Creative Candy Ideas for Party Time with Zours! #ZoursFace #shop #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Yesterday was Jamie's birthday, so the kids and I planned a fun family party for him. We had cake, presents, and his favorite Mike and Ike candy---with a little twist! It's always been a tradition to wrap up some movie snacks for Dad on his birthday, and Mike and Ikes are always included. 

This year we bought him the new variety, Zours, since we knew he'd never tried them before and would love them. We found them in the Walmart candy aisle with all the other movie candies. Zours are like Mike and Ikes with a sour coating that makes you pucker! There are five flavors in the box---my favorite are the sour blue raspberry.

I had some cupcakes in the freezer, so I decided to play around with them the day before and see how these Zours would look on top of frosting. They looked pretty cute---just like giant sprinkles! 

At present time, the kids all gave him the things they'd made for him, then it was my turn to give him the family gifts. I gave him the Zours first, since I knew he'd be expecting a box of candy anyway. He was surprised by the new version of Mike and Ikes and thought they were pretty awesome! 

After Jamie was done opening all the presents, I brought out his cake. He had asked for pound cake frosted with my cheesecake fruit dip. I decided to use my sprinkles idea and decorate his cake with the Zours too. He thought it was a fun idea and joined the kids in guessing which color they'd get on their piece of cake.

Since the party yesterday morning, there have already been special requests put in for more Zours in the house. In fact, I was out buying Jamie more this evening only to come home and find that the he and the boys had finished off the birthday box---and took this lovely #ZoursFace picture of themselves. Ugh. What am I going to do with these guys??

Want to try Zours for yourself? Check these lists: list #1 & list #2 to see if there's a Walmart demo in your area!

#Collective Bias

Linking with:

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life

A Return to Loveliness @ A Delightsome Life 

Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home

Tutorial Tuesdays with Hope Studios

Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good 

(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife

The Scoop @Stone Gable
Make Bake Create @ Hope In Every Season
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Winsome Wednesday @ My Daily Walk in His Grace
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 
Wednesday Link up at Adorned from Above

The Homemaking Party: 4th of July Crafting

It's a thundery ol' day out there today so we're all inside being crafty and relaxing. Lynzie played piano and read her book all morning. The boys played Legos, the little ones played in their room, and Selah and I worked on paper crafts. Selah made a cute paper doll and I prepared my package to mail for Sue's Patriotic Banner Swap at It's a Very Cherry World. I love rainy, inside days like this!

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party!

Linking with:
Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner
Thriving Thursday @ Serving Joyfully
Homeacre Hop   
Think Tank Thursday @ Saving4Six 
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home 
Create It Thursday
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog 
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Anything Blue Friday
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm 
Beverly's Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound
Pintastic Party
The Creative Collection @ Craft-O-Maniac
Link Party Palooza
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
The Party Bunch
The Art of Homemaking
Inspiration Monday @ Your Homebased Mom
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Motivate Me Monday 
Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom 
Living Proverbs 31
Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy 
Masterpiece Monday @ BoogieBoard Cottage 
A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success 
Make It Monday (paper crafts) 
Monday Funday @ C.R.A.F.T. 
Making Your Home Sing Monday

How To Help Your Kids Deal With Severe Weather -- Duracell Batteries #PrepWithPower #shop #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

They say the tub is a good place to take shelter during a tornado, but with our big family, I'm not so sure that helpful hint applies! When Jamie was offered a job in NW Arkansas last fall, we had only one reservation about moving here: tornadoes. Since then, we’ve decided to do our best to take the threat seriously, without letting fear consume us. Everything’s more bearable when you add some silliness! Being prepared for severe weather is important in our part of the world, so we decided to make that part fun, too. In addition to the essentials like a weather radio, phone app, and a well-practiced plan of action, I've also come up with a fun kids pack idea to keep the little ones' minds off of the stormy weather outside. Since the loss of power is a major part of severe weather, Duracell batteries are essential additions to our kids packs.

I buy all my batteries at Walmart. Their battery center is conveniently located near the checkout aisles, so I don't have to head back to the electronics section every time I just need to grab a quick pack. They're always well-stocked with lots of different sizes. 

Duracell has always been a trusted brand for us as they're long-lasting and affordable. Batteries are a hot commodity around our place. You wanna make one of my boys happy? Batteries. Batteries are the answer.

Each of my younger kids has a pack specific to their own interest. This one is 5 year old Avalon's. She's got a snack, a water bottle, coloring and reading books, a pair of socks, a battery-powered game, her flashlight lantern, and fresh batteries.

I like to keep individually wrapped snacks on hand that can be put into their packs. Granola bars and fruit snacks are good choices because their shelf lives will last through the whole season. (Don't forget your medieval armor to protect you against flying debris!)

Ok, so no one has actually done the tornado drill with the medieval helmet on---but I do have them wear bike helmets and bring a pillow to put over their heads. When I was a kid growing up in Oregon, we had earthquake drills. The main thing they'd try to drill into us was to cover our heads, so I want my kids to get in that habit too. Avalon also loves to bring this little flashlight that doubles as a lantern.

Lynzie brings along her battery-powered book light. Our shelter-in-place spot is one of our bathrooms because it's the only room with all interior walls. Since we don't have a tornado shelter or basement, this is our next best option. It has actually really surprised me how many of my friends don't have a tornado shelter or basement. In fact, I took a poll tonight on Facebook to see how my local friends handle severe weather alerts. I'll post the results at the end of this article, but one of the biggest surprises to me was that the majority of those polled think that 50% or less people in our area have a safe shelter plan when a storm hits!

Handheld, battery-powered games are another fun thing my kids like to include in their packs. It's a good distraction for them and helps release some of that tension and worry that comes with the fear of the unknown. (The boys are pretty good about the eyes, nose and mouth protection---but I think they need the girls' lessons in head protection!)

Here are the results of the poll I conducted with my local friends tonight. 

 Do you live in an area with severe weather? Besides, the obvious essentials, are there any fun or silly things you do with your family to help lighten things up during a storm? Make sure to grab a Duracell coupon so you'll be stocked up on batteries if your lights go out!

#PrepWithPower  

#CollectiveBias