Freezer Slow Cooker Meals

Have you heard of the newest party craze for women? Crock Pot Parties! Groups of women get together once a month or so, each picking out a freezer slow cooker meal recipe and bringing enough ingredients for each attendee to assemble the recipe for their own family. With each party goer bringing a different recipe, each person brings home a variety of meals all ready to be thrown in the crock pot.

After hearing about these parties I started to wonder what the big deal was with these frozen slow cooker meals. Searching the internet for recipes I found Pintrest..... Oh wonderful Pintrest..... With so many awesome and yummy ideas, I not have a freezer full of dinners. All I need to do is thaw, and put it in the pot. How much simpler can you get on a busy week night?

I am always looking for ways to make my life a little easier (aren't we all??) and these meals are doing just that! Below are links to my family's favorites, posted by fellow Bloggers, Enjoy!


BBQ Cranberry Chicken
Cilantro Black Bean Chicken

Free Books For Kids!

About 2 months ago a co-worker told me about a program where you can get free books for your children. That's right, FREE! It's called the Imagination Library. This program is offered in many areas throughout the US and several other countries and is a great way for your child's library to grow from birth through Kindergarten. I signed Miss B up for the program a month ago and we just received our 1st book in the mail. This program was launched in 1995 by Dolly Parton and initially was only offered in her home county in Tennessee. Since the program was launched it has expanded to any community who wants to partner with them. I strongly encourage any parent of a young child to check this out because, who doesn't love books?

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!

As you prepare to spend tomorrow with a massive (or not so massive) amount of family, here are some tips to help you survive Thanksgiving with the people you love the most <3

1.) It's just ONE day

When that sister in law is making rude comments, or your cousin is talking about her FABULOUS life for the millionth, remember, it is just one day. Smile politely, compliment her on that beautiful sweater and her wonderful children and move on to a relative you actually like. If you can't manage that, just smile while imagining the bowl of cranberry sauce being hurled across the table at her!

That's it, there is only one tip. That's all you need.

Growing up Thanksgiving dinner for me was always just my parents and sisters and myself, just the five of us. Since meeting my husband, I have learned about the extended family thanksgivings. We were told dinner was at 3 so we would show up early (about 1 pm) so we would get the non-wobbly, comfortable chairs and we would sit and visit while going through the paper. Then we would eat dinner with the cousins, grand parents, parents, in laws, nieces and nephews, when everyone finally arrived at 4:30 pm.

The first time I experienced this, it was a little overwhelming, but I soon learned how to navigate through the holidays by just smiling and keeping my mouth shut.

This year, now that our little bundle of joy is 15 months old, I have decided I want to take back our holidays and spend our Thanksgiving at our own home with our own dinner. My husband's family is incredibly close so everyone sees each other regularly so I don't feel bad about this at all. I want to start our own traditions with our own immediate family like I did growing up. So as you prepare for your thanksgiving with the whole extended family or your immediate family, Happy Thanksgiving from the Tickled Pink Family to yours!

Super Sale!!

So I think I should just rename my Blog "Confessions of a Shopaholic", Crazy 8 is having a decent sale this weekend.

I have been eying a shirt that says "Dream Big Little One" and the matching tutu skirt, however, I couldn't justify spending close to $40.00 for an outfit for a 1 year old. I have been waiting for them to go on sale.



THEY FINALLYARE ON SALE! Woot! Woot! Time to head to the mall before the after thanksgiving crazies are out! Happy Shopping!

Teacher to Parent Letter

Teacher to parents: About THAT kid (the one who hits, disrupts and influences YOUR kid)

By now, we have all seen this article shared on facebook or some other media outlet. If you have not seen it yet, you can find the letter here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/11/14/teacher-to-parents-about-that-kid-the-one-who-hits-disrupts-and-influences-your-kid/# This article really made me think. I have seen a lot of posts on facebook and stories from friends about their school aged children and the things they have to deal with everyday while trying to learn. One friend shared how her child was shoved against the wall and choked in the cafeteria. While this event alone is horrible, she didn't find out about it until sitting at the dinner table as her young daughter mentioned it in passing as if it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The school NEVER called to tell her about it. While I do believe every child has the right to to learn and attend school, is it ok to make excuses and sweep events like this under the rug? Is it ok for my child to miss out on learning because of frequent disruptions in the classroom? Are there things that can be done to give every child the best chance at success in public schools? I do truly feel for this teacher, but as a parent, I am trusting teachers with my most precious gift, my child, and to teach her and give her the best chance for success in life with an education.

Awesome Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

One of my husband’s favorite desserts I have made so far is this pie. Every time I make it he praises how wonderful it is, and lets face it, having someone praise your cooking always feels good so that is why I LOVE making this. Making this pie is time consuming because of all the time it needs to sit between layers. If you don’t have the time to let it sit in between layers, I suggest you wait until you do to make it or you will have a messy looking dessert.

So here is what you will need to make this awesome dessert.

• 1 Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 8oz package of softened cream cheese
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Large Container (about 12 oz) of Cool Whip (or homemade whipped cream)
• Chocolate Pie Crust
• 1 Jar Microwavable Hot Fudge Topping

The first thing you will want to do is make your pie crust. I prefer to make mine, but you can certainly use a purchased chocolate crust. I mix chocolate graham crackers with melted butter and press it into my pie dish and bake it for 8 minutes on 350 degrees.

The next thing I do is mix the peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar. Using an electric mixer makes this a breeze. Once those three ingredients are well mixed well, add most of your cool whip or whipped topping, about 3 cups to the peanut butter mixture. You want to make sure you leave enough of the whipped topping to use on the top of the pie. This forms your pie filling. Once these four ingredients are mixed well, pour your pie filling into your chocolate crust and using a rubber spatula spread it all out nice a smooth. Place this in the fridge for about an hour so it hardens up a little.

After you let the filling set for about an hour in your refrigerator, it is time to add the delicious hot fudge topping! Before you do this though, you want to take two spoonfuls  of the hot fudge and put it into a little sandwich baggy. Microwave the rest of the topping according to the directions on the container, then pour it over the pie using a spatula to spread it out. Stick your pie back in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. You want the fudge to thicken back up so you can add the next layer.

After letting the pie sit in the refrigerator again you can add the last layer of the dessert which is the whipped topping or cool whip. Using your rubber spatula, spread a layer of the cool whip over the fudge.

The last step is to take the baggy you put the hot fudge into and snip the corner with scissors and squeeze the fudge onto the pie in a decorative fashion.

And that is it!

Your dessert is finished and you can now enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, feel free to let me know what you think

Lamp Shade Makeover

In a quest to save a bit of money but still dress up the nursery with a unique piece of decor I decided to attempt reviving up an old lamp shade I had in my attic. Like all my DIY projects, I wanted to make this one sparkle.
Here is how I completed this simple project.

Here is how the lamp shade looked when I started, it was stained from years of use and storage.

I used some spray paint purchased at Wal-Mart and covered it with 2 coats of paint. At this step you can absolutely add in some of your own ideas, making it uniquely yours for example, you could adhere circle stickers to the shade before painting to give it polka-dots once you painted and removed the sticker. You could also use painter’s tape to make stripes.

Next, with a hot glue gun I stuck some decorative trim around the top and the bottom of the lamp shade to make it sparkle. There are many options for trim at your local craft store, some with pom poms, some with fringe and others with sparkles. You could even layer them if you wanted.

Once you add your chosen décor and adhere it to the lamp shade, it is time to admire your handy work. You just made something one of a kind (unless you need a matching set of course).

Happy Crafting!