Crafting With Little Ones {Re-Post}

This is one of my all-time favorite posts and it was written well before I had many readers. I'd like to share it with you again because I think that the message is important if you want to foster a love of creativity in your children from a young age: It's not the outcome that matters; the process is most important.

Don't Throw Out The Baby with the Bathwater!

When I was a kid, my brother, sister, and I had "bath night". One night a week. It was usually on Wednesday because that's when The Dukes of Hazzard was on TV. My dad (he raised us) would fill the tub, set my little brother up with a snack in front of the TV - where he'd be glued until the last "YEE-HAW! - and my sister and I would go first. By the time he wrangled us into the tub, scrubbed us, and managed to wash and rinse both of our heads of hair (Against our "EEEK! Don't get it in my eyes!!!" protests), the TV show would be over. He didn't drain the water and re-fill the tub for my brother. He'd just add a little hot water to warm it up and it would be his turn yell about soap in his eyes. I was able to watch my sister while my brother, who absolutely hated baths, screamed like a banshee the entire time he was in the tub. No wonder we only got one bath a week!

I've been thinking about this lately because my kids have always had 2 - 3 baths a week until recently - my oldest MUST take a shower daily and Little Guy has been cut back to once a week. I think the new schedule for my oldest is pretty much self-explanatory to anyone who has had a teen boy in their home for more than a week! As for Little Guy, there were a couple of reasons for my changing things up.

First, we're cutting down on our water usage and baths take a lot of water. Next, he really doesn't get that dirty. I mean, he is covered by clothes most of the time, it's cold out so he's not sweating like crazy, and the dirtiest parts of him get washed many times a day - hands and face. In the summertime, he tends to get dirtier, but with his regular rinse-offs in the wading pool and sprinkler, a quick towel-off at the end of the day usually does the trick. If he happens to get extra-dirty one day, he can take a quick shower with me.

Finally, it's just easier. In my experience, many children have some fear of baths when they are around 18 months to 2 years old. Little Guy passed this stage with absolutely no problems. In fact, he used to smell his armpits and declare, "Ooo! I'm stinky and dirty! I sure need a bath." in hopes that we'd fill the tub. Sometimes he'd do this multiple times a day. But, recently, he's become afraid. I blame my husband for both of his fears: 1) The monster who lives in the drain, and 2) Getting shampoo in his eyes. Yep. He did it - he told Little Guy that there is a monster in the drain. He only had to say it out loud one time, during a very trying bath time where Little Guy kept jamming his entire hand down the drain. He was so afraid that his hand would get stuck and had tried everything else. It was one of those stupid things you say as a last resort and regret it even as the words are coming out of your mouth. I cannot get Little Guy to believe that Daddy was joking - he's scared!

Before the fears set in...

As for the shampoo... Little Guy used to love having water poured over his head. This made washing his hair the funnest part of giving him a bath. Then, one day, my husband couldn't find Little Guy's shampoo and decided to use the cold-process soap (yeah, the stuff that's made with lye) on his hair. The soap got into his eyes and burned and burned. Now, getting his hair washed is a nightmare. He kicks and screams and splashes. I had to go back to using tear-free shampoos because he squirms around so much that it's impossible to keep his eyes shampoo-free. Our city's use of chlorine in the water isn't helping matters - the water stings my eyes when I shower! His hair gets washed only when it loses its curl and starts looking dirty - I cannot see why I should wrestle him down once a week to clean mostly-clean hair.

So, due to Little Guy's bath strike and my oldest's need to take more showers, I've just been thinking a lot about bathing. Especially bathing throughout history. I remember reading that, in the western US, when pioneers were just beginning to settle, people took very few baths. Water was pretty scarce in most places. Ma would fill up a half-barrel with hot water and the entire family would wash in it every couple of weeks - sometimes just once a month! You know that saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater"? That comes from this little tidbit: Families would bathe in order from oldest to youngest, leaving the baby last. By the time the infant made it into the tub of luke-warm water, it'd be filthy. (I just cannot get that out of my head! I imagine that this is probably a big reason for so many disease-related infant deaths.) So that saying really hold much more meaning when you think of bathwater that is so dirty you wouldn't notice the baby in there!

I guess I'm done with my pointless rambling. The subject's just been on my mind.

How often do you bathe your children? Do you think it's too much, just right, or not enough?

Week 3: January 15 - 21, 2010 {#Mamatography}

It was so hard to choose photos for this week's Mamatography post. It seemed like I had the camera out all of the time. And we did so much! I had the kids help me choose which picture to include and this is what we decided on:

Day 15 (1/15/12)

"I push this button!"

Little Guy was just thrilled when "Brubber" invited him to play computer games on his laptop with him. Usually, we try to keep him away from our computers because he gets over-excited AND had that "I know what I'm doing and I'm going to do it myself" attitude going. The two of those, together, usually equal a computer that is completely frozen up within minutes and hours of trying to figure out how to fix it. But, my oldest patiently kept little guy in check and found a game that would allow him to use the mouse pad easily. He had the BEST time!

Day 16 (1/16/12)

Warm Winter's Catnap

Number 1 has been in heaven lately. He comes into the house after spending a few hours in the freezing cold, gets a bite to eat, then lays down somewhere for a nap - purring the entire time. I can't help but wonder if he ran into a stray who told him he should be grateful for a warm home and food in his belly. He's been showing his appreciation in many ways, too. He knows how much I like a kitty sitting on my lap, but he never really cared for it himself. Not recently! He's been bringing up "presents" to the door (and sometimes tries to sneak them into the house) in the form of field mice. My oldest usually is the recipient of these gifts, since he's often the first one to leave the house in the morning! And, he has even been hanging out with Little Guy, who has just recently made the differentiation between stuffed animal and real animal.

Day 17 (1/17/12)

Goofball

If you're my friend on Facebook, you already know about this picture. My oldest borrowed my camera for a school project he had to do (how cool is it that he can email his homework to his teachers?!) And, while he had the camera, he had to screw around a little, right? I found about 20 goofy pictures of him and his friend on my camera after he returned it to me. I jokingly told him that he should always delete photos after uploading, or they could make their way into the wrong hands. Then I mentioned putting one of the pictures on Facebook and tagging him in it. The kid actually DARED me to do it. Well, being the mom that I am, that's exactly what I did. I started feeling bad a few minutes later, so I removed the tag (the picture is still there.) I just don't know if one of his classmates might get a hold of his goofy picture and turn it into some kind of nasty joke. So, it's on my wall and he can tag himself in it if he wants. And I'll be having prints made of these photos because they are just too fun to forget about!

Day 18 (1/18/12)

You Could Have Put Your Eye Out!

You know how you're always warning kids to be careful with scissors? Yeah... While Little Guy and I were making our Craft Idea Book, I put the scissors down for a split second. That was long enough for him to come charging across the room at full-speed to grab them. Only I was faster and snatched them up. And, as you can see by the picture, I didn't do so safely. I stabbed myself in the hand - and it was a bloody one. Little Guy's eyes were like saucers when he saw what had happened. I think that he truly did not believe me all of those times I told him that scissors are dangerous. He probably thought I was just saying it to keep him from having all of the cutting-up-paper-fun. Ever since this occurrence, though, he hasn't tried to get my scissors. And I'm on the look-out for a good pair of child safety scissors for him. It is fun to cut paper and why should I be the only one to enjoy it?

Day 19 (1/19/12)

My Very Cold Friend

It was so cold! The wind was blowing like mad and the temperature, without taking windchill into account, was 9F. We have a pair of Blue Jays that have decided to winter in the woods behind our house and I couldn't help but see this bright blue guy all puffed up and trying to stay warm when I passed the window. I tossed a handful of seeds out for him and he quickly swooped down from his perch to fill his stomach.

Day 20 (1/20/12)

The Sick Blanket

Another chilly day. Rather than heading outside, Little Guy and I had an all-day indoor camping trip. This picture was taken early on in our day. We ended up making a campfire out of paper towel tubes and tissue paper. We made beds and Little Guy took a nap in his tent. We had snacks. We even went fishing, using sticks, yarn and paper clips for hooks. We didn't catch anything and concluded that fish do not like gummy worms, so we ate the worms for "dinner", instead!

See that striped, crocheted blanket? My great-grandmother made that before I was born (I think it may even be older than my mom.) It is known as "The Sick Blanket" because that is the blanket that we used whenever we were ill and laid on the couch in the living room all day, while our mom or dad nursed us back to health. It is used for the same purpose for my kids and, hopefully, one of them will become as attached as I have to it and their kids will get to know The Sick Blanket, as well. And when we were well, that blanket made the BEST tents... Still does!

Day 21 (1/21/12)

Wintertime

This is the picture of winter in my mind. Sled and squirrel tracks in the snow. Kids' footprints, big and small. The sunshine creating those cool blue shadows that you can only see in the wintertime across the snow...














So, what did your week look like? If you'd like to join me in this endeavor, just click on the Mamatography button at the top of this post to learn more. I'll be linking this post at Diary of a First Child's Week 3 Mamatography Linky when it's posted on Wednesday (1/25), so if you'd like to see more photos you should head over!

See's Candies Brings Back Wonderful Memories {Review}

When we lived in Los Angeles, there was one store we'd always make a point to go into whenever we had a chance: See's Candies. They had the BEST chocolate I had ever eaten, and whenever you passed through the doors, a friendly See's worker would hold out a piece of candy and ask, "Would you like to try our <insert name of one of their 100+ varieties of chocolates>  today?" FREE CHOCOLATE! I learned that my favorites are Dark Bordeaux, Scotch Kiss, and Walnut Square. My oldest, who was just a little guy at the time, knew that he could always walk out of there with a Vanilla or Butterscotch Lollipop stuck in his mouth.

When we moved back east, I knew that See's Candies would be one of the things I'd miss most about L.A. Real candy stores are few and far between around here and, if you happen to find one, you're not going to get a free sample every time you walk into the store! Imagine how thrilled I was to find that See's Candies can be ordered online and even via catalog.

I received my first catalog in the mail about a year ago. I leafed through it over and over, reliving memories and drooling over some of my favorites. Things got busy, as they always do, and I set the catalog on the counter to take care of Little Guy. When my oldest arrived home from school, he saw that catalog and suddenly remembered all of the great times he'd had at See's Candy with me and his dad. He did the same thing I did with the catalog, often asking me if he ever tried this or that variety and whether he liked it. Seeing how thrilled he was about that catalog, I was able to save up a little extra money and ordered him a big box of chocolates for his birthday. He still has the box, which he keeps all of his important little mementos of L.A. in.

Do you have any candy stores in your area like See's Candies? 

Or, maybe memories of great candy stores from your youth? 

I'd love to hear them!

*** Disclosure: This post was written as part of my participation with Blogvertise.com. I will receive compensation for this post. All opinions are mine.

Little Guy's Favorite Activity {Wordless Wednesday}

Jumping on the bed with no pants on. Yep. Actually, his very favorite activity is Naked Bed Jumping. He'd win the Olympic Gold Medal in this sport. The shirt is only on because I insisted - it was cold in here!
(Psst! Want to place bets on how many disappointed weirdos check out my blog this week thanks to a Google search that went terribly wrong?)

"...And the Gold goes to..."

Hope the leaf is enough... I used Paint to draw a cute little pair of undies, but couldn't figure out how to put them on him. Ended up using Picnik to do the leaf. If anyone could share the link to a good, FREE photo editing site, I'd really appreciate it!

Here are the undies... Wouldn't they have looked cute on him?

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Wordless Wednesday post. 

Leave me a link to your Wordless Wednesday post and

I'll stop by to check it out - 

Just so you know, it might take me a while.

But I WILL be there!

Week 2 - January 8 - 14, 2012 {#Mamatography}

Well, I can't believe I've made it to the second week! I seem to always have good intentions when I start this type of thing. Unfortunately, when I miss a day or two, I seem to give up. I know there are other "take a picture a day for a year" memes out there, but I chose this one for a couple of reasons: 1) I love reading Diary of a First Child. 2) The guidelines of Mamatography are very laid back, making it feel less of an obligation and more of a fun experiment. The one thing that really hooked me was this from the Mamatography info post:

"If things happen and you can’t participate for a while, that’s fine – just start up again when you can."

Yay For Clean Dishes!

Day 8 (1/8/12)

Yeah, I was lazy. The only thing I did that was productive all day. Well, I made dinner, too, but it shouldn't count. I just opened a jar of spaghetti sauce, then added a few herbs and the leftover meatloaf from the night before. Oh, and cooked some pasta.

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

Day 9 (1/9/12)

I saw the moon and just had to take a picture! I love how the clouds give a smoky, mysterious feel to the photo. And the corona is so bright! It was easier to see the line between the moon and the corona circling it with the naked eye than through the lens on my camera. One of these days I'll learn how to take photos that look the same as how I see them.

Mustache Man!

 Day 10 (1/10/12)

When my oldest was little, he called these beans. Well, actually, he still does (and so do I!) Little Guy, who seems to have a different way of looking at everything, has decided that they are not beans. They are most definitely mustaches, instead. Just after this picture was taken, my oldest came up and asked Little Guy what he was doing with the "bean". He got an earful and I don't think he'll be calling them anything but "mustaches" around Little Guy again!!

Zzzz...

Day 11 (1/11/12)

This hasn't happened... ever! He said, "Mama, please be quiet. I need a rest. I'm in a grumpy mood." Once I got over my shock, I began to wonder if he might be getting sick. Nope. Wouldn't it be cool if he was just learning to recognize his  need for sleep AND deciding to follow it?!

"Snot's On!"

Day 12 (1/12/12)

I've taken it upon myself to develop a recipe for a cotton play dough. I want something that is pliable like dough, but fuzzy like cotton balls. This was my first (failed) attempt. I wound up with a pot full of snotty cotton. ICK!

I added a bunch of flour until it was dough-ish, and let the kids have their fun with it.

Day 13 (1/13/12)

Yeah. Completely forgot to take the camera out all day.

Uh-Oh!

Day 14 (1/14/12)

We finally got some snow! This was Little Guy's first snowball fight. As you can see, the mittens are way too big for for him (the site I got them from said they fit ages 2-5. Those things are just a little too small for me to wear!) Anyway, my oldest showed him how to take his hands and push the snow together to pack it into a snowball-like formation. Pretty cool big brother, huh?











So, what did your week look like? If you'd like to join me on this endeavor, just click on the Mamatography button at the top of this post to learn more. I'll be linking this post at Diary of a First Child's Week 2 Mamatography Linky when it's posted on Wednesday (1/18), so if you'd like to see more photos you should head over!

Teaching Children Critical Thinking Skills

"Look at our cool new toy! All the kids love it. See how much fun they're having? YOU could be having this much fun, too, if only you had this toy! Check out this kid... He was playing all by himself until he got this toy. Now, he's got a ton of friends who brought their cool toys over so they could all play together - and they're having a pool party, too! Just beg your parents for the toy and they'll get it for you... if they love you! Only $19.95. Get it NOW!!!"

That's how it starts. When we're young. Commercials have power. Did you ever beg for the toy in the commercial, only to have someone actually buy it for you? If you got the toy, was it nearly as cool as it was made out to be? Did it do all of the cool things the commercial promised? Did it break five minutes after you got it out of the package?

Advertising is amazing, isn't it? I remember when I started to realize that everything I saw or heard on TV wasn't exactly true. It made me feel smart that advertisers couldn't use the power of words and pictures to make me believe everything they said. I learned to read the fine print at the bottom of the screen. I figured out that the statistics that get flashed in front of me may have come from studies of 10 people. Like, "9 out of 10 physicians we asked prefer our brand!"

But, I didn't get the full jist of critical thinking until I took a college course on it. I learned about red herrings and hyperbole. I learned how it's not only advertisers who use this stuff. You need critical thinking skills for everything - politicians, drug companies, and the government are great at getting people to believe them. We're supposed to trust them, right? Why would they lie to us?

I have thought that schools should be required to offer critical thinking classes to all high school students. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize that we cannot trust such a big job to them. They are part of the government! I believe that, if schools were to include critical thinking skill in their curricula, they would do a great job of teaching children to be wary of advertisements. Period. The government relies heavily on our trust in it, so why would it go out of its way to teach entire generations to question authorities of any kind? It could be disastrous to politics.

***Now, before we go any farther: The examples I am going to be using are MY personal beliefs. It doesn't really matter what I believe or what you believe. These are examples. It's the lesson that are important, not the personal political and health topics of the examples. So, if you don't agree with my point-of-view, that's cool. That's not what I'm writing about... OK? Still with me? Good.***

1) Do Your Own Research

Remember a couple of years ago, when governmental health departments were threatening us with possible death from the flu if we didn't go out and get an immunization against it? There was a huge advertising campaign that probably cost billions of dollars that tried every angle known to man to get every man, woman, and child immunized against this killer. I remember one letter I received in the mail from our county health department, after we all should have received our shots. It was pretty creepy and gave me a "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!" kind of feeling. The letter stated that they knew my children had not been immunized with the flu vaccine and gave me a date and time of when a health department social worker would be at my home to talk with me about why I chose not to give the shot. Or, I could have the kids immunized, get a doctor's note, and mail it to them within two weeks. I was scared to death that they might have the power to take my kids into custody just because I didn't agree to have them immunized. Once the fear ebbed, I came to my senses and did some research, asked questions, and finally called them and told them a visit wasn't necessary. (Thank you, NVIC!) My state allows parents to refuse vaccines based on their philosophical standpoint. The letter was their way of scaring parents into getting the shot. I didn't know it at the time, but my friend received the same letter. She had her kids to the doctor the next day - she was sure her kids were headed to foster homes if she didn't do what she was told.

Now, I'm not writing about anyone's personal decision of whether to immunize or not - I just wanted to show you an example of how the government can cause panic by not giving you all of the facts. Nowhere did my letter tell me my rights. I now know that I could have thrown the thing out, let the worker show up at my door, and refuse him or her entry. There's nothing they could have done.

2) Question Authority

As parents, we need to step up and teach our children to question authority. They have a right to ask questions. Even the basic laws we have, in our homes or in our government, should be questioned. Laws are basically a way to keep peace in society. (Yes, I know. Nowadays, laws are more than that, but let's go into that another time.) There are laws about how to act when you drive a car. These are laws that keep us safe: Stop at red lights, drive at or below the speed limit, the car on the right has the right-of-way. A child might question one of these laws: Well, why do we have to stop just because the light turned red? If we didn't stop at red lights, people would go whenever they want and two cars going in different directions could crash. You can also teach kids that laws are a kind of set of rules for manners: You stop at red lights to give drivers going in the opposite direction a turn. I don't want my children to act like blindfolded sheep, just following along with the herd. The more questions they get answers to, the more they learn.

I know that I was safe from being charged with any kind of neglect for not having my kids immunized because I didn't just believe what they told me. I looked for my own answers. It's great to answer any questions that young children have, but it's even better to show them how to find the answers on their own! When my oldest was still being homeschooled, I used to carry a pen and a pad of paper with me. Whenever he had an authority-questioning inquiry, I wrote it down. This was back before the days of using the Internet to find all of your answers, so we visited the library once a week. I showed him how to look for books using the card catalog (yes, before computerized library systems, too!) Many times, we found ourselves in the law section of the library. But we also visited biology, physics, sociology, and reference. He learned how to find answers to his questions.

At the beginning of the school year this year, he came home pretty upset. One of his instructors was teaching the class that our Congress-persons were in Washington D.C. as representatives of the people who elected them. These representatives made decisions based on the needs of those people. My son's says he shook his head (now, my thinking is he probably made a snide comment to a classmate...) The teacher asked him to stand up and say what his problem with the lesson was. Now, he thought this was really cool - high school is a meeting of the minds! He told the teacher his basic understanding was that big companies usually told the representative what to think. (Now, whatever your opinion on this subject is is fine with me. This is my belief and I have explained my belief to my son who then adopted it as his own. For the purposes of the story, the table could have been turned and the teacher was telling the students about lobbyists and my son was on the other end of the argument. It really doesn't matter to the outcome.) The teacher asked him to gather his things leave the classroom. No explanation. Didn't send him to the office. Nothing. He stood in the hallway until class was over. He was confused, afraid, and angry. He had questioned authority and even gave his reason for questioning and was tossed out of class for it. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong and neither did I.

Now, I'll leave the rest of the story for another time because it really has nothing to do with my post. What it does show is that, when we begin to question authority, we're bound to run into those who are afraid of our questions. We need to prepare our children for this - something I neglected to to for my son. I'm remedying the situation right now. He needs to know that questions are OK to ask, whether the response is appropriate or not is another thing entirely. When he questioned the teacher's lesson, she didn't know how to cope with the challenge, so she reacted inappropriately. He now knows that he has the right to ask - no one can take that from him just because he's a kid! An improper response is just that - improper. He's not responsible for that part of it. And, if he should end up in trouble for asking a question, I'll stand behind him. Incidentally, I've also taught him the difference between questioning authority for a legitimate reason and doing it just to make trouble.

3) See For Yourself

Back to that cool toy. I think the only way to convince kids that commercials are not telling them the whole truth is to show them. Buy your kid the "must have it" toy once in a while, if you can afford it. Here's how I did it with my oldest (still working on this with Little Guy.) He saw the commercial and just had to have it. And the darn commercial was on every single time we turned on the TV. The toy was in every ad insert in our Sunday newspaper. He saw it in the stores when we went out. He constantly begged for it. I got sick of hearing about it, so I decided that I'd try something other than ignoring the pleas. Whenever the commercial came on, I'd sit with him and watch it. I'd ask him questions: Do you really think that thing can fly that high? Does it really walk all on it's own? Wow - I wonder if that kid's friends are playing with him because they like him or the toy more. Do you think that mom would love her kid any less if she didn't buy that for him? Do you know that I have go away to work for three hours just to make enough money to buy that one toy? On and on. I asked one, maybe two, questions each time the stupid commercial came on. We talked about the answers. He still wanted the toy. So, I bought it for him for his birthday. He was so excited... then heartbroken. It was not nearly how he thought it would be. It broke the next day while he was trying to make it do something he saw it doing in the commercial. We talked about it. I asked all the questions again, this time he had the answers down. He knew.

The one experience didn't teach him to be wary of commercials. Soon there was another must-have toy and we went through the same things. I think we had about a year, between the ages of four and five, where the cycle repeated about four times. After that, he started asking himself the questions. To this day, there are still times when he comes across something he really wants. But, usually, it's because he's done his research and still wants it. And, usually, the thing ends up being true-to-life. He doesn't get caught up in all of the promises that ads make. In fact, I'd have to say that he's onto them even faster than me! Now, when a commercial comes on TV and we're watching together, we play a game of pointing out all of the crazy claims that they make. He loves being smarter than the advertising pros!



Do you have any advice on how to teach children critical thinking? Please share them. I think that Little Guy is going to be harder than my oldest was to teach these skills...

Cousins! {Wordless Wednesday}

 On Sunday, we spent the day at my dad's. Once a year, mt brother, sister, and I are able to all get together at the same time. Little Guy has been so excited to play with his cousins and had me show him pictures of them every day for a week leading up to the party. Now, he hasn't seen my nephew (5 months younger than Little Guy) since last Christmas, so I was a little worried that they might not really know what to do with each other. I was wrong!

With no car, my dad had to pick us up early. My guys watched a movie while waiting for everyone else to arrive.

Two minutes after his cousin got there! You just HAVE to jump on a bed like this.

I can't believe he actually sat long enough to play a game of Go Fish with my niece!

And check this one out! Awww...

LEGO!

My niece added to the party atmosphere with a little music - and Little Guy "helped"

But he's a much better dancer than he is a keyboard player!

100% Satisfied!

Shhh! LOOK Who was Checking Out Our Tree! {Quick Giveaway - Ends 12/21 Open WW}

Last year, I was lucky enough to have won a custom iCaughtSanta.com photo. What is this? It is a very cool way to surprise your kids with a photo of Santa in their very own home. I simply took a photo of out living room (I choose where Little Guy stashes his toys since that's a very familiar area to him) and then uploaded it to the site. Once it was uploaded, I was able to choose from a ton of different Santa poses to find the right one for my photo. What I really love about this is that you can change the size of Santa, you can change the hue of his clothes and lighting to match your photo. It really looks as if he's there:

In my last post, I told you how Santa replied to Little Guy's letter with a wonderful box of goodies. We hung the "hangable" stuff on our "Tree Wall" and it looks great:

When I learned that I'd have the opportunity to review iCaughtSanta.com this year, I was so excited! I uploaded the above photo and added the PERFECT Santa pose:

Santa in OUR LIVING ROOM, checking out Little Guy's Santa's Nice List Certificate!

Once I finished creating the photo, I was able to print it out, share it on my social networks, and even email it to friends and family. I also downloaded my photo so I always have it (just like I did with last year's.) Wouldn't it be cool to have a photo every year to add to our collection? I'm imagining eventually making a garland with each photo on it to hang along with out other decorations!

So, on Christmas Eve, I'll have Little Guy help me set up our digital camera to see if we can try to get a picture of Santa when he stops by!

Would You Like A Chance To Win One?

iCaughtSanta.com has offered to give away FIVE CODES to my readers! You can make your very own Santa photo. They also have other characters to chose from, such as the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy that you could use it on. AND, if we can get 30 different entrants, they're going to double the giveaway and I'll have TEN WINNERS! So, take a minute and enter in the Rafflecopter form, below! This giveaway is a quickie so the winners will have time to make their photos. And, if you don't win, you can still use the code: SAVE25 to receive 25% off your order! Just think of the wide-eyed look on the kids' faces when they wake up Christmas morning to see a photo of SANTA in their own living room!  

Old Pics! {Wordless Wednesday}

I have a couple of old Christmas pics that I'd love to share. These were probably taken in 1978 or 1979???  I'll never forget that Holly Hobby dress - it was one of my favorites! I had long hair up until a month or so before - when I found my mom's scissors. I was one of those super-curious kids and was into everything all of the time. Just like Little Guy. Karma in its most perfect form, in my parents' opinions!

We spent countless hours playing with my brother's Fisher Price garage. I don't remember playing with the Easy Bake Oven too much. Must have been one of those things that my parents saw the danger in about 30 seconds after setting me loose on it!

See my upper lip? That's the result of me waking up at my aunt's house at 3am and deciding to SHAVE, just like my uncle. At the time this photo was taken, I think it had a month or more to heal. I'm surprised that all I ended up with was a teeny-tiny scar that you can only see in just the right light.

Don't Have Time to Bake? {Smiley Cookie Review & 20% OFF!}

Now, I want you to know that I don't just grab up any review opportunity that comes along. Before I decided to do this review, I headed over to the Smiley Cookie site to check them out. What I found was surprising to me! The first thing I do when I contemplate buying a food item - online or in store - is check the ingredients. If I can read the listed ingredients without having to remember high school chemistry terms, I already feel good about the product. Smiley Cookies have ingredients that I can say without sounding-out the word. Yay! And, while some of the ingredients may not be the kind that we eat everyday, I see absolutely no reason to keep my family from indulging from time to time. This list of ingredients (wheat flour!) is tame enough that I wouldn't consider these cookies to be "indulgent" for my group of guys.

So, I decided to do the review. I can't tell you how excited I was when the package came in the mail! I secretly opened it up to check out the cookies. I didn't want anyone to know I had them because I had plans for them! I have to tell you that the box they came in is great. It is sturdy and has little Smiley Cookies all over it (see the pic below). I am still trying to decide what to do with it - send my mom's Christmas gifts in it or use it for something around here... Anyway, after I got through admiring the box, I saw the cookies - THEY WERE HUGE! I was expecting some little cookies that would just whet my family's appetite for more. Nope!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted pictures of our outing downtown to watch the parade and meet Santa? I decided that, when we got home, we'd warm up with our Christmas Cookie gift and some warm cider. I hid the box of cookies where I knew no one would find them: behind the flour (I'm the only one who cooks around here!) Before we left for the parade, I poured the cider into the crock pot, added the spices, and set it to "warm". We all got outside and I "forgot" something. I came back in, pulled the cookies from their hiding place, and set them on the kitchen table.

When we got home, we were pretty chilled. The smell of the cider was welcoming! When the kids got into the kitchen, they were so excited to see this mysterious box with lots of Smiley Cookies all over it sitting on the table. They took off their coats as fast as they could and headed into the living room (they did not like that I wanted pictures!)

We received Smiley Cookies' Holiday Cookie Gift ~ a dozen Christmas cookies — Six Smiling Christmas Trees and Six Gingerbread Smiles.





They couldn't open them fast enough! As soon as the box was opened, my husband walked in, asking what was going on - as if he didn't know! LOL They all dun in. Little Guy, who loves "took-tees", couldn't sit still.I had to remind them all to save me one of each so I could taste them for this review. I can say that, without a doubt, we all loved these cookies!

 I was expecting to get crunchy cookies - something I'm not too fond of. Boy, was I surprised to bite into a SOFT cookie, instead! The gingerbread were perfect. The spice was just right and the texture was amazing. There was just enough icing from the smiley face to add the perfect amount of sweetness. The Christmas trees were sugar cookies. Now, I am pretty darn picky about sugar cookies - I've been spoiled by my Granny T's recipe. These were sugar cookies that I would buy! They were really good. Soft, light, and the icing was the perfect compliment.

Apologizing to the smiling tree before he finishes him off.

The happiest guy in the world - fists full of cookies!

I am so happy I did this review. I have found a new "favorite" cookie for the kids (and hubby!) that has ingredients that I know.The next time I want to order a Gourmet Christmas Gift for someone, Smiley Cookies will be the first place I turn to!

Notice how Little Guy is keeping his eye on how many cookies are left? LOL!

If you'd like to receive 20% any of Smiley Cookies' Holiday Gifts or Baskets, head over to their Facebook page and "Like" them. You will automatically receive a coupon code!


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Look Who's THREE! {Lots of Pics - Sorry!}

So, Little Guy turned 3 last week. We had a small nuclear family thing on the special day. First thing in the morning, he awoke to the family's special birthday song - The Beatles' "Birthday". Then, after a special birthday breakfast of oatmeal in which he was allowed to sprinkle a crumbled-up Oreo, we made him a special birthday crown. Little Guy and I took the bus to Kroger where he got to pick out a tiny cake from the bakery and then he got to choose which frozen pizza he'd like for dinner. Well, he chose the cake, then saw the cupcakes (he's a cupcake-lover), so I ended up getting him a single one just for his special birthday cake. He picked out a yummy white special birthday pizza with mushrooms, spinach & artichokes on it! He got to pick out a special birthday Hot Wheels car (Hey - they're $1!) The cashier gave him a special birthday Cars 2 ring, then she gave him another because he said "Thank You" without any prompting. The bus driver let him honk the bus's horn as a special birthday treat. A police officer sitting in his car turned on the lights and sirens for a special birthday surprise for Little Guy as we walked past. It was very special birthday!

And now you know our stance on medical marijuana...

 (More about blue dye in an upcoming post.)

 On Friday, Little Guy received his special birthday package in the mail from Gammy. She always decorates the outside of the box with really neat stickers and writes all over it. My oldest said, "Gammy boxes are always the best! You always get a LOT of presents and you never, ever know what is going to be inside." He was right - Little Guy got a ton of new puzzles (he's up to 100-piece ones now!), lots of new Thomas the Train PJ's, paints, a card game... and more!



On Saturday, my dad stopped by with MORE special birthday gifts in the afternoon! Less than a week after Halloween, Little Guy received an entire bag of Smarties. (My dad told him they'd make him smarter and he replied with, "No, if you eat too much candy you are not smart!" LOL) All of the pics of my dad came out pretty badly, so I am not going to post them. Hubby was in charge of taking pics and his shaky hands and the small room made for a pretty bad set-up.

 On Saturday, the neighborhood kids came over for cake. It always takes me twice as long as I figure to decorate a cake. Little Guy wanted to have a special birthday Thomas the Train cake (of course) and he got one. I got rushed at the end because I ran out of time, so it didn't turn out quite as I wanted. I also pulled out a couple more presents from the stash I have been saving up since early summer...

On Sunday, we had planned a big party for everyone. You see, Hubby's son's birthday is in September, hubby's birthday is in October and so are both of his daughters' birthdays. Then, of course, there's Little Guy. And, since my oldest didn't get a proper birthday party, we included him on the receiving-end of the party. I made another cake and decorated it on Sunday morning (we're up to cake #3, now!) I wrapped presents, then we cleaned. We had another party. This time, I gave Little Guy the last of his presents. Lucky for you, we forgot all about taking pictures. Hubby's daughters took some, so we'll have those.

WAY too much sugary cake!!!

All-in-all, Little Guy had three birthday parties, three birthday cakes, five chances to open gifts, and lots of extras. When you ask him how old he is, he'll proudly tell you "I'm Number One!" Oh, well! LOL