Monthly Archives: December 2010

Love and Logic Parenting: The Most Beautiful Gift

If there was ever a Love and Logic Insider’s Club Newsletter to share with you all, THIS is the one. I felt so much peace after reading it. My goal for Christmas has always been to teach my boys about the true meaning. About love and goodwill not presents and greed.  I really gleaned so much from these few statements and I hope you will to!

Have you noticed how much effort some folks put into finding just the right Christmas gifts for their child? I bet you know someone who doesn’t think twice about spending endless hours – or even days – scouring store shelves for that awesome action figure, digital doodad, or doll their child has been wanting.
 
Let’s think about it. Is there anything wrong with this? What’s the problem with spending lots of time and energy looking for neat and nifty Christmas gifts for our kids?
Nothing. But…
What happens when we exert more energy on finding these gifts than showing our youngsters what a gift they are to us?
Ouch! I’ve done this. Yes, I’ve fallen into this trap! I’ve worn-out myself trying to make things perfect that I’ve forgotten the most perfect gift of all: the expression of never-ending, unconditional love.
We’re all wired to need it. All of us yearn for a relationship with someone who will love us forever, regardless of how stinky we behave. Isn’t this the greatest gift we can give our loved ones? Isn’t this what Christmas is really about?
During this Christmas season, my hope is that you’ll…
  • spend more time playing with your kids than you spend shopping for them;
  • remember that the gift they really yearn for is you;
  • hug them and smile into their eyes as often as possible; and
  • show them through your never-ending love what a precious gift they are.


 

I told you it was good! Now put down the toy catalog and go give those rascals a hug! 🙂 


Sign up at Love and Logic to get the Insider Newsletter in your inbox.



 

*Amazon affiliate link. This is not a sponsored post. Just spreading the love!

Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG Present The Best Gift Ever!

SWAGG is a free mobile app (download here) that lets you shop smarter using your mobile phone. Buy, send or swap SWAGG GIFTS and organize your old school plastic gift cards.

For every download of the app between now and Dec. 31, 2010, SWAGG will donate $1 to Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) , up to $125,000.

Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG are sending a pair of movie fans to the Sundance Film Festival! Download the SWAGG app and then visit the Ultimate SWAGG Getaway Sweepstakes site to enter to win a trip for two to the Sundance Film Festival. Entry deadline is January 3, 2011, 11:59pm, PST.

 I loooove getting gift cards.  It’s a card that gives you permission to shop, what’s not to love!  So I thought this mobile app was an ingenious idea, especially with the holidays coming!

Basically, you can use the app on your smart phone (we use it on our iPhone) to buy, send or even swap SWAGG GIFTS and organize your plastic gift cards.  It’s easy to use and quite handy!  You can keep track of everything right on your phone.  Forget cluttering your wallet with tons of plastic cards!  I love it!

Many people think gift cards are too impersonal but I think it’s a great gift.  I love buying gifts for people but sometimes it’s hard to figure out what to get and rather than just guess and end up giving a gift they don’t love, you can give them a free pass to shop for themselves! 

Last year we gave our boys a Wii for Christmas.  We made a really big deal out of it and their responses were priceless.  I will never forget how it felt to literally make their year!  It was the best moment.  We still talk about it and laugh at how they all screamed and jumped and hugged. So sweet.  It really was the best gift I ever gave because of how much the boys cherished getting it. They were truly thankful and appreciative and that just made it all worth while!  I have a video of them opening it and it is hilarious. I won’t share it with you though because I was in my Christmas jammies and have bed head.  I do have some pride, you know.

As the boys get older I foresee buying gifts will get more difficult.  That is when the gift cards will really come in handy!  For now I will enjoy the easiness of making their day with video games and tape.  Yes, I give my kids tape and paper in their stockings and they love it!

I’m pretty excited to share this fun app with you and I hope you take a minute to check it out!  Especially because SWAGG has partnered with non-profit Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C).  For every download of the app between now and Dec. 31, 2010, SWAGG will donate $1 to SU2C up to $125,000. Awesome, right?! Visit the SU2C site for more info!

AND!

Clever Girls Collective and SWAGG are sending a lucky pair of movie fans to the Sundance Film Festival! The sweepstakes is offered exclusively through the Clever 1000, and it has a pretty amazing prize, including:

* 2 night/3 day stay at Yarrow Hotel in Park City Utah (Jan 21 – Jan 23, 2011)
* Ground transportation to and from hotel to airport in Park City, Utah
* Dinner for two at Tao Lounge, including 2 nightclub passes
* All access to The House of SWAGG Gifting Suite
* 2 tickets to a movie premiere on Saturday, January 22nd — movie tbd
* $4,000 value

NICE!  (More info on the Ultimate SWAGG Getaway Sweepstakes)

Learn more about the coolest new app that revolutionizes the whole shopping, gifting, and gift card-organizing experience and Download the SWAGG app to your iPhone or Droid. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses  Blog With Integrity

While this was a sponsored post, the opinions are my own and honest, as always!

Video Game Review: Battle of Giants – Dinosaurs Strike for Wii

I have three boys. I think it needs no explanation that they love two things: video games and violence.  I try my hardest to channel the love of those things the best way I can.  I avoid letting them play the really violent war type video games and stick to fiction games like the Lego games. The only thing they are doing is “destroying” legos, not killing people.

So when I heard about the game Battle of Giants – Dinosaurs Strike for Wii. I loved it right away.  A chance for my boys to get out some aggression and “fight” in a video game without pretending to kill people? Perfect.

In this game from Ubisoft, up to four players can customize their dinosaurs and then face off in a fight.  The more you win, the more items you can unlock to customize your dinosaur.

Charlie is showing me how he’s customizing his dino.

 I liked that the boys tended to be up on their feet while they were playing too.

 Here is Charlie giving it all he’s got to get his dinosaur to rebound from a “KO” (knock out for my non-moms of boys).

My boys are ages 5, 7 and 10.  They figured the game out very quickly and had no problems understanding what to do.  Even my 5 year old who can’t read yet figured out what to do without help.  Our 12 year old neighbor came by and played with us and he thought the game was fun and challenging, even for him!  So I was happy to see that the game can be enjoyable for such a wide variety of ages.  My younger boys did seem to enjoy the game the most though.

I had to pry the controllers out of their hands at bedtime and they laid in bed talking about the game. So I think that pretty much spells success! 

Battle of Giants – Dinosaurs Strike for Wii by Ubisoft is available just about anywhere.   You can get it at Amazon.com for only $28.99 and it qualifies for free shipping!

Thanks so much to Ubisoft for sending us this game to review.  It came just in time to wrap up and give to Chandler for his 10th birthday! (Shhhh, don’t tell him!)

My Homemade Crapiness

First of all, I can’t decide if crapiness should have one p or two. For some reason, it’s not in spell check. So weigh on please, Crapiness or Crappiness?

Moving on…

We had some friends over the other night so I thought it would be fun to try a new and interesting recipe.  I love having people over because it gives me the chance to try new things and my audience doesn’t say things like, “Why does this look so…different.” and “You don’t usually make noodles this way.”

So I searched for something special. Something different.  And I found Brandy Snaps by The Pioneer Woman (one of my favorite ladies online).  They sounded delicious. They looked delicious.  The recipe stated that the difficulty was “Easy”. They had brandy in them.  All great reasons to give them a try, am I right?!

So I dug out my brandy from underneath the kitchen cabinet (where all the good Christian ladies keep their booze, ya know) and I gave it a whirl.

Unfortunately, I did something wrong. What? I don’t know. I followed the recipe and everything! I never follow recipes. But I did this time and what happens? Crap. That’s what.  They would not hold their shape. Some were so soft that they melted into a puddle. Some were so hard that I almost broke a tooth biting into them.  I don’t know what I did wrong.

So it goes to show even someone like me who prides herself in her kitchen suave can completely screw up even the “easiest” kitchen creations!  And that’s ok. Because we had a good laugh over it. And do you know how good left over brandy infused whip cream is in an evening cup of coffee? Hint: VERY.

During the “laughing so I don’t cry about how I’ve completely embarrassed myself in front of my new friends” moment our dear friend, Ian, says, “This is more like My Homemade Crapiness!”

If I could have stopped laughing so dang hard, I would have been mad at him.

And so it was decided.  I should share my cooking failures under the title “My Homemade Crapiness”.

Click on this link to see what Pioneer Woman’s Brandy Snaps look like (Cause I didn’t want to steal her pictures. I can’t tick off my hero).

And here are mine:

The taste was probably the biggest deciding factor.  I need PW herself to come over and make me some so I know what I’m missing.

Because I’m never going to try that recipe again.

Wild Rice Soup

My Step-Mom gave me this recipe a long time ago but, of course, I changed it and made it my own! 🙂 It’s so delicious and perfect for a cold winter night!

Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup of wild rice, cooked
1/2 pound bacon
1 cup diced onions
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 pound shredded cheddar cheese
1 pint half and half
1 pint milk

Cook bacon until crisp.  Remove bacon and place on a paper towel covered plate to let the grease drain off.  Place onions into the same pan you cooked the bacon in and saute.  (If there is a ton of grease, you may want to remove some of it first)  Remove onions and drain on paper towels as well.

Add together the rice, soups and cheese in a medium size pot. Cook over medium heat. Stir until mixed through.  Slowly add in half and half and milk.  Simmer over medium low heat until cooked through and cheese is melted.  Do not boil!

(I would prefer to have made the soup bases myself instead of using cans, but this time I didn’t have time. I plan on perfecting the recipe with some “from scratch” creamed soups.)

Christmas Receipt Envelope – Easy and Quick Craft!

Do you have a bazillion Christmas gift receipts haphazardly thrown into your purse?

Do you have to dig and hunt for receipts all over your house when you need to return something?

Do you forget what you bought and tear your closet apart tracking down all the gifts you have hidden?

Well, not anymore!

Just make this handy dandy receipt holder thingy and you’ll be more organized than Kris Kringle himself!!

OK, enough with the infomercial  mumbo jumbo. Sorry, I got a little carried away.

I really do love this little reciept organizer and I make myself one every year.  It’s quick and easy to make!

So here’s how I made it:

Supplies:
Envelopes (Either business size or regular, whatever you want! And enough for each person in your family or as many as you feel you need to stay organized!)
Glue stick
Ribbon
Marker or stickers

First, decide how you want to organize your receipts.  I made an envelope for each person I would be buying for and then one extra one for miscellaneous.  You can sort by person, by relationship (Kids, Aunts. Mom, Dad, etc) or by gift (electronics, clothing, toys) or even by store! Do what works for you but note that an odd number of envelopes works best.

Glue the envelopes together by gluing the inside flap of one envelope to the back of another.

(Here’s the back of it)

(See, I told you I use Scotch products!)

 Continue gluing all the envelopes together.
Fold up the envelopes in an accordion style.

Label the top of your envelopes. 
I used some stickers, but you can just write it with a pen or marker or a label, whatever works!

Cut two slits in the back of the last envelope and thread your ribbon through.
Tie the ribbon around the front to keep your receipt organizer thingy closed!
Now stuff that baby full of receipts and lists and all your Christmas secrets! 
 Then hide it in your purse, quick!
This post is linked to:


Winner Winner Chicken Dinner – Giveaway Winners!

Where did that saying come from anyway?

I am so pleased with how many of you entered my first two giveaways! I had fun and I hope you did too!

So let’s get right to it then!

My TEN Scotch Tape Giveaway Winners Are:

Tara, Annie from Mama Dweeb, Jennifer Kelsey, Nichole, Audrey (asl), Amy L., Brandie from Journey of 1000 Stitches, Merredith, Beeb from Super Coupon Girl, and last but not least, Meaghan!

Congrats everyone! Enjoy your free tape! 🙂

NOW…For my Homespun Expressions Etsy Shop Giveaway Winner!

Alena from Charmingly Chandler!  Congrats Alena!!

But don’t worry, if you did not win the Etsy giveaway but really loved something you saw on there, my Momma is giving you all FREE SHIPPING UNTIL CHRISTMAS when you mention that you entered this contest!  How awesome is that?!  Hurry and get your orders in so you can get them by Christmas!

Congrats to all the winners! I sent an email to all of you so email me back your addresses ASAP!

THANK YOU to my sponsors who hosted the giveaways!   Keep your eyes out for more to come!

*I used Random.org to choose all of my winners. I play fair. 🙂 If the winners do not respond within 24 hours, I will draw new names!

Homespun Expressions Etsy Shop GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!!!

I’ve told you all about my Mom’s Etsy Shop, Homespun Expressions, before. (read about it here!)  If you are looking for a unique Christmas gift, you’ve got to check it out! And if you are looking for something specific or have an idea? Just let her know! She’ll do her best to work with you to make it yours!

Now I have good news for all of you!

Homespun Expressions is offering my lovely blog reading friends a $25 credit towards anything in her Etsy Shop!  

She will customize your gift with monogramming of your choice as well!

Everyone say it with me! THANKS MOM!

To enter, visit Homespun Expressions then come back here to tell me what you would pick if you won!

Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

This is going to be a quick giveaway because we want to give you enough time to get your gift before Christmas!  The giveaway will end Friday, December 3rd at midnight.

Want EXTRA entries?!  Here’s what you can do!

-Post a link to my blog on Facebook.

-Tweet about it! (leave me a link to your tweet!)

Leave a comment on my Scotch Tape Giveaway.

-Follow me on Google Friend Connect

Please leave me a comment for each extra entry!

Have fun shopping!