Last week the kiddos headed to their semi-annual visit to the dentist. We have tried making the visits to the dentist as fun as possible and are glad to have a dentist that understand this and who makes the experience as fun as can be. I was relieved to learn that the kids had no cavities, however our dentist also reminded us to be flossing and rinsing every time we brush our teeth. I have to admit, I’m pretty consistent with having the kiddos brush their teeth twice a day but that’s the extent of it.

Did you know that many of us don’t realize that brushing alone misses 75% of our mouths? I didn’t either until I learned this past week from both our dentist and a live chat I was able to participate with Listerine dental health professionals. I also learned that you should make your child’s first dental appointment at a year old. I have to admit, I totally missed the mark on that one since we didn’t visit the dentist until their third birthday.

This month I’m vowing to install better oral habits for all of my family. I’m taking part in the LISTERINE Halthy Habits for a Lifetime Oral Care Challenge that happens to coincide with National Children’s Dental Health Month, that is taking place in the month of February.  We have been challenged to adopt some healthier oral habit and boy does my family need the challenge. In addition to brushing two times a day, we will also be rinsing with LISTERINE and also be flossing. I’m going to admit that the flossing with the kiddos is going to be a challenge for us but I am determined to make sure that flossing becomes a habit because it is so important!

Stay tuned as I keep you posted about our progress and what we accomplished during our three week challenge. I hope you can join me!

Disclosure: I received products and compensation from Johnson& Johnson and The Motherhood as part of my participation in the Oral Care Challenge. However all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Credit: S Morales

Do you love cupcakes? Who doesn’t right? Syreeta shares about a one of a kind event all about cupcakes.

Two weekends ago I took my best friend to the LA Cupcake Challenge, hosted by Drink Eat Play, for her birthday.  What is the LA Cupcake Challenge?  It is a battle between awesome bakeries and cupcakeries from all over Southern California to determine who has the best cupcakes in our land.  Eighteen fierce competitors came together at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood on Saturday, February 4^th armed with two of their best mini cupcakes for patrons to partake in.  The tickets to the event are $40 (plus $3.86 service fee, natch), and that may have you thinking no cupcake is worth such a steep cost.  But what other time can you pig out on cupcakes in the name of history?!  The price of the ticket grants you entry into the event and one of each mini cupcake flavor from each of the 18 bakeries.

Credit: S Morales

When you enter the main room at the hotel, you will be overwhelmed by the noise and the amount of people packed inside waiting to have their sweet tooth satisfied.  At first glance, there appears to be a line for the row of bakeries that leads around the room like a Candy Land board game.  As you make your way through Yummy Town, people will ignore the line and cut in front of you, but resist the urge to smear frosting on their faces.  There are enough cupcakes for every ticket purchased.  The most important thing I learned is that, unless you have 18 hands to hold your 36 cupcakes, you will need to bring some form of Tupperware or cake box large enough to hold your treats.

By far, the best part of the LA Cupcake Challenge is the bakery owners and their employees.  They are enthusiastic, super knowledgeable about cupcakes, and downright jolly.  This is what they love to do, and they are beyond thrilled to see you gobble up their masterpieces.  As you make your way to each bakery’s table, they will mark their name off the yellow rate sheet you are given when you check into the event.  They will describe each of their cupcakes to you in delicious detail.  You will want to stop right there and dig in.  Be strong!  There’s time for that later.

Credit: S Morales

After you gather all 36 of your delectable treats, find a table and stake your claim pronto.  A few dedicated cupcake lovers had to sit on the floor.  They didn’t seem to be enjoying their cupcakes any less.  Sit down, and prepare for sugar overload.  The second most important thing I learned was to share one mini cupcake at a time with my best friend, instead of digging in to a whole one all by myself.  Once we started this practice, we were able to enjoy more cupcakes without feeling sickly.  Plus, you can take the leftovers home to your kids and they can eat them without wondering why there’s a big giant bite taken out of their dessert.

This year, there was only one category: Best Bakery.  After you’ve filled up on cupcakey goodness, you choose the Top 3 bakeries whose cupcakes you loved the most, and turn in your yellow rate sheet.  The rating given by the ticket holders and a special panel of judges chosen by Drink Eat Play determines the winner.  My Delight Cupcakery in Ontario was the winner for the 3^rd year in a row.  While I was not impressed with either cupcake they brought to the event, I am a HUGE fan of their bakery.  My faves at the event?  Sugar Babies Cupcakery with their savory ‘n sweet  Pancakes ‘n Bacon cupcake, and The De“Bite”ful Cups Cake Pop Shop who brought a mind blowing treat they dubbed Pastelitos Caliente: a hearty cornbread cupcake with bacon, and a cilantro frosting.  YUM!  Will I be attending the LA Cupcake Challenge next year?  Me and my 18 arms can’t wait to buy a ticket!

Syreeta is  mom to two very busy boys, ages 3 and 10.  She works full time as a loan processor at a local credit union, and part time as a finder of fun!  She loves to take her  family out on new adventures all over Southern California.  Disneyland is her  favorite place to make memories, but she  also enjoys other amusement parks, museums, zoos, exhibits, and anywhere else there are good times to be found.

I love to bake whenever I have the opportunity and I love a great challenge. When I was approached to take part in a baking challenge using plastics, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. With Valentines’ Day and Love in the air I decided to make my husband’s and daughter’s favorite treat, mini cheesecakes.  Our challenge involved using only plastics to help make our favorite Valentine’s Day recipe.

I admit, before this I was trapped in the belief that you only bake using metal cookie sheets, mixing bowls, etc.. Boy was I wrong. I used silicon bakeware and I don’t think I can go back.  The silicon is a breeze when it comes to unfolding and removing my goodies was a cinch. In my opinion plastics also cool much quicker than metal bakeware and because they are so easy to use my daughter helped me unmold the mini cheesecakes in a snap.

Plastics Make it Possible is a great website that provides info on using plastic in our lives, green living and more.  You can also find the recipe for my mini cheesecakes on the website here. You can also head over to read about the challenge I’m a part of and the best part, how you can win a plastics bakeware gift bag worth $250 to help you create your favorite recipe in your own kitchen. You can enter the sweepstakes here.

Head on over, download our recipes and enter to the plastics gift package. We received the same gift basket and it is AMAZING! Everything you will need to create the recipe of your choice. Good luck!

Disclosure: This is not a compensated post. I received $250 worth of plastic products to participate in the plastic baking challenge.