Easy Peasy Ice Cream Cake!!

Thank you Pinterest! For every 3,586 things I pin...I try 1! This was one of those few things I tried when Maddie requested an ice cream cake last year. I made it worried that it would be a bust and to my surprise everyone raved about it! Like stalked me for months wanting me to make it again...well I did make it again TWELVE months later!!!

So all you need is:

2 Boxs of Ice Cream Sandwiches (this pan only held 18, so you will have extras)

1 Large tub of Cool Whip

Jar of Caramel Ice Cream Topping

Candy Bar of your choice

(I spent about $12)

 

 First layer is Ice cream sandwiches, then cover the sandwiches with half the tub of Cool Whip, drizzle on the caramel add the chopped up candy of your choice. (I did half Reeses Cups and half Snickers). Repeat. Done!

This cake has limitless possibilities. You can subsitute the caramel for fudge, strawberry topping etc. you could use Oreos instead of candy bars and of course candy bars are endless choices as well! I wish I had snapped a picture of the girls who all returned with watering mouths and empty plates for a second helping and it was GONE! I seriously glanced over and there were 4-5 girls just standing there plate in hand staring at the dish processing that it was gone!!

Maddie's Moustache Swim Bash!

My sweet funny girl told me LAST year that this year would be a moustache themed party...I was not sure why and certainly did not think 365 days later she would still have the same theme in mind!! Lucky for me moustache's are EVERYwhere now and so easy to find! I ordered her invite off etsy and then the woman was kind enough to create a custom package for me as well! Maddie is quite a tomboy so she chose the "boy colors" rather than the neon pinks and oranges! I was a bit bummed at first since i have plenty of boy stuff all around me with four sons and a sweet hubby, but it turned out to be a great color scheme with a great POP of color fun!

 

 Above I simply added 'stache stickers on the drink cups, Duck tape on the water bottles (sitting in an Ikea bin from the school room!) and weaved some matching ribbon in my cute little porcelain platter!

 The drink table!

 I tickled myself with these candy moustaches!! I found the molds at Michaels. Notice the bowl behind the sign with chips has washi tape around the rim for added fun!

The goodie bags jars were a hit too! These were old pickle jars, spaghetti sauce jars etc. I removed the labels (Thank goodness for Norwex envirocloth which removed the labels in a breeze including the sticker residue) spray painted the lids with black chalkboard paint and added vinyl labels that said  "my stache". I told the kids they could use it for money or candy or whatever they "stache"! Inside was some candy, moustache whistle, moustache stickers and a sunglass/nose combo.

 The girls also received Hershey bars with custom labels.

Of course the girls had a blast with the photo booth fun!! It was a pool party and she had 9 girls come plus her and her sissy. The swam jumped on the trampoline had photo booth fun and of course ate and snacked on the candy buffet, cake and more!

Netted Dish Cloth Review

Today I am going to give you a quick review of a simple little product that performed in a big way! I was introduced to Norwex about 6 months ago. As a mom who is contantly trying to find ways to make my home a safer enviroment for my family AND save money along the way I was intrigued at what Norwex had to offer. I myself searched reviews before purchasing their products so I figured I could help others by sharing my experiences, good or bad.

 

                                                    Norwex Netted Dish Cloth (sells for about $7 )

 Okay let's start with the product that the Dish Cloth will replace...the yucky kitchen sponge! I have always known the kitchen sponge was yucky and I always run it through the dishwasher as often as I remember to kill the bacteria. One article said, “One single bacteria cell can become more than 8 million cells in less than 24 hours! The number of bacteria it takes to make people sick can range from as few as 10 up to millions. And infections spread when germs are transferred from a contaminated item (say, your cutting board) to your hands to your body.” and many articles verify that the kitchen sponge is the #1 source of bacteria in your home.

 This entire cleaning bonanza started with one goal in mind and that was to rid the kitchen of fruit flies. I know that is gross but this time of year and fruit seem to be a great pairing for this annoying pest! So I had done everything I could think of to get rid of them including the regular cleaning of the kitchen. When I picked up my sponge I noticed a foul odor and decided to pitch it in the trash. Pulled out my new Netted Dish Cloth and started to clean. First I cleaned all my surfaces. On this granite counter it is hard to see all food and sticky mystery spots, the netted cloth caught at those areas and grabbed them with a few strokes the spots were gone. These are things I would have normally grabbed a SOS type pad to scrub up before so I was impressed. I also came across some grease build up behins the cooktop on the granite. I added some Blue Diamond (A Norwex product for bathtubs) and again the grease came up with minimal effort. Impressed again. I was attempting to find areas in this kitchen that already "looked clean" and around the faucet there was some minimal gunk...surprise, surprise the cloth fit into the areas between the faucet and lever and with some back and forth motion I had some hunks of gunk on my cloth. I had always struggled with that tight area so again was happy with this amazing little cloth!

 I also was able to get these above areas very thoroughly..that little ridge between the sink and granite had some grossness and it came right out! I took this little cloth down every cabinet (inisde all the grooves of woodworking) and over the water tray on the fridge door. All of this with just the cloth and water. The only time I used a product was for the grease build up and dishes. As you see below a certain child left a very unhealthy cereal (no judgement, my hubby loves them and refuses not to buy them!)in a bowl with no rinsing. If you have had this happen you know these cereals are nearly impossible to clean out hours later as they literally begin to turn into to a GLUE based substance!! Well I gave it a try and sure enough the Netted Dish cloth ended its long day in my kitchen with 2 swipes through the bowl and the cereal was gone...seriously no scrubbing!

Best part was I just threw the cloth in the next dishwasher load for cleanup! I do give my raving review of this product in all aspects of cleaning. The only negative thing I could find with the cloth was that it did not lather the dishsoap like I thought it would but we just switched dishsoap so I am still unsure if it was cloth or soap...I'll let you know!! By the way with a great apple cider vinegar/dawn dish soap trap and a Norwex cleaned kitchen I am happy to report the fruit flies are gone!!

Disclaimer: I reviewed this product for fun. I do not sell Norwex and I actually bought the product myself. I do know two great consultants who sell it and would be happy to answer any questions you have but I do not receive anything from these reviews.

I'mm Baacckkk!!!

It has been too long but I am back to blog!! I, like many others was lost in the Facebook world for a bit and stopped blogging...well that and life kinda took over!! Please join me as I hop back into the blogging world! Come meet my new son, come read my reviews, come see which Pinterest projects turn out and which  ones fail miserably,  come join me as I enter my second year of Classical Conversations and as our family continues to raise money for clean water in Ethiopia!!