While I love, love Pinterest and all it offers me, I am 100 percent sure Pinterest has created a new breed of craft obsessed moms. As if we don’t already have enough pressure, we are now sort of expected to produce that over the top valentine with a quirky message tag or the ultimate handmade whimsical teacher’s gift.

In all honesty, I am being a bit sarcastic in this post as I do love Pinterest. I’m an organizational freak so Pinterest is my paradise. It also allows me to be crafty, which by default I am not. But, I really do think Pinterest has created a new kind of standard for us moms. Who knows if the fad will pass or we will continue to keep doing things bigger and better until we drop.

I have seen the transformation in myself over the past year from Mia’s Movie Night. (See exhibit A in previous post) To the Valentines the girls sent out this year to classmates. ie. Rock candy with cute message “You Rock Valentine!”

No real answer here… Just a Mamma Mia Public Service Announcement for your Mother’s Day brain.

Happy Mother’s Day! And, take the day off from pinning. Oh, and when you get back on Pinterest tomorrow, follow me. 

Take a minute to view our quick segment below and then go to Produce for Kids for more than 90 chef created, dietician approved quick, healthy and yummy meals for your family!

Watch the video on FOX 35′s site here or by clicking on the image above.

Mickey Mouse and friends will rock with the stars from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story in their new touring show Disney Live!  Mickey’s Music Festival.  Disney hits are remixed to the hottest sounds of today featuring hip hop, pop, swing, reggae, rock, country and more!

Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival

Lineup of performers include Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Ariel, Sebastian, Ursula, Jasmine, Aladdin, Genie, Woody, Buzz and Jessie! These are a just a handful among the more than 25 Disney stars featured in the jam session.

The show is coming to the UCF arena on March 3, 2013 for two shows at 2:30 and 5:30 pm. Mamma Mia readers can get a special $3 off ticket discount by entering DLUCF at checkout.

I’m also giving away a family four-pack of tickets to the March 3 5:30 pm performance.

How you can enter:

1.) Leave a comment letting me know your favorite friend of Mickey’s.

2.) You can enter daily by tweeting about the giveaway and letting me know you did so in a comment.

3) You can follow @disneylive on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did so.

I’ll be selecting a winner on February 17 so get your entries in now!

We will attend the show as guests of Feld Entertainment.

My littlest bean had eight ear infections in eight months. Not wanting to pump her with another round of antibiotics, our pediatrician sent us off to the ENT. Before our visit I started researching. (ie. Googling any reference to ear infections in toddlers.) I found sites saying all kinds of things, but the one that stood out indicated that consumption of dairy could be a factor in reoccurring ear infections. I even had tips from friends on Facebook that said dairy could be the culprit.

The Ever Interesting Ear

So here’s what I found…. According to the Center for Food Allergies, A milk allergy is by far the most common cause of ear infections. Removing dairy from the diet will often times result in complete resolution of this problem. For some reason, many pediatricians overlook the possibility of food allergies, especially milk allergies to chronic ear infections.

We did still pay a visit to the ENT, who immediately recommended tubes. I asked we hold off for three months while I try removing the daily two sippy cups of milk and yogurt from her diet.

Last April, we switched over to Almond milk, did yogurt once a week and limited cheese to the special occasion pizza. It’s been nine months and not a single ear infection. Why was I never privy to this info and why did I have to search for it?

I love dairy and I love a big glass of milk every now and then. I am in no way the Dairy Debbie Downer. However, it is amazing to realize the power of the foods we put into our body and how we react individually. As busy parents, we look to our pediatricians to offer us this information, but that doesn’t always happen.

I am happy to have helped even just one parent with my post. Feel free to leave me a comment. Again, I am not medically certified in any way, but I am a mom with a very credible story to share.

Here’s another reference article:  HealthyChild.com 

I love the fact that these dolls employ imagination with their interchangeable outfits, accessories, hairstyles and even faces. My girls were excited to create their own special friends. The more dolls, the more characters girls can create. Pinypon dolls are recommended for ages 3 and up and they are, again, totally affordable starting at $2.99.

Pinypon

Here in Orlando, you can pick them up at Wal-mart. Or, you can win them by entering my giveaway! I’m giving away exactly what you see in the photo here. It’s four dolls and two pets. (A girl can’t be without her pet.)

How to Enter: 

• Leave a comment below with your best Christmas shopping strategy

For Extra Entries: 

• Follow @Pinypon on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know
• Follow @mammamiafl on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know
• Tweet about the contest (you can do this daily) and leave a comment with the link to the tweet

I’ll be contacting a winner next Friday, December 21 at 3 pm. I use Random.org to select my giveaway winners. Good luck friends!

I was provided with a sample produce for review from Pinypon. However, all opinions on The Mamma Mia Blog are my very own.  

Be a part of the brand-new spectacles from around the world immersed in the circus tradition. Experience it live in Orlando! Going to the circus with your family is a tradition that never, ever gets old. The show will be at the Amway Center Jan. 10-13. Great way to kick off the New Year! Tickets start at $15 and are available at ticketmaster.com and the Amway Center Box Office.

Built To Amaze!

Performances:

Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7:30pm

Friday, Jan. 11 at 7:30pm

Saturday, Jan. 12 at 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

Sunday, Jan. 13 at 1pm and 5pm

Best value for families is definitely the Family Value Pack for $88.00. This includes 4 $15 tickets, 4 small lemonades, 4 small popcorns, and 4 lollipops. This offer is valid for any performance except those on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at the Amway Center ticket office or ticketmaster.com.

I have a family four-pack of tickets to give away!

How to Enter:

• Leave a comment below letting me know, what you think is a Circus staple ie. tigers, clowns.
• You can also tweet about the contest daily for extra entries. Just leave a comment below with the link to your tweet.

The winner will be notified once the giveaway closes on Friday, December 21 at 3 pm.

The Mamma Mia Blog will attend the show as guests of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. All views and opinions on this blog are my very own. 

New Fantasyland

Limited on time with our “after 4 pm” passes, we didn’t have the chance to experience every detail of Fantasyland. However, I did play the part of “extremely annoying and inquisitive theme park girl” and had  way too many questions for Disney cast members. (I’m sure my face is on a list somewhere.) I’ve also been getting the inside scoop from local Orlando friends. Official Grand Opening is tomorrow – Dec. 6.

And now, I present to you my top 10 insider tips for Disney’s new Fantasyland!

1.) Meet Ariel on her turf. The girls were ecstatic to meet Ariel in her Grotto. The line (on a busy holiday weekend) was only 20 minutes and moved quickly. The girls enjoyed toying around with the seashells imbedded in the walls during our wait. The photographers let us take our time once we reached Ariel too. Bonus!

2.) Join the Circus.  Don’t pass up Storybook Circus. It’s full of fun and home to the classic Dumbo ride and the Barnstormer kiddie roller coaster, an all-time Magic Kingdom favorite. Luckily, Barnstormer made the transition over to Fantasyland from the former Toon Town. Casey Jr. Splash & Soak Station looks like it would be tons of fun on a hot Orlando day.

3.) Have fun waiting for Dumbo. Much to my surprise the Dumbo line dumped us into a play area complete with activities for little ones and older kids. The adult receives a pager when the group enters the play area and the pager goes off when it’s near time to ride. The play area was a little hectic, but genius for avoiding typical line waiting meltdowns.

Ariel’s Grotto

4.) See Disney friends up close and in one place. At Pete’s Silly Sideshow in Storybook Circus, Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Minnie are circus stars and ready to meet guests. We were limited on time so our meet and greet was with Ariel, but this is on the list for next visit. Always good to know where you can find all of the characters in one place instead of meeting by chance on a park walkway!

5.) Go Under The Sea. The ride itself is built into Prince Eric’s castle. No worries on meltdowns in this line either! Kids are entertained with Scuttle’s scavenger hunt and the chance for little ones to sort Ariel’s whosits and whatsits. Fun things to do in line means sanity for parents. Thank you Disney. Guests board a giant clam shell and ride through musical scenes from The Little Mermaid.

6.) Be A Guest.  Beast’s castle is actually the Be Our Guest, quick service food by day and fine dining by night restaurant. This is one of the most touted attractions in Fantasyland! I’m going to go ahead and recommend making a dinner reservation for the next, um, forever if you plan on dining there. Be Our Guest might be on your list as a parent spending the day in busy Disney for multiple reasons, but important to note it is the ONLY place in Magic Kingdom that serves beer and wine… Just sayin.

7.) Live the story.  Enchanted Tales With Belle lets you step into the actual story reliving the “tale as old as time” with recognizable characters leading the way. The journey begins in Maurice’s workshop. The actual “story telling” lasts around 20-30 minutes so be prepared if you have, say… a two-year-old who doesn’t like to cooperate or be confined. However, if they are obsessed with princesses and Belle, like my little one, you are good to go.

Gaston & my girls outside his tavern

8.) More than just a tavern.Gaston’s Tavern is more than just a quick-service food spot. Go inside, take a seat in Gatson’s chair and have a delicious A LeFou’s Brew. Brew is made up of  no-sugar added frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow, topped with all-natural passion fruit-mango foam. Yum! The tavern is an attraction in itself and my girls ran into Gaston right outside.

10.) There will be a wait. Lastly, it’s inevitable there will be a line and there will be a wait. I think as a parent once you put yourself in that mindset, your day will be a lot better. There’s always Fast Pass, if it’s available. Pack snacks and drinks to save money on in between meal hunger and don’t forget that Mickey Mouse and princess costume from home. This will save you on souvenir purchases!

Get more insider tips from my friend here in Orlando The Suburban Mom or visit Disney’s Fantasyland page.

Check out photos from our most recent Magic Kingdom visit on Instagram. Be sure to follow me!

Sea of Trees

The daily shows, like Clyde and Seamore and Shamu show, are transformed with a holiday twist. A Sesame Street Christmas is a great show for the little ones and all ages will enjoy watching the world-class figure skaters amaze the crowd.

If you get to Sea World during the Christmas season you can get your Fun Card to come back throughout 2013. It’s the best deal for sure – $89 and $81 for kids 3-9. A whole year of family activities are lined up for you and already paid for ahead of time. Just Kids is coming up in January and there’s always Summer Nights and Halloween Spooktacular.

And now for good news… I am giving away four entrance tickets to a lucky winner to enjoy Christmas at Sea World! (The tickets need to be used prior to December 31, 2012)

To Enter: All you need to do is comment on this post telling me a sea creature who you think might be on the naughty list. There are no right or wrong answer here! Just a little holiday fun.

For Extra Entries: Follow @mammamiafl on Twitter and tweet the contest daily for extra entries. You need to leave a comment letting me know you did so for the entry to count.

Winner: The winner will be randomly selected from the entries on Wednesday, December 5 at 3 pm.

I just uploaded photos from our most recent Sea World Christmas visit to Instagram! Be sure to follow me!

*Sea World provided four tickets to be given away on The Mamma Mia Blog. All thoughts and opinions about Sea World are my own.

Kiddie Journal

My plan started with talking about things that make her happy and things that make her sad/anxious and the best ways to react to these situations. I purchased a large drawing sketch pad and encouraged her to draw pictures of things that make her feel a certain way. While the journal started out as a platform to deal with emotions, it morphed into a daily journal of what she did each day.

Her emotions seem to be back in check (as much as they can be for a six-year-old) and she loves her new daily journal. We sit together and look at all the fun things we do, no matter how simple they might be.