Happy New Year!!

 

 

I am sorry I have been missing for a few weeks, here and there. I have been super busy getting ready for the Holiday, and winding down things that we had going on. I’m sure you all know the feeling.

We had a wonderful Holiday, and have made it through one weird (so called) blizzard. I know you have all seen the strange effects of the weather. Crazy wind, snow, rain, and sleet one day…. wait a couple days and then its 50 degrees and sunny!!!

The kids are trying really hard to enjoy the snow, but we haven’t had many opportunities, since as fast as we get it its gone! They did make a couple snowmen, and the last storm gave us enough to slide.

2010 has certainly been an interesting year… We have had some really sad moments, some really happy ones, and some very crazy ones! We have moved 1500 miles again…. and have jumped to a whole new way of life. Left behind some really good friends, and made some new ones.  The kids started their first year of Homeschooling, and has really enjoyed it, and we are doing really good.

Things haven’t always been the best, but we have always been together. So here is to wishing for a Wonderful, Happy, and Healthy New Year!

We are not doing anything special, as hubby had to work tonight, but the kids and I will probably play a few games together, before they go to bed. May you all be safe tonight!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Chex Mix Winner!!!

 

 

Well since we only had one person that entered!! I know, I know, you are all busy with the Holiday’s I understand!

I hope that you at least got a chance to eat some Chex Mix, cause we sure did! I made total of 6 batches in our house! We love it here!! Plus we gave some away… So many flavors to try! Yum!

Ok the winner is:

Karin said...

Taco-Seasoned Chex® Mix sounds good.

Congrats!!!!  

Be on the look out for an email from me… Hope that you have a Splendid Holiday Season!

Our Christmas Project…

 

 

So after years of moving here and there, and everywhere… we have managed to lose lots of things. One of those was a very special Christmas Stocking that my mom made for me. It was cross stitched and I’m sure took her months to complete. For that I am very sad…However, I loved that my mom took the time to make something like that for me to make memories.

Therefore, this year I got this wild and crazy idea to make my kids their own Christmas stockings, instead of buying them cheap plain jane red ones from the store.

After a few days of working on them, and sticking ourselves with needles, and getting a couple blisters, I was very happy with our end results. As were they, and they got to help, so not only did we create a memory… they will now have one to continue through the years!

Christmas 2010

 

 

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Ours was very nice. We did a bunch of prep work the day before, and decided not to do a big meal this year. As my mom and I did not want to work on it all day and clean it up the rest of the day.  (I’m sure some of you mom’s out there can understand)

Instead we did finger foods, buffet style all day. We had sweet and sour hot dogs/meatballs, veggie’s and dip, chips and dip, Chex Mix, and then did Italians for our main meal. What a great idea that was, and way less work!!

Christmas morning was fun. The kids woke up about 7:30ish, which is a switch, as I usually have to wake them up every year. Strange for kids I know!! They were eager to dig into their presents of course….

 

After that we had a delish breakfast pizza…followed by opening boxes, and digging out the toys! Then we sat and played with new toys and games for the day. It was a blast!!

Hope everyone had a great Holiday as well!

Learning Workroom Winner....

The Learning Workrooms Winner is...

#6

Snow said...

GFC Follower

Congrats!!! 

Look for an email from me... You have 48hrs to respond, or I have to choose a new winner! Thanks to everyone for entering! Hope you all have a Wonderful Holiday!!! 

Are you ready?

 

For Christmas that is?? I have been done with Christmas shopping since September. Yes, I know rare… but I’m one of those people that can’t stand to shop in all that craziness. Therefore, I shop all year round, and put it away.. best part is I pay way less then if I did it all at once, cause I get it all on Clearance.

This year however, due to our move, we have to get some stocking stuffers, cause I haven’t been able to finish that up yet. I have an idea of what I want to get, so it should be fairly easy for me.

We need to cook some cookies, and make some fudge, this week, to put together some bags, and bring them to our local Librarians, and people in the community we really are thankful for!

Other than that… we need to wrap our friends gifts and drop them off, or mail them out. We also have our Christmas cards to be mailed. This year I’m a bit late, so they will make it to people right before, or right after Christmas.

Also this year, I think we are going to make homemade stockings for the kids. Something that they can have to use year after year… cause we have always just had the cheap ones.

We are excited for Christmas, the only thing we wish is that we had some snow. It needs to snow!!!

 

What do you think of when you hear "Chex Mix"? Me it always sends me thinking of the Holiday's. We always try to make a couple batches of Chex Mix for the Holiday's. This year we made up bags to give away to our local car mechanic, librarians, and scout leaders! Makes a great gift too! 


Of course our favorite is the Traditional, but my kids favorite is the Chocolate one "Muddy Buddies" ... The best part about Chex Mix is if you have everything in your pantry... you can make it in the microwave in 15 minutes!! You can find over 20 different recipes to choose from! Visit your local Walmart for the new "Lemon Buddies" and "Apple Pie" recipe cards! 


Another great thing about Chex Mix is that they have 4 gluten free cereals to choose from when making it! 


We love to also make this great go to snack, for when we are just going on a road trip and want something to take along. It is just so versatile! 


Wanna win a Chex Mix Party Pack???  I have one to give away to one lucky winner. 





To Enter:
Tell me what Chex Mix you want to try! (Mandatory to Enter) 


Extra Entries:

• Follow my blog
  
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet up to once daily (make sure to leave me a separate link for each one or it won't count) 
  
• "Like" me on Face book
  
• Blog about my giveaway (come back and leave me a link) 

Giveaway ends on Dec 27th @10pm EST. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and will have 48hrs to respond, or I chose a new winner. Be sure to leave me an Email address to find you at!!! 

*The information and giveaway were all given to me from General Mills through MyBlogSpark. 

Little Princess Book Review

Where the Jewels Are…..is a super cute book. Written by Diana Symons.


About a Princess that is sent on a journey by her very wise father, to find the one thing that she doesn’t know she is missing?? She discovers that Jewels are everywhere if you know what you are looking for.




My girls really enjoyed this book. I read it to both my girls, and my oldest girl read it to herself… We all thought it was a great book. We really loved that she is such great writer and keeps you wanting to turn the page. This book is great… as well as maybe a good book for girls who are starting to struggle with being selfish.





This book is geared to girls ages 8-10 yrs old or for the young at heart. (Like me)



Prefect for any Princess on your Christmas list that loves to read. You can purchase it on her website for $5.99. 







 Diana Symons also has another book in progress called King’s Guard.
You can also find Diana Symons on Facebook, and Twitter.






* This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by: Diana Symons for this review.

Another Cub Scout Milestone

Well Hunter has come to another milestone in his Cub Scout adventure.




Over the last month, Hunter has been working on his Whittling chip. He has been working on a walking stick, which he did a really good job on.

As well as he whittled a bar of soap. Which Hunter was really proud, as he made his into a Car, and a scrapper. He was very proud of himself, that he made it into multiple things. It was rather cute!



At his Christmas Party this weekend, he got his Whittling Chip. As well as an extra patch for doing the Food Drive. I was really proud of him, and he is doing very good at earning towards his Bear.





He also got to make a cute little Gingerbread House. We had a wonderful time! We are excited to see what other great achievements he gets!

Our First attempt ….

to make a Homemade Gingerbread House. We have made the ones from a kit in the box before, but we never have much luck with them. This year we decided to try something different.

We made the Gingerbread from scratch.. as well as a pattern, and then cut it out and baked it. From there we let it cool, and started on the frosting. The Frosting was interesting.. and it was a process and a half, but we had fun…
Once the frosting was done, and the gingerbread was cooled. We put it together…. It was interesting to say the least, but it was fun.




I think it came out pretty darn good. I must say. We had a good time, it was time consuming but it was neat. Maybe a new tradition..

Isn’t it fun to start new traditions with your kids?? Do you have any traditions??

Simple Woman’s Daybook:

 

 

 

 

FOR TODAY... Monday December 13th, 2010

Outside my window...   It is actually very warm. We had record temps of almost 60 degree’s in December! Its wacked, and rainy! Blah… I want snow, it is almost Christmas after all!

I am thinking...  Of the many things that I need to get done before Christmas… we are getting there slowly, and doing a lot of cooking. Its been quite fun!

I am thankful for….. My friends that allow me to complain, and cry on their shoulder when I just want to scream…Its been a long, hard month.

From the learning rooms….. … Things are going great!

Hunter-   is doing great with Math, moving on to Division, and doing well with his writing. YAY!

Rachel-   is just doing good with everything.. I am super proud of her!

Sage- is doing great with her sight words, and knows a lot of them. I’m super proud of her too!

From the kitchen…. Spaghetti tonight.. Need to finish the menu this week!

I am creating….  Christmas Ornaments, and lots of fun stuff for the holidays!!

I am wearing.. Jeans, t-shirt, and a sweatshirt!

I am going..   to cook up a storm this upcoming week!

I am hearing…. My kids read… oh how books are such a big delight in our house!

 

I am reading…  Nothing at the moment… got some coming and looking at cookbooks in-between!

 

Around the house… I still have lots to organize… and decorating to do, but we are getting there.

One of my favorite things…  Watching Christmas movies with my family and singing carols with my kids!

A few plans for the rest of the week:  This is super crazy week… We have Cub Scouts, my brownie troop, Co-op, Girls Daisy Troop, and 4-H.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing…

Nothing this week.. Lots over the week and to come next week though!

Say MMmmm… Website Review

I was very excited to get asked to review this website. It really couldn’t have come at a better time. I have been busy trying to simplify and make meal time way easier.  With 9 of us in our house, it is hard to just come up with last minute meals.


Say MMmmm website, is a great site for centralizing all of your work for meal planning. You can save recipes to from our sites to your list. Which makes meal planning for weeks, or a month, easier to do. You can mark family favorites, so you can find them time and time again. From there you can also make your grocery list. Making everything easy to come up with your menu’s.

 

I found this site to be extremely useful. Making it much easier to make my menu’s and come up with a shopping list. If you have a smartphone, they even have a feature where you can go to m.saymmm.com on your phone and just log in like you would from home. You can even share your recipes with Friends and Family. You can copy your own recipes onto the site as well. Another neat feature is that you can put in your favorite restaurants and even schedule it on your menu that you are dining out that evening and where.

 

I would especially recommend this site to anyone that is busy and needs everything to be in one place when making a menu. Or for any person new to and wanting to make a menu without being to overwhelmed. I know it made my first few attempts a far easier with this website.

 

Say Mmmm is a free service, up to 100 Recipes. However if you want to switch to Say Mmm Plus you can save more recipes than that. Say MMmm Plus is only $3/month which is really a nice deal for those who are looking to simplify their lives! Some of the extra features to the plus is, that you can add more recipes, track costs, and calories.

You can see a video about how the site work here.. http://www.youtube.com/user/JustSayMmm
If you would like to talk more with them you can also find them on Twitter and Facebook


*This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by: Say MMmm for this review. I was given a free 6 month plus membership for the purposes of this review.

The winner of the General Mills Movie Prize Pack ….

 

is # 10

Mami2jcn said...

I follow you on Twitter @mami2jcn

Congrats to you!  Look for an email from me very soon, and be sure to respond within 48hrs or I will be forced to choose a new winner.

I’m so sorry this took me so long to get up. I have been right out straight with Christmas Parties the last few days, and making cookies, and bread. Crazy how busy we all get around the Holiday’s isn’t it??

I hope that you all are having a fabulous Christmas season, and are ready for it.

Merry Christmas!!

Momselect Holiday Preview

 

 

I was recently chosen to host a Holiday party and display products that will be great ideas for the upcoming Holiday season.

I decided to host a Cookie Exchange & Decorating Party where I would show off these products.  My kids were super excited to show off the cool stuff for the holidays, and to eat cookies!!

Here is a list of companies and products that we were able to check out for the Holiday’s…

• NEW Small Frys from Build-a-Bear Workshop
  
• 3D Puzzles from Patch Products
  
• Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory
  
• Play-Doh Shape & Spin Elmo
  
• Playmobil Child’s First Day at School Kit

 

The kids really were excited to test out and try the Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory…. It is really cool with 6 different colors of Play-Doh to use, with lots of gadgets and attachments to try out. Wonderful product to get the kids for those cold, wet days they are stuck inside.

 

 

There other favorite was the Little Fries, from Build-a-bear workshop. These would be great for the Christmas stocking.. They come in a little box just like a fry container and it has nutritional facts on the back. Super Cute!

We decorated Gingerbread Cookies at the end… and the kids really loved that. Of course the best part of it for them was the frosting… and we got so busy, I didn’t even get pictures. Opps!

At the end of our party we had a drawing and gave away a few of the products to our guests. Which most of them decided they were going to give them to a Toy Drive. Which we thought was fantastic! We had so much fun, that we have decided we should do something like this again next year!

 

*Thanks to MomSelect and all the companies for this opportunity.  We were giving the product in exchange for this post. However, all opinions are 100% mine or my 3 Monkey’s.

Dig It Games: Roman Town Review

Do you have a child that loves to learn and play games?? I have a few of them myself…. So, you can imagine my excitement when I got chosen to have a Dig It Game party…

The game is about Archeology.. Which was perfect cause my son loves to learn about that kind of stuff, and has always wanted to be one. He tells me all the time, that this is what he wants to be when he gets bigger is an Archeologist!
The game is based on them being archaeologists and doing a dig in Roman Town of Fussura. During the dig, their skills are tested in areas such as memory, analytical thinking, as well as logic and problem solving. There are quiz puzzles in the lab, allowing them to see how much they L.E.A.R.N (Locate Engrossing And Remarkable kNowledge).

He was super excited to host this party and be the one to tell everyone about it. So, I allowed him to try out the game before our party, and see what it was all about so he could tell everyone about it.  I must say he did a wonderful job showing and explaining it to everyone. After he went through his talk, we allowed all the kids to get on and try some of the game. They all seem to like it, and the parents where happy with our Roman Town Coupons.
All our guests left with a Dig-It games Hat, Water bottle and coupon!
We had a fabulous time!



* Thanks to MommyParties and Roman Town for this opportunity. They supplied me with the product, in exchange for this post. All opinions are 100% mine or my 3 monkey’s.

Learning Workroom Science Cd Review & Giveaway

Being a Homeschool mom, we are always looking for new and exciting ways to learn information. My son is a science lover, and he adsorbs it like a sponge! Which is really awesome, but hard for me to find things that interest him, and to teach sometimes. What I do love, is that I always end up learning something new! 


Recently we tried out the Steps to Scholastic Success Slide Show of Science by the Learning Workroom LLC.  This is educational information for kids Grades 3-5, helping them to succeed in the classroom and State Tests.  The Science Cd has Earth & Space Science, Life Science (Biology), Physical Sciences, and Technology and Engineering. The Science CD was awarded a 2010 Media of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine.


My son really liked this Cd cause it was full of information, and very interactive for him. With questions for him to answers, as well as words to unscramble. I really liked this Cd, cause it had lots of information, was geared for kids his age, and is easy enough for him to use without me having to be right there. I also liked that the harder words, had easier terminology in parentheses next to the word. Each section had between 60-80 slides of information. We were really happy with our Science Cd. It will provide hours of learning and fun for all 3 of my monkey's!! 


Marcia Tucci Murphy the Owner of The Learning Workroom LLC also has a blog you can flow with information, and helpful tips. She also has a link on her website that has free worksheets to go along with your Cd, or just if you are looking for some help in certain subjects. The System Requirements are: 

• PC with 500 MHZ or Higher Processor
• Microsoft Windows 7/vista/xp
• Microsoft PowerPoint or Internet to install Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
• 512 MB RAM
• 1024 X 768 Screen resolution
• CD-Rom Drive
• Mouse

There is four Cd's available total.
Science Grades 3-5
Math Grades 3-4
Math Grades 5-6
English Language Arts Grades 3-6





Buy it:


You can go to this site to purchase any of those four Cd's. They are $34.95 a piece. 







Win it:


I have been given the opportunity for one of my lucky readers to win a Cd of their choice! 


To Enter:


Tell me which Cd you would like to win? (Mandatory to enter, make sure to leave an email address)

Extra Entries:

• Follow me
  
• "Like" me on Facebook
  
• "Like" Learning Workrooms on Facebook 
  
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet using @the3kidsandme and @LearningWR in it.  Once daily, and be sure to leave me a seperate comment each time!!
  
  
• Follow Learning Workrooms on Twitter
  

Giveaway ends December 17th @10pm EST. Giveaway is open to everyone. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and will have 48hrs to reply to me, or a new winner is chosen. 

*This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by: The Learning Workroom LLC for this review.

Can you believe it is December 1st already??? Wow, where has the time gone? December 1st always marks a fun time for family fun at night for our family. We love to watch the ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas! It helps get us in the Holiday Spirit, and gives us Family time all in one! We love to sit with a bowl of popcorn,  sitting in front of the fire, all watching one of the great family friendly movies! To help you here is a list of the movies on ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas! 

• 8pm/7pm C   Dr.Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  
• 7pm/6pm C  The Santa Clause
  
• 8:30pm/7:30pm C  Polar Express
  
• 11pm/10pm C  Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
  
• All Day Harry Potter Marathon
  
• 7pm/6pm C Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
  
• 7:30pm/6:30pm C  Cranberry Christmas
  8pm/7pm C  Frosty Winter Wonderland
  
• 8:30pm/7:30 C  Miracle on 34th Street
  
• 6pm/5pm C   Rudolph's Shiny New Year
  7pm/6pm C   The Gruffalo (A New ABC Family Original Special)
  8pm/7pm C   Santa Claus is Coming to Town
  9pm/8pm C    The Year without a Santa Claus
  
• 8pm/7pm C  The Santa Clause
  
• 9pm/8pm C   The Escape Clause
  
• 8pm/7pm C   Christmas Cupid (A New ABC Family Original Special)
  
• 9pm/8pm C   Holiday in Handcuffs
  
• 6pm/5pm C   Dr.Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
  6:30pm/5:30pm C   Dr.Seuss' Pontoffet Pock, Where are you??
  7pm/8pm C    Dr.Seuss' The Grinch  Grinches The Cat in the Hat
  7:30pm/6:30pm C  Puff the Magic Dragon
  
• 8pm/7pm C  Disney Prep & Landing
  8:30pm/7:30pm C  Disney Pixar's Finding Nemo
  
• 8:30pm/7:30pm C  Disney Pixar's The Incredibles
  
• 8:30pm/7:30pm C   Disney Pixar's Wall-E
  
• 8pm/7pm C  Disney Pixar's Toy Story
  
• 8pm/7pm C   Disney Pixar's Toy Story 2
  
• 8pm/7pm C   Santa Buddies
  
• 6pm/5pm C  Miracle on 34th Street
  8:30pm/7:30pm C  The Polar Express
  
• 8pm/7pm C  The Santa Clause
  10pm/9pm C  Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
  
• 8:30pm/7:30pm C  Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  
• All Day   Holiday Classic's Marathon
  
• 7pm/6pm C   Dr.Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas 

Enjoy your 25 days til Christmas!!! Be sure to come back and tell us what your family's favorite movie is!

Zhu-Zhu Pet Pampered Party

 

My girls were super excited to get to have this party right before the Holiday’s. We kicked the boys of the house out and they invited a few girl friends over. We had a great time!!

The girls in spirit of the new “Zhu-Zhu Pet Rockstars” decided to get all girly on this party. We did Manicures, and had their nails painted. Then they decided to dress up with their princess dresses and do a fashion show. Then we used the Zhu-Zhu Pets we got, and the outfits supplied to do a Zhu-Zhu Pet Fashion Show. That was super cute too!

 

All the kids had a blast, and enjoyed themselves. All the girls left with a new Zhu-Zhu Pet outfit and some goodie bags with lip gloss, nail polish, and a hair accessory!

 

We had a break and enjoyed some Passion for Fashion Punch… and fruit kabobs. They were both delish!!

We may just have to have another one of these parties again soon!

 

*Thanks to Zhu-Zhu Pets and MommyParties for this opportunity. They supplied us with the product, and party ideas in exchange for this post. All ideas are completely my own.

Giving back to the community!

 

 

A couple weeks ago, Hunter’s Cub Scout pack got together for a community project. Yes, I know I’m a bit late getting this up…. I’m slow these days, but trying desperately to get better.

Back to the story…. I love my kids being in Scouts, cause then they really learn what it means to give back to our community’s. This time we cleaned up some brush, and raked some leaves. It was a really nice day for it too. Hunter worked really hard raking leaves, and hauling brush. I was really proud of him.

A few days later, he also helped with organizing food for the food cupboard. He worked really hard with his fellow scouts for that too!

I love watching my kids learn what it means to help others… cause I really think that in these times, people are not so good at it.

Simple Woman’s Daybook…

 

 

 

 

FOR TODAY... Monday November 29th, 2010

Outside my window...   It is very very cold!! Brrr! I’m not quite ready for this frigid weather. It sunny today and bright!

I am thinking...  I need to get in the Christmas Spirit, and get some things done. Working on my Christmas cards…. and we need to make some Ornaments. Kinda  tradition every year we make homemade Ornaments to give to close family and friends.

I am thankful for….. My family… without them I would be lost, and not sure what to do. They keep me going even when I want to give up. This time of year reminds me of all of that!

From the learning rooms….. … Things are going great!

Hunter-  Is doing awesome in Math, and we are getting him slowly into writing. I’m so proud of him!

Rachel-   Is doing great with Spelling, Reading, and Math. She is picking up two digit addition like it is nothing. I’m super proud of her too!

Sage-  Is doing really good, and working hard. She is so advanced at some things… Like Math.. (must be a family trait) and is starting to pick up them sight words really well, as well as starting to read. I think she will fly when she gets the hang of it.

From the kitchen….  I can’t remember what is on the menu… Guess I need to get looking. As well as start to put a new one together… this one is almost done.

I am creating….  Christmas Ornaments, and lots of fun stuff for the holidays!!

I am wearing.. Jeans, t-shirt, and a sweatshirt!

I am going..  Loopy! Ok, besides that, I’m going to start a few more list of things to get done… So much to do, so little time!

I am hearing…. My kids read… oh how books are such a big delight in our house!

 

I am reading… Home Learning, Year by Year… as well as How to make Brothers and Sisters friends.

Got lots of books on request at the library though!

Around the house… I still have lots to organize… and decorating to do, but we are getting there.

One of my favorite things…  Spending time with my kiddo’s and getting in the Holiday spirit!

A few plans for the rest of the week:  This is super crazy week… We have Cub Scouts, my brownie troop, Girls Daisy Troop, need to get new tires, my car aligned, maybe a play date, and 4-H.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing…

Hunter’s first snowman of the season.

 

Shutterfly making Christmas easier for you!

The season is upon us… can you believe it?? I mean, I know that it was coming, but it really seems like it snuck up on us. I usually have my Christmas Cards done by now…but I was a bit behind this year… especially with moving, and all. I was super happy to remember that Shutterfly is super fast and easy to use, making my Christmas easier!

I love making my Christmas Photo Cards every year. I mean it so fun to design and come up with just the right picture to use. Shutterfly makes it super easy… you just upload some photo’s. I usually upload a few so I can play around with a few options, helping me to choose which one is just perfect!

Then you pick which card you want to use, there are many to choose from! I think that is always my hardest decision! Once you do that, you drag the picture that you want to use to the card, and if you click on it.. you can change the picture to Black & White or you can crop the photo, take away red eye, and lots more. From there, you add in whatever text you want on the card, or in the inside. Preview it, and save! Then you pick how many to buy and pay! They are delivered right to your door.

This is ours for this year… Which one do you like better??




The first one, or the second one??



I can’t decide, and I need some help!

So hurry get your cards made at Shutterfly today!!! While your there be sure to check out their Calendars too. Perfect Christmas present for the Grandparents!

*Shutterfly is giving me the chance to get 50 free cards by posting about their site, and what I like. Opinions are 100% mine and my monkey’s.