the Rafflecopter for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With the new year comes new resolutions.  I have a new freebie for ya’ll to help keep track of your calorie intake and how much water you’re drinking every day.  I like to keep account of what I’m eating and drinking to make sure that I’m staying on target.  I hope you all enjoy this freebie as much as I do!  Click on it to print the PDF.

I had so much fun making the printables that I posted yesterday for Valentine’s Day that I made some more!  These are the same ones, just different background color.  Simply click on the photo to download the PDF that you’d like!

I love making printables for my mantel, fridge, walls, and really everywhere!  They are easy to switch out to match the season, birthday, decor, etc.

Below are two that I just made for y’all.  I hope you enjoy them and share them with friends!  Simply click on them to download the PDF file.

So I saw this photo on Facebook and it totally made me laugh!  I’m not sure who the original owner is, so if you know, I’ll happily give photo credit.

This is so totally my bed!  This is the reason we finally saved up and bought a King size bed.  I was getting tired of being kicked out of my bed by my precious 2 year old when she wanders to our bed in the middle of the night!  This photo definitely speaks truth!

Do you have any kiddos that still climb in your bed?