Family Game Night Party- with Monopoly Plus

Our family is a big fan of playing games together. We laugh, we cheer, we tease, we play, and we have fun. Like a lot of fun. We recently amped up our family game night and turned it into a little bit of a party. A little Family Game Night Party with invitations and all.

I mean the invitations was stuck to the door and just for our boys, but they were impressed nonetheless.

I felt invitations and a Family Game Night Party were necessary because we were going to game it up and play Monopoly Plus on the Hasbro Game Channel. The Hasbro Game Channel is the place for family game entertainment on leading game consoles, featuring Hasbro's most popular games Monopoly, Risk, and Trivial Pursuit. Starting this fall, the Hasbro Game Channel will be available to download on Xbox One, video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. All games will also be available for download individually on the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

We have previously played Hasbro's Family Game Night on our XBox 360, and we LOVE all of the games. Since we have a family game night addiction, we were pretty obsessed with Hasbro's Family Game Night. So we were really excited to play Monopoly Plus on the Hasbro Game Channel. Family games are in the genes. Both The Hubs and I both come from families who play games. We are gamers, you could say. Ha. Some of my favorite memories of my family include playing games. Now we are making memories with our own kids.

If a Family Game Night Party and some Monopoly Plus don't make memories, I don't know what will.

So before we got our Monopoly on, we needed to have a little party.

This little game night party was so easy to throw together. I gathered some snacks I had in the pantry.

I used some party stuff that I had hanging out in the closet, and I rounded up a few other party supplies from the store.

I used the monopoly property cards from our traditional game. I hung them up on the wall with some washi tape.

I found these cute mustache plates, reminiscent of Mr. Monopoly, at Target in the party section. I paired them up with a fun patterned napkin.

I even made it a special occasion and whipped up some red Kool-Aid. Man did that make the boys happy.

To get ready for our Monopoly Plus marathon we needed to load up on the snacks.

Fuel up dude. Fuel up.

I am pretty sure this face says I am ready Mom!

This one says Don't bother me I am eating.

Snacks and napkins in hand, we were ready to play.

To say that we enjoyed the game is an understatement. Monopoly plus brings all the traditional aspects of traditional Monopoly to life with a  pretty awesome 2D board and colorful 3D graphics. Another cool thing is that Monopoly Plus let us choose our favorite House Rules to customize gameplay.We could all play since the game plays up to six players.

My boys love board games. They love video games. Basically that means that Monopoly Plus was a big winner.

Most family game nights are pretty casual and impromptu. We love it that way. However, it was fun to make a special occasion out of a family game night. My boys felt pretty special getting a Family Game Night Party. The party took hardly any effort on my part. The excitement and enjoyment they had was completely worth a little extra planning.

Party Supplies Details:

Chalkboard Banner-Target

Red Striped Banner-Target

Black polka dot wrapping paper (table runner)-Target

Napkins-Target

Plates-Target

Washi Tape-Michaels

Blue Popcorn Container-Zurchers Party Store

Go go and get your Family Game Night on and make some memories of your own.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Strawberry Jello Glazed Donuts

Oh how I love donuts. Which would reason that I love heart-shaped donuts even more. You know what I love even more than heart-shaped donuts? Strawberry glazed ones.

These Strawberry Jello Glazed donuts are so easy to make and they are ridiculously delicious. Like RIDICULOUS I tell you. They are also kind of perfect for a Valentine's breakfast.

Here is how easy they are to make--

First heat up some oil in a large pan. Then grab yourself a package or two of refrigerated Grands biscuits. Next cut them into heart shapes, or just cut a hole out of the middle. Save the holes for, well you know, donut holes.

To make Jello glaze, mix 1 1/2 cups of powder sugar and half a package of 3 oz strawberry Jello.

Whisk in 4 Tablespoons of milk. Mix until it has a smooth consistency.

Now just fry up the biscuits, aka donuts. Fry them for about 60 seconds on one side then flip. Donuts should be golden brown and cooked through. Drain the donuts on a paper towel.

Put the donuts on a cookie rack with parchment paper beneath. Dip one side of the donut in the glaze. You can then dip the donuts into sprinkles. Plain or with sprinkles they are glorious.

Plus, they are so lovely. Can donuts be lovely? I think so.

There ya have it. Not only are these the easiest, but they also might just be the tastiest donuts. Everything is better in donut form.

Now you can check off your list what you are going to make Valentine's Day for breakfast. Your welcome.

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All That and a Bag of Chips Classroom Valentines

Having a fifth grader makes Valentine's Day a little tricky. Having a fifth grade BOY makes it even trickier. I mean there is still a classroom Valentine's party, but he is a fifth grade boy and showing any kind of ooey gooey emotion is strictly forbidden. He is WAY too cool for such nonsense. Add hearts and too much of the use of the word "LOVE" and well you might as well just get ready for the, "AW MOM! Come on!"

So what is a momma to do?

First I made sure the classroom valentine involved food. Not heart-shaped food, but good old kid-approved snack food. Then I made sure that the actual Valentine was no nonsense and simple. I did make some with hearts, but just in case that was too much love and such I also made some with absolutely no extra signs of love. Geez BOYS!!

Anyway...the last piece of this fifth grade boy approved Valentine was to simply clip the Valentine on the bag of chips with a small clothespin. Luckily I found these really adorable coordinating clothespins at Michaels that were adorable enough for me but subtle enough that the boy did not notice their adorableness.

If you have an older student who is no fuss, these Valentine's are perfect. Here are the printables for you. There is one download with hearts, the other sans hearts. Just click on the link at the bottom. 

All That and A Bag of Chips Classroom Valentine download

I probably should also mention, this is like the easiest Valentine to do ever. Then you will be the mom who is All That and a Bag of Chips. Hehehe. I kind of had to.

I shared some Classroom Valentine's in THIS post. Go check them out for more ideas.

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Slow Cooker Banana Walnut Oatmeal

Welcome to Slow Cooker Saturday! Today I am sharing a recipe for this Slow Cooker Banana Walnut Oatmeal.

I am trying to get better at eating breakfast. By eating breakfast, I mean eating an actual meal instead of eating part of a banana or a small cup of yogurt. I have never been a huge breakfast eater. Part of that is time, but the majority of the reason is that I have had the mind set that starting off my day with SO much food is a calorie nightmare.

As I have gotten older, I have tried really hard to break this train of thought. After all, it isn't the quantity as much as the quality of what I start my day off with. I have tried to realize that breakfast is actually really, really necessary. Especially if I am fueling my body with good foods.

There is a growing list of breakfast foods that I am starting to really love.

Oatmeal is one of them. Oatmeal is hardy and filling. Plus it is also really versatile. This Slow Cooker Banana Walnut Oatmeal I am particularly fond of because it includes two of my favorite healthy ingredients--bananas and walnuts. Yum. The steel cut oats add a nuttiness that I love. This is a warm and wonderful way to start off the day.

This particular recipe is a slow cooker recipe. You can throw everything in the night before and set the automatic timer to have it all ready for the morning. Or you can make it the day before and store it in the fridge. This Slow Cooker Banana Walnut Oatmeal last for up to four days in the fridge and is easily reheated. Just add a little milk if necessary.

Once the oatmeal is ready, I scoop it into a bowl and I add some fresh slices of bananas, a handful of walnuts, and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Man was this yummy.

Here is to healthy, hardy, and yummy breakfasts. Do you have healthy breakfasts that you make all the time? Please share. Add this Banana Walnut Oatmeal into your rotation. Your family will love it.

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Taco Pan Pizza

There are two foods that we really really love in our house.

First we love, tacos. Basically we kind of exist on them. We are never far from throwing ourselves a little fiesta. Anytime you can pair dinner with guacamole, salsa, and chips it is a good things. So tacos grace our table frequently.

Another favorite in our house, is probably a favorite in the majority of households with four boys, or kids, or anyone who likes to eat. The second favorite in our house is the oh-so-popular pizza. Sometimes we order in. Sometimes we do take and bake. Other times we make our own. Truth be told, there is even occasionally the frozen variety in full, bagel bite, or roll form.

So when a taco and a pizza fall in love, what do you get?

Well Taco Pan Pizza of course.

Of course.

This pizza is delicious! The cornbread crust adds just the right sweetness and texture. The crust may have been one of my favorite parts. This Taco Pan Pizza was a big hit with the family. I mean I kind of knew it would be because of the you know pizza and taco thing.

If your family like tacos and pizza, then I would highly recommend you make this Taco Pan Pizza. Seriously SOO yummy.

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