So hopping around the internet today I found this AWESOME trailer for the hyped up video game that comes out November 1st called Disney Epic Mickey. Seriously? Disney. Mickey Mouse. Wii. All combined to make the ultimate video game for my dork self. Now I just have to save my pennies and buy it and hide it from the husband and kids. Check it out. Totally cool.

Another recipe in honor of my upcoming New Orleans trip!
Jammin’ Jambalaya
Makes 6 to 8
(pages 26-27 in The Princess and the Frog: Tiana’s Cookbook)

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 pound Andouille sausage, cooked and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large celery stalks, chopped
1 small bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes, undrained
2 cups uncooked white rice
4 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the
chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium.

2. Stir in the sausage, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Sprinkle on the salt and
ground black pepper, and stir again. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and the uncooked rice. Then stir in the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil.

4. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Simmer the jambalaya until the rice is
tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire and hot pepper sauces.

***Reprinted with permission from the book DISNEY’S THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG TIANA’S COOKBOOK RECIPES FOR KIDS. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group.***

With my trip to New Orleans approaching I thought I’d share a wonderful recipe from Princess Tiana!

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium bowl, combine 23/4 cups of the f lour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture from Step 1.

3. Use some of the remaining flour to dust your work surface. Place the dough on it and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky. Next, slice the dough into 21/2 -inch squares.

4. Now it’s time to fry the beignets—be sure to ask an adult to help you! Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan on the stovetop until the temperature reaches 325° on a deep-fat thermometer. Check the temperature every so often while cooking. If it gets too hot, temporarily turn the heat down, or off.

5. Carefully drop 3 dough squares at a time into the hot oil. Fry them for 3 minutes, turn them over, and continue frying for 3 more minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beignets to a wire rack set atop paper towels to drain. Dust the beignets with confectioners’ sugar, and enjoy!

***Reprinted with permission from the book DISNEY’S THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG TIANA’S COOKBOOK RECIPES FOR KIDS. Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group.***

Being a HUGE Disney fan when I heard they were making a LIVE action movie out of the story of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice I was skeptical. I’m still not entirely sure they can pull this off, but it does look interesting. Check out this scene:

We arrived at 2537 Maneshaw Lane Kissimmee, FL at a little after 6 am on Saturday May 29th. As soon as we pulled up we felt like we were home. Here are some pictures and video that show you just how beautiful our Global Resort Home truly was.

Downstairs we had:

• The Kitchen: which had refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, stove, plenty of cabinet and storage space.
• Guest Bedroom: a wonderful bed, and Tv.
• Guest Bathroom: Full size with shower
• Dining Area: 6 person table with placed settings.
• Living Room: Sofa & Loveseat, coffee table, and a HUGE flat screen TV mounted onto the wall.
• Pool: Small Pool area perfect for our family. Had a shallow side for the kiddos and a deeper side for us.

Upstairs we had:

• Master Suite: a HUGE bed with lots of pillows. Adorable nightstands and lots of space to store our clothes and what not. A smaller flat screen TV, and a nice view.
• Kids Suite: 2 twin beds that were ADORABLE! One Minnie and one Mickey complete with cute stuffed pillows. PLUS they had their very own TV.
• Kids Bathroom: It was the perfect size bathroom for the kiddos to share.
• Master Bath: My highlight was the garden tub. After days of walking the parks this was where I normally was if we were not in the pool.
• WASHER & DRYER: This made life so much easier. It was right at our fingertips and very quiet.
• Fire Extinguisher: It made me feel safe to know exactly where one was.

We go to the Orlando at least twice a year and usually stay on site at a Disney Resort, but I have to say I loved staying in our home away from home. By staying at a Global Resort Home we were close to all the parks, near great shopping, and had the conveniences of home. Their service is super fast as well. The first night our smoke detector was beeping and we let them know the next morning. Someone came right out and fixed it. I truly enjoyed our vacation and recommend anyone going to Orlando to use a Global Resort Home for your next stay.

Book It!
Want to book a Vacation today? Call 321-239- 2823

Also make sure to check out our giveaway for a 3 night stay

***Disclosure: Global Resort Homes provided a 7 night stay for review***

Everyone knows that we love all things Disney and this new movie Starstruck is no exception. PLUS the Starstruck: Got to Believe Extended Edition DVD/CD also has a CD in it so you can sing your favorite songs. Bella and I love “Something about the Sunshine” song. I catch myself singing it all day. The movie itself is a story that has been told before. Famous guy falls in love with your typical girl next door, but it’s a great movie for the younger crowd.

Starstruck, a music and adventure-filled romp that hits all the right notes for kids and tweens, tells the story of Jessica Olson (Danielle Campbell, Prison Break) and her older sister Sara (Maggie Castle, Time Traveler’s Wife), who are heading to Hollywood from Kalamazoo, Michigan, on a family trip to visit their grandmother. Sara is obsessed with pop star Christopher Wilde (Sterling Knight, Sonny with a Chance) and hopes to track him down while in California, but Jessica could care less about the stuck-up star and would rather go sightseeing. When the sisters arrive in L.A. Sara takes Jessica on a hunt to find Christopher and a chance meeting with the star sets off a series of comic adventures that feature many of L.A.’s landmark locations. As the sisters sightsee and spend time together, Jessica gets to know the real Christopher and soon their friendship grows. Ultimately Christopher must decide what is more important — being himself or becoming a movie star. Disney Channel stars Brandon Mychal Smith (Sonny With a Chance) and Chelsea Staub (JONAS) also star as Christopher’s loyal best friend and fame- hungry girlfriend, respectively.

The ‘out of this world’ bonuses featured on the StarStruck: Extended Edition DVD include:
•    Extended version of the movie – only available on DVD
•    More Music with eight Rock-Along tracks to sing-along with!
•    Three Hot Music Videos

Starstruck was #1 in its time slot among kids ages 6-11 and tweens ages 9-14, and was the most watched February original movie premiere in total viewers. Starstruck: Got to Believe Extended Edition DVD/CD is the only way to get the exclusive content not aired on TV. A modern day Cinderella story, StarStruck promotes strong messages about honesty, humility, self-acceptance, and strength of character.

BUY IT!

After having a rough start to our vacation due to traffic we had a WONDERFUL day yesterday. We slept in and had breakfast at our Global Resort Vacation Home then hopped in the Chevy Equinox called OnStar and got directions to Animal Kingdom. I thought it would be quite busy due to it being Memorial Day weekend, but it was surprisingly not. We only had a 20-25 minute wait to ride Expedition Everest! We rode twice. We also saw Nemo The Musical and rode Kilimanjaro Safari and Dinosaur. Overall we had an exceptional day.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day today! I’ll try to keep everyone updated the rest of our Family vacation.

I’m SUPER excited to announce that we are hosting our first annual Family Vacation Event! I am going to be documenting our own Family Vacation to Orlando here on my blog and on facebook and twitter. To me Family Vacations are important. Days come and go, but memories are what we hold on to. Like the first boy I kissed, the day I had my heart broke for the very first time, my wedding day, the day my kiddos were born. All of these memories mean more to me than anything materialistic.

Some people have to have the best cars or the latest gadgets, but not me. Of course we splurge every once in awhile, but my family’s guilty pleasure are vacations. Whether they are staycations are week long Disney trips we make sure to do them every couple of months. THOSE are the memories that I treasure.

They will also be the memories my kids remember about growing up when I’m gone. Gabriel won’t remember getting a used Wii. He will remember getting dressed up as a pirate and going treasure hunting with other kids his age and finding the “booty”. Bella won’t remember that we shop at the thrift stores and consignment sales. She will remember the first time she got a mouthful of salt water in the ocean.

So tomorrow we are getting in a brand new Chevy Equinox and heading to Orlando. We will be staying 8 nights in a great Global Resort Vacation Home and will be going to our home away from home Disney World. However, this time we will be switching things up a little and also going to Sea World!!! This will be our very first time going to Sea World. I am so ready to go on vacation I can’t stand it.

So stay with me throughout next week while we highlight Chevy, Global Resort Homes, Sea World, and Disney as we go on a great Family Vacation! PLUS we will be hosting a giveaway for your very own 3 night stay at a Global Resort Home in Orlando so you can make you own Family Vacation Memories!

***Disclosure: Chevy, Global Homes Resort, and Sea World are sponsoring this event. They are providing a rental car, resort home, and tickets.***

This past weekend we had our very own “What Will You Celebrate?” In-Home Celebration. We celebrated the “Magic” of Disney. My family is a huge fan of all things Disney, especially Disney World. In February we got to go to the Social Media Moms conference and was able to witness not only the largest Canned-Food Structure Unveiled, Verified Largest-Ever by Guinness World Records®, but we were able to participate an act of volunteerism with Disney’s Friends for Change. All four of us were able to plant a tree.

So for our celebration we had the kids talk about what it felt like to volunteer and plant a tree then we all put on our special Mickey Ears and proceeded to PAR-TAY! From Mickey head shaped cookies to playing Walt Disney World Trivia and Walt Disney World Bingo; we had a blast. We ended by watching the Vacation Planning DVD.

Want to host your own Disney In-House Celebration? Disney World and Mom Central have a whole website dedicated to having your own party! Go to http://momselect.com/mickeymomsclub/ today!

I wanted to share some cute Disney Princess tidbits with you. Not much has changed within the realm of royal roles! From the Middle Ages to today, take a look at how Princess Tiana fits in with a long line of Princess pageantry and practices! What do you think? Can you think of any more?

• PRINCESSES THEN – Princesses then, enjoyed delicious desserts called ‘subtleties.’ Made of sugar and jam, subtleties were sculptured in the form of animals and heroes.
• PRINCESSES NOW — Princesses today cook up any number of tasty dishes. Tiana’s beniets are tasty treats that cap off any meal especially when it’s Tiana’s gumbo or jambalaya!

• PRINCESSES THEN – Music was played as a princess enjoyed her evening meal. After the meal, there was often entertainment, including acrobats, animal trainers andstorytellers.
• PRINCESSES NOW — Jazz music is served up regularly at Tiana’s Place. With Louis the Alligator on trumpet and Prince Naveen on ukulele, Tiana’s court and her patrons enjoy the best New Orleans entertainment imaginable!

• PRINCESSES THEN – In the middle ages, princesses often enjoyed great festivities and banquets that were occasionally celebrated by hundreds of guest and sometimes lasted for days.
• PRINCESSES NOW – Celebrations and festivities never go out of style – especially in New Orleans. Princess Tiana often resides over balls and banquets throughout the many days of Mardi Gras celebrations!

• PRINCESSES THEN – Princesses of the middles ages enjoyed beautiful clothes, and their garments were often made of linen, silk and velvet. These beautiful gowns were often adorned with braid, embroidery and fur.
• PRINCESSES NOW — As a master seamstress, Tiana’s mother Eudora often made clothes for Tiana and Charlotte from the finest cloth imaginable. Ribbons, lace and fine details shape the gowns of today’s Princesses.

• PRINCESSES THEN – In the middle ages, little Princesses enjoyed playing with toys. Playthings might include ceramic dolls or miniature cooking utensils.
• PRINCESSES NOW – Little Princesses today, still enjoy playing with toys. Cooking utensils were definitely a favored toy for Princess Tiana as well!