Praises of a Wife and Mommy

Have you ever lost one of your kids?  I am so thankful I never have and I am praying I never will!!!  We now live in a completely different world, compared to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, but did you know they lost Jesus??  Yes the king of the world was lost from his parents.   You can read all about it in Luke 2.   It was when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem during the passover...Jesus was not a baby he was about 12 years old.  So when the festival ended Mary and Joseph left to go home and never realized Jesus was not with them.  How did they not realize he was not there is beyond my thinking but I suppose just like today we are busy and task oriented and we forget important things all the time.   As a parent it is hard to think I will ever lose my child but beyond losing my child this story really made me think deep in my own heart... have I ever lost Jesus.  Have I ever gotten so caught up with my every day things ...

Tonight we were doing our normal routine with jammies, brush teeth, and read Bible. Our story in our Bible was based out of Acts 1:1-11 and was titled: Jesus Says Good-Bye.   It asked a question right off the back, Have you ever had to say good-bye to someone you love?   My daughter responded, "mom, I don't think so, but you have.  You had to say good-bye to your mom."  My heart melted a little bit right there!  Then she said, "Mom, your mom is in heaven with Jesus and I never got to meet Grandma Bette but it's OK."  I feel blessed that even though my husband and both children have never met my amazing mom they know her by name and they love to hear stories about her.  It is moments in normal routines that strike a new memory that will not be forgotten!  Anyone have a memory they want to share??  I would love to hear them.  :)  Acts 1:1-11 New International Version (NIV) Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven 1  In my for...

I love the luster and twinkling from the Christmas tree.  :)   What do you have on the top of your tree?  We have a beautiful star!  :)  KEEP CHRIST in CHRISTmas!!  So how many ornaments do you think I will have to put back on the tree with my lil munchin swiping them off and thinking they are balls??  :) 

Who is free to join me in talking about the great #Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells?    Join me and some other bloggers on Saturday  , December 1 at 12:30-1:30 CST  at our #Kalahari Twitter Party! Who:  You, your friends, your friends’ friends What: #Kalahari  Twitter Party When:  Saturday, December 1 at 12:30 CST Where:  On Twitter!!!  Follow:  Hashtag  #Kalahari and join  Praises of a Wife and Mommy  Discussing: Tiko's Watering Hole, America’s first indoor super loop slides, Over 100,000 square feet of Indoor Theme Park, and how the #Kalahari is staying  green!    Book your stay by taking advantage of this special getaway package created just for you  at: http:// www.kalahariresorts.com/wi/blogger Help me spread the word on this awesome twitter party!  :) See you on Twitter on Saturday!!!   JOIN US on Twitter for a  party on 12/1 a...

The Christmas activities and homemade gift making are in full force here.  :)  The other day I made 4 batches of play-doh!!!  I can't wait to show you all the fun we are having with this dough!!!!  :) :) :) Yes, our dough has lots of sparkles in it!  We added a lot of glitter to make this play-doh more exciting and festive for Christmas.   Playdough  Recipe I ngredients: 1 cup flour 1/2 cup salt 1 cup water 1 Tablespoon oil 2 teaspoons cream of tartar Food coloring by drops GLITTER Peppermint  drops if available  Directions: 1. Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir.  Cook over low heat, stirring until a ball forms. 2. Add food coloring and mix thoroughly until desired color. 3. Cool on foil. Store in covered container.

The Parking Pal is one of those items that I wish I would have made!  You know that kind of product that you see and you say, "Why didn't I think of that?"   Thank-you, Busy Mom Boutique , for sending me the Parking Pal for review.  All opinions are 100% mine and I was not paid for this review.   How many of you have more then one child and while you are getting one child in and out of the vehicle the other one is still outside.  I hope you have never had your child run out in front of a car while waiting!  It was a long time ago when my daughter was jumping around and jumped far away from our vehicle and I was thankful there were no cars around but it can be a very scary thought!    The parking pal magnet is a simple magnet that you place on your car/truck/van that has a little hand print on it.  The child must keep their little hand on the hand-print while they wait.   I know some of you are reading this ...

How are you keeping Christ in Christmas this year?  

Yes, I am that mom that took a picture of the pee in the potty!  We have just started getting my 20 month old comfortable sitting on the potty.  I have been working on potty terms and we have started watching the "Elmo Potty" DVD.  I know boys are sometimes harder to train then girls but I have been staying consisitent putting my lil guy on the potty every time he wakes up from his afternoon nap.  :)   Today= SUCCESS!!!   I am a proud mommy who is hoping we can continue on this potty training course.  :)  

The kids woke up with big smiles on their faces because the saw the white covered yard.  We only got about an inch of snow but that was enough to get out and get some fun play.   We made snow angels, shoveled (both helped), ran around, went to the park, and went on a wagon ride which became very difficult as the wheels got covered in snow...oops!   Dear Kiddos,  I adore spending time and making memories with you!  We always make sure to have tons of fun!  Thanks for keeping me young.  :) :)  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

My kids love music, do yours?  I enjoy having kid's music on that encourages learning, fun, and movement! Thank you to Patty Shukla for sending me 2 DVD's for review and sponsoring the giveaway.  :)  I was not paid for this review and all opinions are 100% mine. The DVD's arrived in the mail the day before Thanksgiving break... perfect timing!  :)  On the first day of Thanksgiving break we watched/danced to both DVD's.   The first DVD was done using a green screen and my kids enjoyed it but I got a little dizzy with the camera work on it.  The songs were still fun and enjoyable for my kids but I must say that volume 2 was done with better quality!  The clips were filmed outside so no green screen was used.  :) The songs on both discs are fun, educational, and incorporate a lot of movement.   Here is a video clip:  Enter the giveaway using the easy rafflecopter form below.  The giveaway is fo...

The boys had some fun with this dino dig.  At our local dollar store we found some plastic dinosaurs.  I found a big bowl, added the dinos and rice and gave the boys some toys.  My little guy played this for about 30 minutes!   I did put a blanket down to try to keep the floor clean... did not help.  We had rice everywhere.  

Have you gotten all the Christmas decorations up yet?  Don't forget your soap can get dressed up too!  Dial Complete Foaming hand soap has a limited edition of these adorable holiday designs.   Now your bathroom or your kitchen can have a little more Christmas Flair!  :)  There are four designs including: Santa, Snowman, Candy Cane, and a Holiday Scene.  Not only were the designs festive and fun but I LOVE the smell!  I have one in the kitchen and one in my main floor bathroom.  I have to make sure my daughter does not squirt more then one squirt of this soap because I want it to last as long as possible.   Dial Complete is #1 Doctor recommended antibacterial foaming hand wash.  This formula kills 99.99% of germs encountered in the household setting while still being gentle on skin.   I received this soap to conduct my review and all opinions are 100% mine.   The timing for receiving...

I just found this great spot for photo's... I really want to ask a friend to take some family pictures here.  I will just have to make sure the sun is shining! Look at how beautiful and grown up my daughter is in this picture.  

I took this picture at my local Walmart on Sunday morning.  I was only a little surprised to see this I had more fun listening to the other peoples talking about it.  LOL   Here are a couple things I heard, "I have seen it all today."   (I totally believe this since we were in Walmart.)   "Slippers are not shoes." "What the crap"  Among those were several eye lifts and jaws dropping.    I was just wondering if he did it on purpose because his dreams and aspirations are to make one of the silly "Only at Walmart" videos.  hahaha

My 20 month old is finally at an age where him and his sister (5) can play with each other.  This week they have been playing very well together and it melts my heart.  We also had some beautiful November weather so we headed outside for sunshine.  Not only did we get sunshine but I got lots of smiles.  Smiles on my face of course as I watched my daughter be such a great big sister.  She wanted to pull her brother in the wagon and she did such a good job labeling all the things he was pointing at.  :)  

I had both of my kids help make the place-mats for Thanksgiving.  There is some prep work that you should do first.   First, find the fall colors you want to use and cut long stripes of paper. Second, fold your paper in half (main color of place-mat) the long way Thirdly, cut from the folded edge in leaving an inch  After you have prepped the activity unfold the paper and show your children how to weave the paper stripes through the slits you cut.  My daughter did a great job of going over/under on each cut and my son just had fun creating his masterpiece his way.  That is the beauty of this activity, you can get make it as simple or as complex as you want.  :)  We also glued the ends of the paper on the place-mat to help them stay put.   I think we might do this for Christmas too!  :) 

Christmas Cards will be arriving in your mailbox any day now!  In fact I already have one!! :)  I truly do enjoy getting Christmas cards in the mail!  I especially love seeing the family pictures.  There are Christmas cards every where making it a hard choice to pick the perfect one for your family.  Look no further then the adorable cards from Night Owl Paper Goods , a company in Alabama!  They can personalize your cards to fit your need.  I absolutely love the choices and the quality.  The cards are on a very thick card-stock not flimsy paper!  The images are crisp and look fantastic!  I am a fan of their wood grain cards.  They have several to choose from light to dark wood grains.  SO VERY NEAT! All the cards arrived in a cloth carry bag which I know I can reuse.   Thank you, Night Owl Paper Goods for sending me cards to conduct my review.  I was not paid for this post and all opinions are ...

The morning after waking up 6 times from the flu bug and she has a smile!  :)  So thankful for our dog who is helping her feel better and currently sleeping with her.  :)   I hate seeing my monkeys down and out with an icky bug.  She still has not had an appetite and she is complaining of aches and pains.  :(   Join me in prayer for her health and this family!!!   THANKS!!! 

20 MONTHS OLD!  So this little guy is so much fun!  I had his sister and him at the table coloring and I step away for a few minutes and came back to this.  Sense of humor... YES! We also have another nick-name for him, EGGO, because he loves Waffles!  :)  Dear T-man, You know what you want but communicating it is difficult.  You have learned some sign language which has helped.  You know, drink, more, all done, please, stinky, and we are working on more.  You love to get tickled and your laugh always puts a smile on my face.  Some days you have a hard time sharing mommy...you truly are a mama's boy.  Every day is better with you in our family!  :)  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  LOVE MOM

He is still a little young but I keep putting my son on the potty to start to get him comfortable with the idea.  We are starting to work on the "potty" terms too so that means we are watching the Elmo Potty DVD!  :)  My daughter watched it almost every day during the potty training time.  Still waiting for the first successful trip on the potty but it will come.  :) 

Praises of a Wife and Mommy's #1 Stocking Stuffer Idea!!! The creator of Piggy Paint is similar to me, first she is a mom,  second she has 2 kids, and thirdly she wants to keep her kids safe.  She created piggy paint after she watch the nail polish she was previously using eat through a foam plate. It was her mission to find a safe alternative using natural ingredients that are safe for our children.   The thought of painting her daughters nails with solvent based kid polishes was frightening to say the least.  As a mom we paint our little girls nails but then a few minutes later their fingers are in their mouths.  :(  How scary to think about the chemicals being digested in our little girls bodies.   Melanie Hurley, created Piggy Paint for us mom's so we can relax and have no fear about the chemicals.  Piggy Paint is a water based formula and is free from formaldehyde, toluene, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate and ace...

Vitatops! Vitamuffins! Vitacake! Vitabrownies! Vitapizza! Vitamixes! Vitabuns!  Vitasandwich!  If you have never heard of Vitalicious then get ready, I am about to shake your world.   So what is it?   "Vitalicious®  Inc. is the market leader of innovative "vital and delicious" baked goods that promote a healthy lifestyle, without sacrificing taste. First to market with 100-calorie servings,  Vitalicious®  is leading the way to a holistic approach to maximize satisfaction with minimum calories, with products that are low fat and high in fiber and nutrients.  Vitalicious®  has created a unique triangle of need-satisfaction (All-Natural ingredients + Nutraceuticals + Weight Management), the only baked-goods company in this niche. Founded in 1999,  Vitalicious®  creates and sells a variety of unique, healthy, value-added baked goods under the  VitaMuffin™, VitaTop™, VitaBrownie™, VitaCake™, and VitaMuffin Mix™ ...

Here is a guest post about starting a Children's Blog.  I think I would consider doing this for my kids when they are older and can write/type.  I know on Blogger you can keep your blog private and I would keep my kids private!  Safety is very important!   "It is said that the brain of a child is like a sponge with the capacity to absorb anything you throw at it. Indeed, children are curious and are open to learning at this stage in their life. It is up to parents and other elders to utilize this opportunity and provide them with the best educational as well as knowledge seeking avenues. Since we are in the age of the internet and a rapidly evolving world of information technology as well as dissemination, exposing your children to the world of blogging at a young age would be just right. A children’s blog can help your children put down their thoughts and views in a structure manner. They would get into the habit of updating it on a regular basis and w...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Did you eat Turkey?  Ham? Potatoes?  Gravy?  Did you find some fun activities to do with your children?  We had to make a centerpiece for the table so we found some pop-sickle sticks and I had the kids color them.  Then they had to glue on the pieces to their turkey.   So what do you think?  CUTE!!  :)  

I am blessed to have this little helper making Thanksgiving dinner with me!   Hope you all have a blessed day! GIVE THANKS to HIM!