Top 10 Reasons to Hate Juice Packs, Recycle Plastic Bottles

Recycle Plastic Bottles for Lunch

Recycle Kid's Trash to Ease Mommy Woes. Hate Juice Packs? We're always looking for new ways to recycle plastic bottles. The juice pack mess really sparked this idea. How do you teach your kids to recycle? Enjoy!

How do you teach your kids to recycle? 

Ways to Recycle Plastic Bottles

Here are 10 reasons to hate juice packs:

1.  Straw wrappers. Everywhere.
2.  "Mommy, I can't get a straw in here!" (But they want to, try really hard, and squeeze juice everywhere.)
3.  Little dots of juice turned dirt magnets on the carpet. Everywhere.
4.  One box takes up a lot of fridge room and only lasts one day. Expensive, considering.
5.  Pouches in landfills. Everywhere.
6.  Half-full pouch tossed in trash because kids too lazy too squeeze out last drop.
7.  "I don't like Kiwi Strawberry." "I don't like lemonade." "Wah!" (Complaints)
8.  "Look, it's a volcano!" Everywhere.
9.  Added sugar.
10. Instant Balloon toys, need I say more?


Solution:
Recycle mini-soda bottles, fill with healthy drinks of your choice or even Kool-aid. Saves money, the environment, and Mommy headaches. 

Reuse Plastic Bottles: Kid's choose their favorite flavor and reseal for later.


Store recycled mini-plastic bottles in the bottom of fridge door for easy access: 
Allows for preschooler independence!

Of course, water bottles work too; maybe try it for lazy grown-ups or portion control.

Recommended Reading:

Uses for Plastic Bottles

Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons* 

Recycle a Bottle into a Valentine Card Holder

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here.Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Fingerling Potatoes, The Perfect Baked Steak Fries

What are Fingerling Potatoes?

Have you seen Fingerling Potatoes? Wonder what are Fingerling Potatoes? They are so cute! They are little potatoes that look like fingers, of course. What can you do with Fingerling Potatoes? Make the perfect baked Steak Fries. Enjoy!

I bought a bag of little "fingerling" potatoes for $1.00, just because they were cute.

Then I surfed and found a recipe for roasted steakhouse fries.

I found these frozen, steakhouse roasters ~ more than $1.00

Fingerling potatoes are the perfect size for little fingers. The kids helped wash, coat with oil, brush with french-fry seasonings, and bake at 400 degrees for approximately twenty minutes. See, even potatoes can be new and exciting!

Recommended:

Homemade Potato Chips

Panfried Fish and Chips


















ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Organic Strawberry Raspberry Smoothie Recipe

Healthy Organic Strawberry Smoothie Recipe Kids Like

Kids like shakes. If only they knew healthy yogurt smoothies are just as good. This healthy, organic, strawberry-raspberry smoothie recipe is fun to make at home and delicious too. Enjoy!

Healthy Kid-friendly Strawberry Smoothie Recipe.

Cascadian Farm sent us coupons and a little book of 
recipes to made our Strawberry Smoothie.

Blend the Strawberry Smoothie.

To Make a Strawberry Smoothie at Home you will need:

Fresh or Frozen Strawberries and Raspberries

Crushed Ice (We tweaked the recipe.)

Plain or Vanilla Yogurt.

Whip Topping (Added that too...)

Cascadian Farm Spa Smoothie Recipe 

So good, kids will love to drink smoothies.

Fun Try It:

We also made a Smoothie with Frozen Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri Mixer, Frozen Strawberries, and Vanilla Yogurt. Tastes great, but the Mixer is sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup. Grown-ups can add the rum for a little extra kick. :)



Recommended Reading:

Kids' Fun and Healthy Cookbook*

Kids Creative Chaos Cooks (Kitchen Kids Book 1)*


















ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Earth Day: Friendly Spinach Stuffed Manicotti Recipe to Cook with Kids

Celebrate Earth Day with green friendly recipes, like this Spinach Stuffed Manicotti.

Happy Earth Day! This is so good, your kids will enjoy it. Yummy frozen spinach manicotti. Enjoy!

Spinach Stuffed Manicotti for Earth Day.

Multicultural Earth Day Craft

Kid's love mixing the ingredients.

Pair it with an organic salad.

Print the Recipe from Cascadian Farm.

Recommended Reading:

I Can Save the Earth!: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (Little Green Books)*

What does GMO mean?

Fair Trade Lesson Plans

Chicago Style Hot Dog Pizza Bites

What do you get when combine a Hot dog and Chicago Style Pizza? Yummy pizza bites, of course!

Angie's Recipes 

Hot Dog Printable from churchhousecollection.com

Chicago Style Hot Dog Bites

I made this as a light dinner one night and we were all pleasantly surprised. My kids, of course, loved it because it was made with hot dogs. My husband and I looked at the recipe and weren't so sure. This would be great as a snack or an appetizer for a kids party or any kids gathering, plus the kids could have fun helping put it all together.

Click image for more food clip-art from churchhousecollection.com

Ingredients:

2 pkg (12 oz) flaky buttermilk biscuits (Don't Use Grands style biscuits, they are to doughy. I learned this the hard way)

2 tsp poppy seeds (I just omitted them altogether)

3 hot dogs

2 small whole dill pickles or 1/2 cup coarsely chopped(I used dill relish)

1 small onion

2 plum tomatoes or 1 roma

4 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded

1/4 Cup yellow mustard

Preheat oven to 400.  Pull apart biscuit layers horizontally in half to form 40 biscuits. Arrange biscuits over Large Round Stone or any round pizza pan or you can also use the large bar pan, overlapping as necessary. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake 13-15 min or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, cut hot dogs in half lengthwise then crosswise into 1/4 in thick half moons. Place hot dogs into small micro-cooker or any microwave safe bowl, microwave covered on high for 30-45 seconds or until hot.  Coarsely chop pickles and onions using food chopper.  Blot excess moisture from pickles using paper towels.  Seed and dice tomatoes.  Combine pickles, onions and tomatoes in a bowl; mix well and set aside.  

Removing baking stone from oven to cooling rack, top biscuits with hot dogs and cheese. Bake 3-4 min or until cheese is melted.  Remove from oven; top with vegetable mixture and drizzle with mustard.

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Easy How to Make Zucchini Fries Recipe

Need to know how to make Zucchini Fries? 

This recipe, from Angie, makes crispy zucchini fries easy to do. Zucchini fries are a very tasty! After making this recipe, I came up with some alternative herbs to use for the dip. Enjoy!

               Easy How to Make Zucchini Fries Recipe.

How to make Crispy Zucchini Fries

Ingredients:

1 Medium Zucchini

1 1/2 Cups large fat free seasoned restaurant style croutons

1 oz Parmesan cheese, divided

1 egg white

1/2 Cup plain yogurt

1/2 Cup loosely packed Basil (can also use Dill, Chives or Cilantro); if you cannot find fresh herbs I found the tubes of chopped herbs you can squeeze sold in produce dept of  store work very well.

3 Tbsp Light Mayo

2 garlic cloves peeled

1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Trim and discard ends of zucchini; cut in half crosswise then cut each half using the french fry cutter (or cut into 3/8 in sticks) and discard any thinner pieces.  Place croutons in manual food processor and finely chop.  Place chopped croutons and half of parmesan cheese in coating tray; mix well.

Whisk egg white in classic batter bowl until frothy.  Add zucchini; mix gently until well coated.  Dredge zucchini in crouton mixture, pressing firmly to coat.  Arrange zucchini in single layer on cookie sheet.  Bake 14-16 minutes or until crisp.

Meanwhile, for dip, combine remaining cheese, yogurt, basil (or herb of choice), mayo, garlic and black pepper in manual food processor (or press garlic if using the squeezable tube of fresh herbs) and blend well.  Remove cookie sheet from oven and serve zucchini fries with dip.

Recommended Reading:

Kids Creative Chaos Cooks (Kitchen Kids Book 1)

Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

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Fruit Pizza and Chocolate Cookie Perfect Valentine Dessert Recipe

How to Make a Fruit Pizza with Chocolate Recipe

This easy fruit pizza is the perfect dessert recipe for a birthday celebration, Valentine's Day, picnic, or any time! It's an impressive dessert that is simple to prepare and delicious every time. You can customize it by changing what type of bottom cookie crust you use, choosing different fruits, or even using coconut and a white chocolate drizzle for a tropical pizza. This crowd pleaser is sure to be made again and again. Learn how to make a fruit pizza with chocolate cookie crust.  Enjoy!

Easy Fruit Pizza Recipe

18 oz refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (you can use any type you like to customize!)
2 squares(1 oz each) white baking chocolate
2 T of milk
1 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/4 C of powdered sugar
1 C thawed whipped topping
12-16 Strawberries, sliced
1 can of Mandarin Orange Segments drained
2 TB - 1/4 C semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 t - 1t vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Using a lightly floured roller, roll the dough into a 12 in circle on Round Stone or spread dough out on Bar pan or Cookie Sheet of your choice to a 1/4 in thickness. Bake 12-15 min. or until edges are set (cookie will be soft...don't over bake). Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min., then gently loosen cookie from pan using a spatula and let cool completely on pan.

Place white chocolate in a small bowl and microwave on high for 1 min., stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, microwave an additional 10-20 seconds if necessary. Combine Cream Cheese and powdered sugar in the Classic Batter Bowl mix well. Then, gradually add the white chocolate mixture to the cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Mix until smooth. Then, gently fold in the whipped topping. Spread over top of cookie.

Arrange Strawberries and Mandarin Oranges over top of cream cheese mixture. Melt Chocolate chips with the vegetable oil in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds or until mixture is melted and smooth. Drizzle over the top and refrigerate for at least 30 min. Then slice and enjoy!





Recommended Reading:

Edible Party Bouquets*

Game for Family Reunion










ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Make a Baked Ring or Wreath Tuna Salad Recipes

Make Your Favorite Salad a Breaded Party Ring Recipe

Interesting Tuna Salad Recipes are hard to come by. This Tuna Salad Ring or Wreath is the perfect Recipe for a Super Bowl Party or Football Tailgating Party. Angie often contributes recipes to our blog, click the recipes tab above for more great party recipes. Enjoy!

Make a Ring or Wreath with this Tuna Salad Recipe.

How to Make Tuna Salad Wreath Recipe

2 large cans tuna (drained)
2 celery stalks chopped
onion chopped to taste
1 cup mayo
Dill seasoning to taste
2 cans Crescent rolls
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 375. In a Lg. Round Stone or Pizza Pan lay separated crescent rolls in a circle with point end going towards center of pan.  Seal sides of triangles together using a Pastry Roller or use fingers.  Mix all ingredients for the tuna salad in the Large Batter Bowl and then evenly scoop mixture 1 in from wide side, then fold the point ends back towards the wide side.  Brush on egg white and bake for 25-30 min.



Recommended Reading:

Holiday Treats: Kids Creative Chaos Cooks

Easy Microwave Potato Chips

Tuna Recipes

How to Make Mini Cheeseburger Sliders Recipe with Cute Clipart

Chef CLASSIC MINI CHEESEBURGER SLIDERS Recipe

Do you need a recipe on how to make mini Cheeseburger Sliders? You do if you want them to be flavorful and easy. Enjoy this easy weeknight dinner!

Angie's Recipes: This is for anyone looking for a perfect snack for an upcoming Super Bowl or Game Night. This is an extremely easy recipe and truly delicious!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Easy Donut Recipe? Santa's Doughnut Maker Mistake

Easy Donut Recipe? 

In 2010, Santa brought the little one a doughnut maker.  She asked for a cupcake maker, but it was the hot item and hard to find that year.

Mommy was tired after all of the Christmas doings, so Daddy was in charge of making the doughnuts. I never even saw one. I heard, "They were so good!"  Mommy has been very busy.  Mommy experienced the Easy Bake Oven with the teenager.  It took Mommy over a year to make the doughnuts.

As a kid, I had a Holly Hobbie, Old-fashioned,  Easy Bake Oven.  What fun I had baking cookies and cakes on the floor of my bedroom...  Wait that seems like an odd memory, true, but odd.  I have no memory of my mother helping with this endeavor.  I do remember my Dad eating the results. As a matter of fact, I remember my Dad eating teenager's Easy Bake Cookies and Cakes.

Remember how the cookies tasted baked in your Holly Hobbie Easy Bake Oven.

I also had a Baby Alive growing up.  You mixed the baby food  and she pooped and peed.  I liked her food.  I thought. "It was so good!"  Easy Bake and Super Doughnut Factory food tastes exactly like Baby Alive food. My, how my tastes have changed. And, for those of you who read my post on doll collecting, yes, somewhere, I have both of these items.  (Hoarder, Hoarder, Hoarder)

This year (2011), my son wanted a doughnut maker.  He knew exactly which one he wanted. Grandpa took us shopping and when we explained that we needed to leave the toy aisle and find the small appliance aisle both Daddy and Grandpa were perplexed. My son is very practical.  He also asked Grandpa for a new, winter coat. So, he got this one.

Mommy has been ridden with guilt. Knowing she should make the little one's doughnuts but not wanting to make the doughnuts. So, I had a brilliant idea.  We'd have a doughnut maker bake-off. Doesn't that sound like fun?

What I learned from said Doughnut Maker Bake-off:

Good ideas- aren't always. The genius idea to rid the house of Easy-Bake and Super Doughnut Maker packets would be more genius if I secretly tossed them. Easy-Bake is a Misnomer. Super Doughnut is a Misnomer.  

What's Super about it?  Doughnuts are tiny.  You mix them in a tiny bowl with a tiny spoon, put them in a "machine" that squeezes  supposedly squeezes them back out into a tiny muffin tray. We are not elfs, we are humans. The extra step is not easy, super, or fun. It works better if you use the tiny spoon to place the batter in the tiny muffin tray. Then you add the filling.  HA ha ha ha ha. Finally you stick it into the microwave for 45 seconds. Voila! Easy.  

Mommy taught the teenager how to use the microwave with her Easy-Bake supplies when she kept getting the pans stuck in her oven. I should have invented the 'Super Easy Cake Maker', I would be swimming in the dough. Yep, dough.

If you put something off for an entire year forget the guilt; I'm sure you had a good reason. Someone's got to clean this thing! I've made my last Easy-Bake or Kiddie Baker item ever.

It might be possible to persuade me into feeding Baby Alive.  Thank goodness the little one doesn't like dolls, especially babies. I've changed enough diapers in my life. After she ate microscopic, microwaved, mini-doughnuts made from year old ingredients, we grabbed a box of cake, followed the recipe for cake-like cookies, spooned them into the practical doughnut maker, popped them out after two minutes, and coated them with powdered sugar. Now that was easy.

Daddy ate the doughnuts. None of these doughnuts are fat-fried, I guess that's a plus. Here are some of our other Easy doughnut/fun food recipe attempts that really work!

Refrigerator Biscuit Doughnuts (Powdered Sugar Recipe)

How to make maple glaze

Valentine Pretzels

Cinnamon Donut Recipe (These were made in donut maker. They are good and beautiful)

Recommended Reading:

Doughnuts: Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home

Easy Edible Glue or Paste Recipe for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Kid-friendly Recipe for Edible Glue for Toddlers and Preschoolers 

We make this kid-friendly recipe for edible glue for toddlers and preschoolers in our messy play class. It is easy to make, the kids can even help make the edible paste. Enjoy!

Easy Edible Glue Recipe for Paste Preschoolers Toddlers Babies.

Stained Glass Christmas Cookies and Recipe

Stained Glass Christmas Cookie Ornaments Recipe

BEWARE OF KILLER COOKIES! Years ago, I shared an apartment with two other singles: one male, one female. I decided to make stained glass cookie ornaments for the house. Enjoy!

Stained Glass Cookies From Epicurious.com

Christmas came and we decided to deck the halls. The roommates hung lights and put up a tree, while I got crafty. I wanted to try my hand at stained glass cookie ornaments, but took it one step too far and invented stained glass cookie votives. I am nothing if not the Martha Stewart of crafty flops, but these didn't flop! They were a huge success- at least that's what I thought.

I made homemade gingerbread cookie panels (the walls of the traditional house). Then, I took cookie cutters and a cut a window in each panel. I filled the centers with leftover, Grandma candies from Halloween. You know, butterscotch rounds, red cinnamon circles, and lime things. I baked them in the oven until the cookies were done and the candies were squishy, pulled them out, let them cool, then built them into house squares minus the roof.

Creative genius. I put a small votive in the center of each one and placed my work of art as a centerpiece on the table. With the lights off and a fire in the hearth, Christmas had arrived. The flicker pattern from the stained glass was glorious. Finally, I had a crafting home run.

It was Christmas Eve. I was tired. With visions of sugarplums and gingerbread men in my head, I blew out the candle and trumped off to bed. The roommates were equally wooed by the masterpiece. So much, that one felt inclined to move it to the living room end-table to enjoy its splendor.

A few hours later, it smelled as if Santa had come down the chimney and started baking cookies for us. I drifted back to sleep and awoke to the aroma of burnt cookies. A cloud of smoke filled the stairwell. My roommate rushed downstairs to find the couch smoldering, the end-table burnt to a crisp, and a trail of burning carpet. The male roommate had neglected to blow out the candle before going to bed.

We lugged the table and couch outside, pointed fingers, and thanked God that we were alive.

Thank goodness for apartment insurance, the smoke ruined the drapes, carpet, and furniture.You never know when it is your time to go. Who would think that you could die from a cookie incident.

That was a Christmas I will never forget. I wish I had photos of the masterpiece, but these are similar. Here's a recipe for Cookie Ornaments, they won't burn down your house!

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Baking Season.

Recommended:

The Gingerbread Man*

Best-Ever Cookies: Cookies 'Round the Calendar*

Make Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments







ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

How to Make a Homemade Pretzel Thanksgiving Cornucopia

Make an Edible Cornucopia for Thanksgiving

We had a fun with a pretzel recipe.You can make a pretzel at home and turn it into a Thanksgiving cornucopia. Enjoy!

Edible Thanksgiving Cornucopia Recipe.

We followed this Betty Crocker recipe.

Pounding the dough was a big hit. (Pun intended.)

A little more labor intensive than I thought, but so worth it.
In the past, we made easy pretzels with canned dough- Fun to make and tasted o.k. but this recipe tastes like we bought them at the store.

We made the cornucopia by wrapping strips of the processed dough around a greased cake funnel.

We tried sugar and salt variations for the coating.

You can make pretzels with the same recipe.

Amazyum!

A great companion children's book for this activity is:

"One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims"

Thanksgiving book for kids.

This is a fun twist on "Ten Little Indians".  

Kids love to sing "One Big Turkey".

Recommended Reading:

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks (Reading Railroad)

Peanut Butter Ball Turkey Recipe

Edible Art PRETZEL Heart Recipe Valentine Craft Activity for Kids

Pretzel Heart Recipe

Almost as good as the ones you get from a carnival, this Edible Art, Pretzel Heart Recipe is the perfect Valentine Craft Activity for family fun. Enjoy!

Want to make pretzels at home? This recipe is fun to do as a family. And, it's yummy too- better than a breadstick! Make an edible heart for a fun, Valentine activity.

Twist Pretzel into a heart for Valentine's Day.

Have a HEART!

You will need:
1 pkg. dry yeast, 1 tbs. sugar, 1 1/2 cup warm water, 4 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt or sea salt, 1 egg beaten, Red food coloring,

Mix water and yeast together in large bowl until yeast dissolves. Add Salt, Sugar, Flour, and food coloring. Mix and Knead the dough until smooth- but don't over do it. The more you work the dough the less fluff the finished product will have. Flour your hands to work the dough; it is sticky!

Knead in red food coloring.

Roll dough and make heart shaped pretzels or oversize pretzel bread sticks, place on GREASED baking sheet, lightly brush with BEATEN EGG, sprinkle with SALT.

Brush with egg.

Twist and lay out.

 

BAKE at 425 degrees for 12 -15 minutes.

Try with usual dips WARM CHEESE and HOT MUSTARD

Or Experiment with CREAM CHEESE, PEANUT BUTTER, and PIZZA SAUCE.

Valentine Toast with Milk Paint

5 Fab Valentine Crafts

Salt with table salt or pretzel salt, place in oven.

Recommended Reading:

Valentine Doily Gift Pouch

Valentine Cootie Catcher Super Valentine Card Pack*

The Story of Valentine's Day*












ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)