Family Movie Night: How to Train a Dragon

How to Train a Dragon was such a cute movie!  We hate friends over to enjoy this movie night with us and all the kids really liked it.

For the treat, I made cupcakes and frosted them into a mound with light brown frosting and I had the kids make viking horns that stuck into the cupcakes.  I found the horns online - I searched again but can no longer find them :( - printed them and then had the kids cut them out and glue them to toothpicks.

I also would have liked to have viking hats for the kids to wear - here is a template - but I ran out of time.  Again.  Oh the joy of babies! lol!

Even without the viking hats, the night was a success!

Family Movie Night: Iron Man 2

I knew that Iron Man 2 was coming out soon so when I saw  this Iron Man candy at the convenient store, I snatched them up and stored them until the DVD release.  I always feel bad when I don't go to more effort for treats but the kids never care - they just love sugar (in any form!).

For the first Iron Man, I made an arc reactor cake (you can view it here) and printout masks (like the one here).

Family Movie Night: Marmaduke

This movie was only so-so which is a bummer because the kids were REALLY excited to see it. But as V-girl said, "it wasn't as good as I thought it would be".

For the treat, I put Cocoa Puffs, Milk Duds and Whoppers in a plastic bowl to look like dog food.  And I cut bones out of chocolate chip cookies.  If I would have planned ahead better I would have bought cheap plastic dog bowls and painted their names on.

V-girl asked that I please point out that she has shorts on. ;)

Family Movie Night: ET

Anybody want to guess what our treat was for ET?  If you guessed Reese's pieces, then you guessed right!! It just seemed like a no brainer. :)

Family Movie Night: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

My kids were super excited to watch this movie!  They looked up when it was coming to DVD and asked if we could watch it for movie night that week.

I wanted to do something different for a treat - I feel like I always do cookies, cakes and cupcakes - and wanted to make the treat look like a diary.  Well, not a diary, a journal.  I looked at looked at the grocery store and the best thing I came up with was frosted pop tarts.  I used frosting to make the pop tarts look like a journal.  I drew the main character on one side and "writing" on the other.  And of course I had to pair it with a piece of cheese which immediately ignited a "cheese touch" game in our house.

Family Movie Night: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

For Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief I decided to make lightning bolt cookies and we had Voltage Mountain Dew.

As you can see from my cookies, they didn't turn out too well. When K-man saw them he thought we were watching a movie about tornadoes.  Again, I used store bought cookie dough and as you know, THAT is the problem.  I think I really need to think about making and freezing the cookie dough so I always have it on hand.

I rolled out the cookie dough and cut each one into the shape of a lightning bolt.  I frosted them with light blue frosting and sprinkled them with blue pop rocks so they would add a little pop and fizz when then kids ate them.

My niece, the Kirsten8or who is was reading the book series and is very into Greek mythology joined us for the evening as did our neighbor Ethan who is very into our movie nights. :)

Family Movie Night: Toy Story 2

For Toy Story 2, I made cowgirl hat cookies that looked like Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl's hat. I got the idea from here.  I also thought the alien cupcakes were a great idea but since I use cupcakes so often, I was trying to do something different.

My cookies didn't turn out as good as the recipe shows but the kids still really liked them and they tasted very good! If I had more time, I would have made sugar cookies and frosting from scratch - store bought just doesn't compare. But I rarely find myself having enough time for that kind of thing lately and just try to make the treats as quick as I can.

Changing it up!

I was going to title this "New and Improved" and then I remembered how much I hate that term. So I didn't.

 There are some changes though...  I switched to a free host.  When I started this website, none of the free hosting or blog sites would let me design this website the way I wanted it. So I chose to pay for a hosting service.  The options have changed a lot though and business wise it seems silly to pay for a hosting service when this is a free website that doesn't generate money.  So I here I am on a new hosting site.  Don't worry, though, although I have had to change a few things up (i.e. the header and background) I was able to transfer all of the content and previous posts so all the same information is here. Yay!  I wasn't able to transfer all the comments  - so I am sorry if yours disappeared, the followers - so please jump back on the following wagon, or all of the links - I am fixing them as I find them but please let me know if you find a broken one.

Other than those small things though, we are back in action!!  One of me New Year's resolutions is to be better about posting so I am going to try.  Cut me some slack though - remember, the Lord "blessed" me with 2 baby boys in less than a year!

I have a lot of Family Movie Nights to post so I will try to get them posted asap. 

Thanks for taking this journey with me!

What is really in your "Mineral Makeup"?

As you know, just because a label says "all natural" doesn't mean ALL the ingredients are ALL natural. The only way you can make sure you are getting what you want is by reading the label. Makeup is the same way. Just because it is advertised as "Mineral Makeup" doesn't mean that the product you are looking at is truly only mineral makeup. Many "mineral makeups" contain extra ingredients known as fillers such as talc, bismuth, cornstarch, etc. And many "mineral makeups" contain chemicals and toxins that are the same as what is found in liquid makeup. Eeek!

Check out the ingredients in some of these common mineral makeups. Is the makeup you are using actually "all natural"? If not, I urge you to try a brand that is all natural and see the benefits for yourself.

I will start with my favorite (*wink*). Notice how few ingredients are used.

Affordable Mineral Makeup: Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Iron Oxides, Zinc Oxide
Titanium Dioxide is widely used in cosmetics and skin care for its thickening and whitening properties. It also has waterproof and SPF properties while providing a Matte look.

Mica s a sheer, translucent and skin-hugging mineral. Reflects light from the face, creating an illusion of a smoother, softer and more radiant skin tone.

Iron Oxides give the makeup its pigment.

Zinc Oxide is known for its healing properties in problem skin such as rosacea and acne, it has the ability to stay on even while sweating and swimming, as well as offers protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays.


Avon Mineral Foundation: Active Ingredient: Titanium Dioxide 5.0%
Inactive Ingredients: Iron Oxides, Mica, Bismuth Oxychloride, Nylon-12, Methylparaben, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Kaolin, Lauryl Pca, Zinc Pca, Phenyl Trimethicone, Sodium Pca, Lecithin, Urea, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Trehalose, Polyquaternium-51, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Atelocollagen, Beta-Carotene, Retinyl Palmitate, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Tocopherol

As you can see by the list of ingredients, many of the ingredients are non-mineral ingredients. It also contains Bismuth which is known to irritate the skin and parabens.


Bare Escentuals and bareMinerals Mineral Makeup: Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, Iron Oxides

Based on the ingredients, Bare Escentuals is a much more pure mineral makeup. It does contain Bismuth which has been known to cause skin irritation for some people.


Jane Iredale: Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 14%, Zinc Oxide 6% Other Ingredients: Mica , Boron Nitride, Zinc Stearate, Dimethicone, Stearic Acid, Plankton Extract, Algae Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract. May contain: Iron Oxides , Ultramarines

Boron Nitride (BN) is a synthetic, inorganic powder (produced from boric acid or boron trioxide). When used in cosmetics, it has absorbent properties similar to those of natural powders such as talc.

Zinc Stearate is a creamy, white, non-carcinogenic powder used as a filler in powdered cosmetics. It has excellent adhesion and coverage properties as well as water repellency properties... but it can irritate the skin.

Dimethicone is a silicone based polymer.


Mary Kay Mineral Makeup: Talc, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Zinc Stearate, Dimethicone, Boron Nitride, Zeolite, Methylparaben, Sorbic Acid, Ethylene/Methacrylate Copolymer, Propylparaben, Tetrasodium EDTA, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, BHT, Iron Oxides, Mica

The first two ingredients that are listed are fillers and many of the other ingredients are discussed above and not beneficial. This makeup does not contain Titanium Dioxide which gives makeup it's SPF properties so if you chose to wear this makeup, make sure you also put on sunscreen. Additionally, this makeup contains parabens and many chemicals (such as Sorbic Acid).


Pür Minerals: Titanium Dioxide 8% Inactive Ingredients: Mica, Boron Nitride, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Bismuth Oxychloride, Zinc Stearate, Magnesium Silicate, Magnesium Carbonate, Silica, Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii), Tocopheryl Acetate, Iron Oxides

This makeup contains Boron Nitride and Bismuth

These are just a few of the many brands of "mineral makeup" on the market. As you can tell, it is EXTREMELY important that you read the list of ingredients before you buy so you are confident in what you are putting on your face.

One of the reasons that I love Affordable Mineral Makeup™ is because it is so pure. I know each ingredient listed and why it is used. I feel confident that I am making a good choice for my skin while still getting an exceptional product at an affordable price.

If you have any questions, please contact me at brenda.greenishpink@gmail.com
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Sources: http://www.mineral-makeup-reviews.com/Mineral-Makeup-Ingredients.html, http://naturalglamourminerals.blogspot.com/, http://www.purminerals.com, http://www.ehow.com/facts_5147638_dimethicone-makeup.html, http://www.theconservatorie.com/products/Zinc_Stearate-53-4.html, http://www.cosmeticscop.com/dictionary_term.aspx?tid=932&lid=498&term=boron+nitride