I’d love to say I’m an ace when it comes to doing crafts, but I simply wasn’t born with that gift. However, I have two small kids who seem to adore creating things with their little hands, and they don’t really care if I’m an expert or not. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for simple, yet fun crafts we can do together.

Ever since she started seeing Halloween decorations around our neighborhood earlier this month, my daughter has been asking to carve a pumpkin — something I’ve never done in my entire life. In fact, I’ve never really used pumpkins as Halloween decorations, although I’m not really sure why. This year, though, I decided to do things differently and embrace this American tradition.

Since I wasn’t willing to venture into pumpkin-carving, I opted for decorating a bunch of small pumpkins with black buttons, like the ones you see above. My daughter loved the idea and after helping me choose several cute little pumpkins — which were less than two bucks each at Walmart — we got our materials ready.

To make my life easier, I always go for the kinds of crafts that require few materials. This was no exception. You can choose whatever size pumpkin you want and either put the entire message in just one large pumpkin or you can do one letter on each smaller pumpkin, like we did. Then, all you need is glue, buttons of all sizes and some ribbon to cover the stems. My daughter chose the sparkly ribbon and I thought it was perfect!

We used a Sharpie to write the letters on each pumpkin and we started gluing away. The funnest part, according to my daughter, was choosing the buttons. Next, we’ll be working on a large pumpkin, but the Halloween message will be in Spanish — if only I can find a small enough word!

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fall is, by far, my favorite season. I hadn’t really experienced the change in seasons until we moved to Colorado. Seven years later, I still can’t get enough of the colors brought about by fall. Every year, we like to take a drive up to the mountains to see the famed Aspens changing colors, but the truth is that I don’t even have to leave the street we live on to experience the breathtaking fall hues.

My kids can’t wait for the leaves to fall of our trees so they can help us rake them, make a huge pile and jump in! But this fall, I wanted to something different with the leaves. So I looked for a fun, but simple craft the kids and I could do that would somehow incorporate the leaves and language and this is what I came up with: Gratitude cards in Spanish using fall leaves. Not only is it super simple, but it requires few materials, which you most likely have at home or can easily get at your local Walmart.

First thing we did was take a lovely and leisurely walk around our neighborhood looking for the best and most unique leaves we could find. It didn’t take long for us to fill a bag full of leaves, like the ones you see above. When we got back home, I helped the kids choose their favorite ones and we got to work. First, we pressed them by putting them between the pages of some pretty heavy art books. Ideally, you leave them there for a few days, we left ours for just two.

Once they were pressed, we coated them with a mixture of glue and water to prevent the leaves from getting too brittle. This was my son’s favorite part because he loved showing me he could do it all by himself! We then let them dry on wax paper for several hours before we got started on the actual cards.

All you need is some card stock, more glue and a marker. The kids glued the leaves onto the cards, I used a Sharpie to write “Gracias por…” on the front, below each leave and then I let them write whatever message they wanted inside. My son doesn’t know how to write yet, but he just learned to spell his name, so that’s what he did. My daughter got to practice her Spanish writing skills and had a great time writing gratitude cards to our family members and friends. We plan on giving these out in Thanksgiving!

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is post is sponsored by Walmart. All opinions are my own.

What I want to share with you today is a great alternative to the traditional burger we are used to. Every long holiday weekend, like Labor Day coming up, many of us tend to enjoy the outdoors by cooking and entertaining with friends and family. Grilling is a popular choice and making homemade burgers is my favorite thing to do. But not all the time we have a grill available or the weather allows us to be outside, other times there is so much food already planned in the menu that making full size burgers is not the best idea. The good news is that we can still share and enjoy the flavors of one of America’s favorites, by serving these mini burgers on a stick, the perfect party appetizer if you ask me.

A fun entertaining tip is to serve these mini burgers on a stick with several sauces on the side. I use a mixture of mayo and ketchup which combines the most common condiments all in one. You can also offer other dipping sauce options like BBQ sauce, blue cheese, ranch, chipotle etc. Another great idea is to have on the side a basket of mini buns in case people are still craving them. The rolls can be cut in half to hold and slide the stick to get all the tasty fillers.

To make these bite sized burgers, have all your ingredients ready and make it a fun time for the kids by assembling them together.

A tip for prepping your meat, that will guarantee a juicy and flavorful burger, is to add shredded onions. The onion will add moisture to the patties and the end result will be tastier and juicer for sure. Regardless of the seasonings, what is most important in order to cook the best burger, is the type of meat you use. I trust the selection offered by Walmart. Their ground beef is all natural, U.S. inspected and passed by the Department of Agriculture, with no artificial ingredients. That will be my first suggestion for a superb burger patty, then select any flavor additions and fixings according to your preference.

Everyone will have fun not only making them but eating these tasty bites as well.

Mini Burgers on a Stick

yields 20

Ingredients

• 20 ounces ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 large vidalia onion, shredded
• Cheddar cheese
• Lettuce
• Bacon
• Cherry tomatoes
• Skewers

Cooking Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together the beef, salt, pepper, garlic powder and shredded onion. Form the mixture into 20 equal-size patties. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown the patties for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.

- When patties are cooked you can keep the warm in the oven while you make sure all you other ingredients will be ready to assemble. Cheese, lettuce and bacon should be cut into small pieces and cherry tomatoes should be cut in half.

- Once all your ingredients are ready, start assembling by threading the tomato first, then lettuce, bacon cheese and lastly the mini burger patty.

- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

{This is a sponsored post}

My kids will be going back to school in 10 days, which means I’m going crazy getting everything so they can be ready for their first day. Besides all the required materials, I also need to get back into gear in terms of lunches and snacks.

I’m not the most creative mom when it comes to packing their lunch boxes and, in all honesty, mornings are so crazy that I normally don’t have all the time in the world to put something awesome together. That’s why I rely on stuff that makes my life easier.

So when I was asked by Walmart if I was interested in checking out the new Lunchables Jr. line of snacks for children 3 and older, I said yes immediately. My kids are no strangers to the regular Lunchables and I figured it’d be a great idea to try these ones out.

The snacks come in four varieties including Blueberry Bonanza, Teddy Bear Picnic, Very Beary Crunch, and Ants on a Log and the best part is that they’re all made with real dried fruits like raisins and apples. Once I gave them to my kids to try out, it was very clear that each one had a favorite. 

Here’s my 7-year-old snacking on hers: Teddy Bear Picnic, which comes with Teddy Graham cookies, peanut butter and tiny pieces of dried apple. I know the snacks are supposed to be for them, but I had to give them a try and I agree with my daughter that this one is the best one. Meanwhile, my 3-year-old son’s favorite is the Very Beary Crunch.

We have already taken the snacks to the pool and on a recent hike, so I know they’ll be a hit when I put them in their lunch boxes in a couple of weeks. If you’d like to try them out, here’s a coupon you can use to get them at Walmart for just a little bit over one dollar!

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This post is sponsored by Walmart. ¡Gracias!

Summer is officially here which also means watermelon season has arrived! Watermelons are a delicious and nutritious treat for our niños. Any watermelon fan knows that to enjoy a watermelon at its best it must be fresh and the closer it’s grown to you the better! 

Walmart has locally-sourced watermelons, and we had the chance to talk with one of their local produce providers in California about their delicious watermelons. Dan Van Groningen’s family has a beautiful history here in California. Van Groningen & Sons, Inc. is a family-owned farming operation that started in California in 1922 by Henry Van Groningen Sr. Henry arrived to the U.S. in 1910 from the Netherlands. He passed down the family business  to his sons and now grandsons who have been providing produce to Walmart in many California areas.

Dan Van Groningen of Van Groningen and Son’s Inc. told us they ”offer name recognition and the fact that we pick the produce when it is ripe. We have a fleet of our own trucks that deliver every day.” After tasting one these watermelons the difference was clear. “If families buy locally they will experience better quality when it comes to taste. We are blessed with an ideal climate in our area. Cool nights and warm days increase the sugar level or what we call brix” said Dan.

The natural sweetness of the watermelon inspired us to create watermelon popsicles reminiscent of the aguas frescas that keep our families refreshed on a hot day. They were super easy to make and we did not need to any sugar! We added a bit of pomegranate juice as well to blend the watermelon and the result was delicious. What made these popsicles taste even sweeter is knowing that the main ingredient came from a local family-owned farm.

Watermelon & Pomegranate Paletas Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 personal-sized seedless watermelon
• 1 pomegranate
• 1/2 cup of water

Directions:

- Take all the seeds from your pomegranate and blend with 1/2 cup of water.

- Take the pomegranate seed juice from the blender and strain it.

- Chop up the inside of your watermelon and place in the blender with the pomegranate juice.

- Blend and pour the watermelon mix into your favorite popsicle mold and freeze.

This is a sponsored post brought to you by Walmart. ¡Gracias!

The kids are so excited for our Fourth of July celebration. This year we will not be purchasing fireworks because our neighborhood has banned the use of fireworks. We are totally ok with that because we know we will be able to watch big fireworks in the sky put on our town.

To get started with the celebration I wanted to have the kids create something that would remind them of the years past.

I thought it would be really cool to do flameless DIY celebration sparklers. Now wouldn’t those be cool to celebrate our countries Independence Day? While they aren’t your typical sparklers, they are pretty cool and so easy to make!

Here is what you need to make your own Celebration Sparkelers:

1-Round dowels or wooden sticks. Walmart has a great price on 16 sticks for $.97

2-Scissors

3-Tape. Clear tape works best

4-Cellophane in your color of choice

5-Curling ribbon

6-Styrofoam balls. Walmart has a bag of 12pc for $4.97

Let’s get started!

1. Cut your cellophane to 4×4 squares and 3×3 squares. You will need about four of each so a total of eight cellophane squares.

2. Choose your foam ball. We used one of the smallest. Insert the stick and wrap with a larger square. Secure with tape.

3. Starting with the smaller squares first, make a slint in the center of the celephane squares. Slide stick thru from the bottom to the top at the base of the foam ball and wrap around and secure. See image above.

4. Continue adding all sqaures and securing each with tape at the base.

5. Lastly, decorate the stick with ribbon. Starting at the top, wrap around and secure with tape.

¡A celebrar se ha dicho! Let’s celebrate!!!

Those who know me well know I’m no good in the kitchen. I love to eat, but not to cook, which is really weird because my father was an ace in the kitchen, but sadly, I didn’t inherit any of his culinary talents. Even so, I have to cook for my kids and husband regardless of my cooking abilities. So, anything that will make this busy mom’s life easier in this arena is always welcomed!

That’s why when Walmart gave me the opportunity to review two very cool kitchen gadgets that promised to make cooking simpler, I jumped on it.

The first product is called the Fusion Juicer ($119 at Walmart) and it’s the first juicer I’ve ever owned. I’m really excited about it because ever since I turned 40 earlier this year, I promised myself I’d start having breakfast every morning — problem is, I’m usually not very hungry when I wake up. I made myself a tropical fruit juice recently using a nice mix of fruits, and I was impressed by the power of this gadget, despite it being so quiet. The juice tasted pretty good, but I still need to figure out which fruits go together best.

The second product is called Health Master Elite Blender ($149 at Walmart) and it’s pretty much that, except that it’s super powerful and versatile because you can use for pretty much anything from making quiche to making margaritas.

We’re coffee lovers in this house — especially my husband — and since it’s been unseasonably hot these past few days, we decided to try out the blender to make frozen cappuccinos.

We used the simple recipe that comes with the blender’s booklet and we were blown away by how quickly we were drinking some delicious coffee drinks. I think it took longer to make the espresso than for the blender to mix everything up. My favorite part was the froth! Next up we’re making chocolate chip muffins.

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Father’s Day is right around the corner, and since we’ll be far away from home because we’re traveling to Puerto Rico on Friday, I’m letting the kids give their gifts to their dad a bit earlier than usual.

Originally, I freaked out about this because I’m already under a lot of pressure as I try to prepare and leave everything ready for our month-long trip. But then, I reminded myself that celebrating Father’s Day is not a huge deal to my husband, and so I decided to go with something simple, but super useful: a car wash kit.

You might recall we recently cleaned out our very messy garage and we ended up filling two trash cans with lots of empty bottles and old stuff we no longer use. That’s when I realized my husband had pretty much run out of everything he uses to wash the cars and bikes. So when the time came to put something easy together for him for Father’s Day, a car wash kit is what made the most sense.

My daughter came to our local Walmart with me where we found everything we needed for a car wash kit for under $25. Check out we got:

• Armor All Original Protectant
• Turtle Wax Foam for Tires
• Microfiber Wash Sponge
• Odor Eliminating Auto Vent Sticks
• Multipurpose Interior Detail Brush
• Tire Brush
• Chamois
• Bucket

To make the whole thing a bit more personalized, I asked my daughter to choose her favorite stickers to decorate the bucket however she wanted. We put all the products inside and we plan on giving it to him before we leave on our trip. My 3-year-old son, who loves it when we go to the car wash, says he can’t wait to have his own car wash at home with all the stuff we bought for his dad.

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My daughter has been done with school since last week. My son even longer because he’s only in preschool. We have a lot of plans for this summer, including a month-long trip to Puerto Rico to visit my husband’s family. But until we get on the plane, I have to figure out what to do with them during the long, lazy days of summer.

It’s more difficult to entertain my 3-year-old son than it is my 6-year-old daughter, who can stay still a lot longer for obvious reasons. Although they both love crafts, they were born to a mom who has no idea what she’s doing unless ALL materials come in a box with simple and easy to follow instructions.

That’s why I am in love with these boxes of projects Walmart sells called Made by Me. If you’ve never used them and you’re not the most crafty mom in the world, then these are the perfect answer for you. I especially like the ones related to crafts for the garden, like the ones my kids are holding up in the photo above, which include one to make bird houses, bird feeders and a wind chime as well as one to make stepping stones.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that we finally got around to planting flowers and working on our front yard, so these projects were perfect additions to our garden. My daughter was super excited about the wood garden set and had so much fun putting together one of the bird houses. The wood pieces come all cut out and ready to be put together using just glue.

The box also comes with twine to hang the bird houses as well as beads to decorate them and, of course, six different color paints and a paintbrush. Choosing the colors and painting her bird house was my daughter’s favorite part. She was so happy with the finished product!

We also worked on a really cute wind chime, which my 3-year-old helped paint because he couldn’t sit still to help us finish the whole thing. My daughter was completely into it and, believe it or not, we actually spent about two long hours working on both projects, which I thought was perfect in terms of keeping kids busy. And our garden looks prettier to boot!

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Just in time for summer break, we got a box full of Crayola’s Color Wonder line of products and my kids couldn’t be happier! With only two weeks left of school, I know they’ll be spending a lot of time getting creative both in and outdoors.

Both my children LOVE to draw, paint and color, so these products are the kind of gifts that will always be welcomed in my house. And while we had experimented with some of the stuff we got before — such as the sidewalk paint and chalks — the Color Wonder tools were all new to us.

In simple terms, Color Wonder products allow your kids to get as creative as they want without the mess that can come from coloring or painting. My daughter was never one to color furniture or wall… sadly, I can’t say the same thing for my son. So these products are any mother’s dream. Basically, they work only on special paper created specifically for the Color Wonder products. The tools include mess free markers, paints and paint brush pens.

My kids thought it was magic and, as you can see in the picture above, they were entertained for a good amount of time and I didn’t have to worry that they were going to make a mess on the dining room table! My 3-year-old son was delighted with the Hot Wheels metallic coloring pad, while my first-grade daughter enjoyed the Hello Kitty glitter coloring pad. The best part is that all the Mess Free Color Wonder Licensed Activity Sets are on Rollback at Walmart through the end of May.

We’ll be taking a long plane ride on our way to visit my husband’s family in Puerto Rico this summer and I plan on packing these mess free Color Wonder products which will be perfect for the trip.

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.