American Girl fans: DIY Tenney and Logan inspired tin drum craft
Are you as crazy excited about American Girl's new contemporary dolls, Tenney Grant and Logan Everett, as we are? We've literally been counting down to their release for months, and we're so thrilled they are finally here. To celebrate their release, we came up with a Tenney-and-Logan-inspired DIY project to make a tin drum so you can start a band just like they did.
I'm going to walk you through the steps to make your own drum, including two handy little printables you can use to add logos to your American Girl-inspired drums.
To start with, you will need to gather your supplies:
2 large tin {or tin-and-cardboard} cans – we used milk substitute tins, but you could repurpose coffee cans, formula canisters, powdered drink containers, or whatever else you have on hand.
2 long threaded rods (or bolts), 8 nuts, and 12 washers – for securing the drums together
2 printables – for covering the cans {you can download those below}
Scissors, tape, ribbon, and a small drill {optional, you can use scissors if your can is thin enough} 
Introducing Logan Everett, the first ever 18″ boy doll from American Girl
He’s here! He’s here! I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for the release of the new American Girl doll, Logan Everett. The rumors have been swirling for months that a boy doll was in the works and I think I got roughly 50 messages asking if it was true. I’m happy to say that the rumors were true, and Logan Everett arrived this month at American Girl on Valentine’s Day. 
If you know my son, you know he’s one of the biggest fans of American Girl that there ever was. It started when my daughter got her first doll when she was 4 and he was only 2, and that love has grown exponentially throughout the years. He was crazy excited when he was given a boy Bitty Twin we scored second-hand, but I always wished there was an 18” boy I could buy for him. 
You should have seen his face when his sister and I surprised him with his own Logan Everett doll at the Seattle American Girl café last week. Not only was he over the moon excited, but so was his sister who has been dying for him to get his own doll for years and years. She had been plotting since before Christmas about how she could get him a doll if they came out with a boy and Logan was everything she had hoped for for her brother.
The perfect bread machine white bread {and how to keep it fresh}
I’ve gotta brag for a moment: I haven’t bought bread in over 5 months. If you know me, you know that I’m simply not a baker. I can cook, but baking is just too technical for someone like me that has problems following directions. So, the fact that I’m baking all of our bread is a really big accomplishment. And, the fact that the kids like it is a small miracle. 
My intro to baking started as a quest to find a decent sandwich bread that I could make in the bread machine, and I just wasn’t finding anything awesome and the kids were very disappointed with the results. I wanted our weekly loaf to be soft enough that it would make a good sandwich loaf, but also dense enough so that it didn’t just fall apart when you spread peanut butter on it or sliced it thin.
So, using the handwritten notes of my grandmother scribbled in the margins of the bread machine cookbook she gave me, I decided to modify the recipe we liked the best using a little trial and error and a lot of help from grandma. Thanks, grandma!
Admittedly, there was quite a bit of error, but it was actually kind of fun trying out different ingredients and measurements. While doing this process I was really glad I was using the bread maker, as it took me out as a variable and made it easy to pinpoint ingredient and measurement changes because the process was so uniform.
When we finally hit on the perfect recipe, we were high-fiving in the kitchen as we enjoyed our now-famous loaf fresh out of the bread machine. The kids have now memorized the recipe and can basically do every step of the process, they just wait for me to plug it in and set it on the correct bread setting and loaf size.
Making The Pledge with Entenmann’s Little Bites
Want a delicious on-the-go treat that your kids will absolutely love? Entenmann’s® Little Bites® muffins are baked soft and moist and then packed in easy to grab on-the-go pouches so…
10 winter activities for families in Mt Hood, Oregon
The south slope of Mt. Hood is home to Government Camp, a gorgeous alpine village at an elevation of 4,000 feet. The average snowfall is close to 300 inches which gives you a great chance to enjoy some fun, snowy weather activities for a day or two, or you can plan a longer stay and enjoy all that Mt. Hood, Oregon has to offer.
Here are 10 of our favorite things to do in Government Camp that are kid-approved and fun for families:
The LEGO Batman Movie hits theaters today!
The newest LEGO movie is out today, and kids everywhere are busy trying to talk their parents into taking them to see the LEGO Batman Movie. So, I’m 
betting you’re wondering if you should take your children to see it in theater or just wait for it on DVD? The short answer is yes, you definitely should schedule a theater date.
When the first LEGO Movie came out, we were all big fans. In fact, we’ve spent way more time singing “Everything is awesome” than I’d like to admit, as well as having added “Kragle” to our regular vocabulary. The LEGO Movie was one of the few movies that parents, grandparents, and kids could all agree on, and as a result it quickly became a must-own DVD when it was released.
In addition to introducing us to exciting new characters and taking us deep into the world of LEGO, another standout part of the first movie was the inclusion of the beloved LEGO Batman. So, as soon as we heard a LEGO Batman Movie was in the works, we were all very excited to see it as soon as possible. 
The Mitsubishi Outlander 2017 makes all of our dreams come true
A big thank you to Drive Shop USA for this test driving experience. All opinions are 100% ours. 
Do you remember when I made the announcement that the Mitsubishi Outlander was the car for me? Back in 2016 I told you that if I were buying a new automobile, I would buy a Mitsubishi Outlander. It’s now a whole year later and it still rings true. In fact, I’m even more certain about it now than I was back then.
It started with the love of the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and then that love was eclipsed by the Mitsubishi Outlander. I admit I got sold on all the luxuries of the bigger CUV size, but also on the adaptability of the third row seating that is perfect for our on-the-go lifestyle.
The best snow ice cream recipe
On our last snow day, we experimented a bit to find the best snow ice cream recipe anywhere. With only a few ingredients and almost no time to mix up, it's a perfect snow day activity for kids. 
Here's what you need:
The BEST bites and brews for the Big Game
This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Single Edition Media. 
Are you getting excited for the Big Game like we are? Even though half of us aren’t even football fans, there’s something about the end of football season that brings everyone together. We look forward to enjoying all the commercials almost as much as the actual game, and most of all, we look forward to another reason to have a party.
But, in our usual fashion, we haven’t even begun to plan for game day. A day or two before we will get a few random texts asking what we’re doing, and typically we end up having people over or going to my dad’s to celebrate.
No matter where we celebrate, planning the menu is a joint effort, and I’m always on the hunt for the perfect foods that are quick and easy to prepare but also are crowd pleasers. When Babbleboxx sent a few hand selected items for us to sample that would be great game day items, we jumped at the chance to check them out and give our thoughts.
Here’s a sample Game Day menu that you can check out for planning your Big Game party – including some awesome coupons to save you money while shopping!
Bring home a classic with Pinocchio on DVD and Blu-ray
Pinocchio has always been one of those movies that I could watch again and again, so I’ve been waiting for the day that the elusive Disney vault would open and they would re-release Pinocchio on DVD and Blu-ray so we could purchase it {and finally rid ourselves of one of the last few VHS videos we still own}. Besides our own love for Pinocchio, it was also one of our Grandma’s favorites. After she passed away this last year we really wanted to share her love of Pinocchio with our kids, and were thrilled when Pinocchio was slated for a January 2017 release.
The Walt Disney Signature Collection release of Pinocchio is available January 31st, 2017 and includes hours of classic bonus material and exclusive features including a reinvented rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star” created and performed by music influencers from Disney’s Maker Studios. It also contains never-before-seen artwork from the film’s Pleasure Island sequence and archival recordings of Walt himself during Pinocchio production.
Not familiar with Disney’s Pinocchio? Pinocchio tells the tale of wood-carver Geppetto’s beloved puppet who embarks on a thrilling quest – with faithful friend Jiminy Cricket – that tests his bravery, loyalty and honesty, all virtues he must learn to fulfill his heart’s desire: to become a real boy.