Events & Holidays

  • Breakfast for Dinner – Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes!

    Whole Grain Pancakes with Fresh Blueberries!

    Sometimes we like to mix life up a little bit and do breakfast for dinner.  We received a delicious whole grain pancake mix from a business client and decided it was time to enjoy it.  The mix came from a local mill and it was delicious!  I added some fresh blueberries that were on clearance and in the freezer.    I wish I saved the package this amazing pancake mix came in because the whole family enjoyed the whole grain pancakes just as much or more than the regular pancakes.  Even though the mix came in a small bag it made a TON of pancakes.  I just made up the whole bag thinking it would be enough for the evening meal because our girls have been known to eat 3 to 5 pancake for dinner and we probably had 75 pancakes, I was not expecting that many.  The girls loved it because I froze a bunch of them for breakfasts over the next several weeks.  I am thankful for the thoughtfulness of our clients for sharing these goodies with us.

    My little princess checking on the pancakes!

    Do you ever mix up the meal schedule and have breakfast for dinner?  What is your favorite breakfast food to serve at dinner for your family?  If you are looking for a fun and practical gift for your clients this along with some syrup in a pretty bag or bucket would be a wonderful gift!

     

  • CONGRATULATIONS to Our Winners of the Torani Flavored Syrups!

    I decided to have the girls each draw a name for this giveaway so there are TWO Winners of the Torani Flavored Syrup Giveaway!

    CONGRATULATIONS to Lynette

    and

    CONGRATULATIONS to Renelle

    for winning a

    FREE Bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup!

    Thanks for making a comment in honor of our Giveaway

    Enjoy Your Next Cup of Coffee!

    An email will been sent to the winners with more information on how to claim your prize.*  A special thanks to SheSpeaks and Torani for teaming up with Blessings Multiplied to do this giveaway!  Don’t forget to enter our CVS Gift Card Giveaway this month as well!

    *Giveaway must be claimed within 5 business days of the prize being announced.  Failure to claim the prize within the allotted time frame means you forfeit the prize.

  • Family Fun with Silly String!

    The girls found some leftover silly string that we had and wanted to “surprise” Daddy when he came home from work. Somehow they managed to get the silly string all over themselves and Skipper, Jake only got a few strings on him. It was something fun to do before heading into dinner and brought a lot of giggles. Of course Jake knew something was up as soon as he arrived home and heard the girls giggling non-stop…..

    Karlie covered in Silly String

     Karlie wearing her library reading metal and a bunch of silly string. It was hilarious watching them try to squirt Daddy, each other and Skipper!

    Brina on the run!! I never did catch a one of her standing still which is why this one is blurry.

    Brina was pretty good at escaping silly string.  If any would get on her she would quickly pick it off and put it on someone else, including Skipper.  Loved hearing them come up with this “plan” to surprise Daddy and hearing their giggles as they ran around the yard.

    Skipper getting gained up on with silly string!

    Skipper really didn’t know what to do with all the silly string.  She was a good sport letting the girls spray her and running around the yard with the rest of the family.  I think Skipper probably got the majority of the silly string because she had the best reaction.  Thankful for a dog that puts up with the goofy kiddos!

    Even though Daddy was the initial target he stayed pretty clean!

    I did warn him to take off his work shirt prior to getting out of the car.  The silly string was fun but I wasn’t sure if it would stain.  It probably would have been fine but no sense making more work for me on laundry day.

  • Teaching Our Children: Target Practicing Skills

    A few weeks ago the girls were reminiscing about our adventure earlier this year to the local Shooting Range so we decided to take out Daddy’s paintball gun and have them try target practicing off the back porch.  They almost always hit the tree they were aiming for even if it was in different spots.  The paintball gun was lighter so they could hold it themselves and it gave us another opportunity to discuss gun safety as well as a chance for them to target practice for a little bit.

    Brina trying to hit the tree with the paint ball gun.

    I think Brina actually enjoyed the paintball gun more.  It was really easy to see if she hit her target.  “Splatting” the tree brought several triumphant giggles as they hit their unsuspecting target.

    Karlie target practing with the paintball gun.

    Each girl had their own color of paint to make it easier to see where they had hit the target.  This activity was a great way to teach kids learning about gun safety and target practicing without having to deal with as much danger or gun powder residue.  The girls had a blast and were very pleased with being able to hit the target.

  • Review & Giveaway: Torani Flavored Syrups

    As the weather gets cooler you may enjoy a hot cup of coffee to help jump start you on a crisp morning even more or a cup of hot chocolate by the fire with the family as you relax together on a cold evening.  Of course you may be in an area that is warm and would rather grab a smoothie or an iced coffee.  The secret ingredient behind those amazing coffee shop drinks that you and I enjoy so much in the syrups they use to flavor them.  Torani flavored syrups are made in the USA and are used at restaurants and coffeehouses in more than 40 countries around the world.   The best part is you can get these amazing flavored syrups and make your favorite drinks at home!

    I was thrilled to hear that SheSpeaks teamed up with Torani and they were sending me some Torani Flavored Syrups to try!  I received the Salted Caramel and Peppermint flavored syrups.   They are AMAZING!  I have been having fun trying out a variety of fun recipes both Torani’s Recipes and ones that I have come up with myself.   Torani offers over 120 Regular and Sugar Free Flavored Syrups which are the perfect compliment to your favorite Coffee, Espresso, Hot Chocolate, Lattes, Smoothies, Teas, and many other drinks you enjoy.  I have even used Torani Flavored Syrups in a few recipes while I was baking and they turned out delicious!  Our favorite baked goods were Torani Salted Caramel Syrup in our Banana Bread and Torani Peppermint Syrup in our Brownies!   Torani Flavored Syrups will add an extra special touch to your next party celebration!

    The Salted Caramel and Peppermint Syrups were awesome!

    • Flavored Coffees / Espresso Drinks
    • Italian Sodas
    • Flavored Tea, both hot and cold
    • Flavored Lemonade
    • Flavored Sodas (or Pop as we say in the Midwest!)
    • Cocktails
    • Mocktails
    • Flavored Energy Drinks

    Our family tried a variety of delicious recipes with our Torani Flavored Syrups!  The ones from Torani’s recipes are awesome so if your interested in getting started that’s a great resource.  Here are two recipes that I came up with that were raving hits with our family:

    Delicious Holiday Hot Chocolate!

    Rich Peppermint Hot Chocolate Recipe

    • 1/2 cup Mom’s Hot Chocolate Mix
    • 1 cup Milk
    • 1/2 tablespoon Torani Peppermint Flavored Syrup
    • Cool Whip
    • Crushed Mint Candies
    1. Heat the milk to near boiling, add the Hot Chocolate Mix, Torani’s Peppermint Syrup and stir until blended.  You can add more Torani Peppermint syrup if you want a stronger peppermint flavor.
    2. Pour the Rich Peppermint Hot Chocolate into mugs.
    3. Top with cool whip and crushed candies.

    It is a perfect blend of chocolate and peppermint for those cool evenings.  The girls loved having this as a special treat and it was great for a relaxing evening with family and friends!  I look forward to serving it even more as the Holidays approach.

    Delicious “pick-me-up” Smoothie!

    Salted Caramel & Chocolate Coffee Smoothie Recipe

    • 1 cup Milk
    • 1/2 cup Coffee (cooled)
    • 1/2 tablespoon Torani’s Salted Caramel Syrup
    • 1 tablespoon Chocolate Syrup
    • 1/2 cup Ice
    • Coop Whip (optional)
    1. Put the Milk, Coffee, Salted Caramel Syrup, Chocolate Syrup, and ice in the blender and mix until smooth.  You can add more Torani Salted Caramel syrup if you want a stronger caramel flavor.  Pour into a cup, add cool whip, and enjoy!

    This was an awesome recipe for an early morning or mid afternoon pick me up, plus it allows you to use up that extra coffee still left in the coffee pot that no one finished that morning!  Since we live in South Carolina we still have some warmer days so we were able to try a mix of hot and cold recipes with our Torani Peppermint and Salted Caramel syrups.  Salted Caramel syrup was my favorite because it blended well with any hot beverage or cool smoothie.

    A great Christmas or Hostess Gift!

    Not only are Torani Flavored Syrups a wonderful addition to your pantry they are the perfect gift to give family and friends for birthdays, Holidays or any other special occasion.  Torani Flavored Syrups make the perfect hostess gift for all those fun Holiday parties coming up.  I love that that Torani Flavored Syrups are both tasty and practical for my family and to share with others.  Torani gives your drinks that extra authentic coffee house flavor that you can make in your own kitchen so you don’t have to pay full price at your local coffee house.

    SheSpeaksbutton

    As a special treat from SheSpeaks and Torani if you order from the link on the left you can get 10% off your order!

    • Click on the picture above (it takes you to Torani’s website)
    • Order the Torani Flavored Syrups of your choice
    • At checkout enter the code shespeaks for a 10% discount

     

    Torani Flavored Syrups can be found at many retail locations or online.  Torani Favored Syrups are available at select:

    Torani has many flavor syrups available to choose from.  I am looking forward to trying more soon, trying to decide which one is next (White Chocolate, Eggnog, Pumpkin Pie, Raspberry).  You can check out more reviews on the Torani Syrup Flavors to get an idea of what everyone else is enjoying!

    Giveaway

    As a way to say thank you to my readers and to share a taste of the Torani Flavored Syrups with you I am doing a 48 hour giveaway!

    The winner of this giveaway will receive a FREE Bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup!  I will be sending the winner a coupon for a free bottle of Torani Flavored Syrup so he/she can pick out their favorite flavor to try or use it to buy a gift for a family member for the Holidays!  Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

    1. Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied.  You can sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email.
    2. You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing one of your favorite flavored drinks!

    All comments must be made by November 16th at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.

    Make sure to follow Torani on Facebook and Twitter using #SSTorani hashtag to learn more about Torani and become eligible for more prizes.  To learn more information about how SheSpeaks works and get involved sign up for free today.

    As a member of the SheSpeaks Blogger Society, I was given samples of this product to write an informed review.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own.  I was not paid to write this post.  A special thanks to SheSpeaks and Torani for providing the samples to review and the coupons for the giveaway!

  • Recipe: Pumpkin Dip

    Fresh Pumpkin Dip

    Our family had fun making jack-o-lanterns this year for the holidays.  Brina choose to do a happy one and Karlie wanted to do a scary one.  While we were having fun doing the activity we set aside the pumpkin seeds and the pieces of pumpkin that we cut out so we could make more goodies with them.  The pumpkin seeds were a huge hit and were gone in less than 24 hours.  We used our Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipe and shared them with friends.  With the chunks of pumpkin that were remaining we made Pumpkin Dip for the evening meal.  It smelled amazing walking into the house as the aroma of sweet pumpkin soup greeted us.

    Pumpkin Dip:

    • 1 pound Pumpkin, seeded and peeled
    • 1 cup Water
    • 1 cube Chicken Bouillon
    • 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
    • 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
    • Crackers, Pretzels, or Bagel Pieces (for dipping)
    • Dash of Chili Pepper for Spicy Kick (optional) OR Dash of Brown Sugar for a sweeter dip (optional)

    1.  Cut up the seeded and peeled pumpkin into one inch cubes.  Place the pumpkin, water, and chicken bouillon into the crockpot.  Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours (or until the pumpkin is tender).

    2.  Use a hand blender to blend the pumpkin mixture in the crockpot.  Add the cream and pumpkin spice to the pumpkin mixture.  Let it cook for another 10 minutes and stir or blend until smooth.  Pour the pumpkin dip into a serving dish, add your favorite dipping items and enjoy.  You could add a little chili powders to make it a spicy dip or a little brown sugar to make it a sweeter dip.

    Pieces of Jack O' Lantern ready for Pumpkin Dip

    We used the pieces from our jack-o-lantern activity but you could use a regular pumpkin or canned pumpkin as well.  This would be a good one for upcoming Holidays and potlucks.  We used plain bagels cut up into bite size pieces to dip.  The girls loved it!

  • Travel & Vacation: Swimming Pool Fun on Daniel’s Island

    We got to try out a few hotel pools this summer with all our travel adventures.  The one in the pictures below we visited more then once and the girls love it.  The Hampton Inn on Daniel’s Island, SC (actually the only hotel on Daniel’s Island) was one of the girls favorites I think because we went to it several times over the summer and it was really close to everything.

    Brina and Karlie swimming in their “favorite” hotel pool!

      The pool usually had some shade any time you were in it plus it was relatively quiet during the day.

    Brina Bee swimming in the pool.

    The girls did really well in the pools and ocean this summer.  When it was just Mommy and the girls swimming I made sure the girls wore floaties or their life jackets as an extra precaution.  When Jake was with us they could go without the floaties or life jackets because each of us could spot one of the girls.  You really cannot be too safe when it comes to swimming pools.

    Karlie showing off under water

    Love this picture of Karlie and the pool.  As you can see from the picture we were literally the only ones in the pool at this time.  The girls would swims for hours.  We had a blast swimming and playing.

    Brina smiling at me under water

    Cute shot of Brina under water.  She did great swimming, splashing and playing in the pool.  I was thrilled to see her willing to take off her life jacket and floaties for a few minutes too.  She loves the water!

    Karlie ready to jump

    Karlie would wait to make sure I was looking before jumping.  She loved jumping off the side of the pool into the water.  The cannon ball was her favorite because it did a big splash.

    Brina playing in the swimming pool!

    Brina had a blast swimming and diving under the water.  She thought it was funny that she could see under water better than Mommy.

    Karlie in mid air

    Karlie’s face in this picture makes me smile.  She loved jumping, diving, cannon balling into the pool.

    Brina getting ready to jump

    Love her little tongue sticking out as she contemplates the best way to jump on her unsuspecting noodle.    Brina’s favorite way to jump into the pool was to target her noodle and jump in on it.

    Karlie holding her breath under water

    Karlie wears her goggles almost the entire time she is in the pool.  She loves being able to see “clearly” under water.  One time she even found another kids diving stick for them!  The goggles are on a little off center  in this picture but the girls did really well putting them on by themselves.

    Brina laughing at her noodle.

    Sometimes it is the simplest things in life that are so funny.  Even though we were really busy filling our days with activities it was wonderful to have play time were we could relax, play and just have a blast together.

    Karlie in mid jump.....her target is her blue noodle

    Karlie loves jumping into the pool.  I was surprised at how high she was able to get on some of her jumps.  Thankful for this time together and seeing my girls growing up.

    Pretty Brina Bee holding her breath under water in the pool

    It takes talent learning how to hold your breath under water.  I think over the last several months the girls have become water bugs.  They love swimming!

    Karlie having fun at the pool

    The girls could play all day at the pool.  After several hours of swimming and several layers of sunblock Mommy decided we better head in so Daddy wasn’t waiting on us.  The girls loved swimming in the pool and going on adventures.  Most of our activities were simple (swimming in the pool, playing in the park, etc…) yet they were enjoyable for everyone.  We made a lot of fun memories together this year.  Thankful for my camera Jake gave me for Christmas because I can take it with me in the pool, ocean, or rain and not worry about the camera being ruined.  The girls loved that I could take the camera into the pool with us!

    The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!