Wednesday, December 31
New Year's Eve
Our Christmas Eve
First we made a quick trip to Target to finish my husband's Christmas shopping.
(I know I should of finished it earlier but we did get snowed in!)
I tried to tell her that it would happen if she didn't have snow pants on.
While we waited for the paint to dry I let the girls have snow with Sprite poured over it.
They both really liked it and I remember my Mom making the same for me when I was little.
We also made more gingerbread cookies (a different and stickier recipe) and molasses cookies (my grandmother's recipes) for Santa.
Soon after Daddy got home the ornaments were dry enough for the tree.
Princess A's favorite (besides the Santa I made her) is this flower.
Princess G's favorite was her 'Sparkles Unicorn."
Soon it was time for bed so we set out the cookies we made that day (molasses and gingerbread), a glass of milk with ice (Santa likes it really cold), and gifts Princess A made for Santa, a book and a candy cane ornament.
Tuesday, December 30
Last Tuesday I Escaped the House
Last Tuesday I finally left the house after being snowed in for a whole week. It really was a whole week. Now my husband did go to work everyday and if I had to I could of left the house but as the roads were bad it did not seem like a good idea. I finally made it to the store to buy all the stuff for our Christmas meal. After getting home we went out to play in the snow.
This time I remembered to get out the sand toys to play with.
Princess A is using a Frisbee to smooth out her snow castle/hill.
Ultimate Party Meatballs Review
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About two weeks ago I received a can of Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce and a bottle of Heinz® Chili Sauce and was asked to make the Ultimate Party Meatballs. The next day I was snowed in for a week. I finally got to the grocery store and bought some meatballs so I could finally make the recipe. All I have to say is yummy! I never knew Heinz® made Chili Sauce (yummy) and truth me told I have never had cranberry sauce from a can. I always make my cranberry sauce with fresh Ocean Spray® Cranberries. I love chili sauce and love anything cranberries so I was pretty sure I would like the meatballs, I was not so sure about my friends and family. They loved it!! The meatballs were simply inhaled. If you need something easy but delicious for New Year's Eve (or any other night) I suggest the Ultimate Party Meatballs. If we actually did anything besides sleep on New Year's Eve that is what I would be serving of course I could make another batch for us to eat as dinner or maybe we could try the Slow-Cooker Sweet and Smokey Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches instead.
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1 16-ounce can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1 12-ounce bottle Heinz® Chili Sauce
1 2-pound bag frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail-size meatballs
Combine sauces in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Add meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.
Makes 30 appetizer servings.
Slow cooker Preparation: Place meatballs in a slow cooker. Combine sauces and pour over meatballs. Cover and cook 4 hours on HIGH.
Click over to the Ultimate Party Meatballs site for lots of recipes (checkout the Cranberry-Barbecue Pork Ribs) and other tips.
Thank you to MomCentral.com for the opportunity to do this review.
Monday, December 29
Daddy Playing Paper Dolls with his Princesses
Thursday, December 25
Wednesday, December 24
Monday, December 22
Salt Dough Ornaments
For some more ideas and some great prizes head to the My 3 Wisemans blog
Sunday, December 21
Hot Cocoa and Gingerbread Men
Chocolate that Helps Feeds the Hungry
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I am talking about Ferrero Chocolates (yummy)! For the second year in a row Ferrero Chocolates in a partnership with Share Our Strength is working to ensure that no child in America grows up hungry. Ferrero Chocolates has already donated a lump sum of $150,000 and will make additional donations on behalf of consumers participate in their Share Something Sweet campaign. You can share a sweet message via free customizable e-cards with all your family and friends. For each message sent, Ferrero Chocolates will donate an additional $1, up to $10,000 altogether! Ferrero Chocolates will donate another $1 to Share Our Strength (up to an additional $1,000) for every person that joins the Ferrero Facebook page, “Ferrero Lovers Unite!” It is easy, so go to Share Something Sweet, send some free message to a loved ones, joins the Ferrero Facebook page and help end hunger in the US!
Saturday, December 20
Making GingerBread Men
Friday, December 19
Playing in the Snow with Uncle Tommy!
Keeping the Holidays Simple
I always have such big plans for the holidays, so many activities, people to visit, places to go and of course shopping for gifts. This year I decided 'No plans,' I was just going to go with the flow. Instead of planning out thing I just made a list of idea, things that would be fun but if they did not happen that was fine. Some days we woke up and just did nothing on my list, other days we did one or two of them. It was really nice having options but not expectations that something had to be done. We did see Santa, got our shopping done (some online so I could skip having to ship stuff), saw the Nutcracker, attended the Christmas Festival, made some crafts and played in the snow. A few of my ideas have not materialized and if we don't get to them there is always next year or even after the Christmas.
If you are feeling overwhelmed http://blog.parentbloggers.com/ wants to share that FFDA (http://www.familyaware.org/) has free support groups for moms, as well as other helpful services, that might be helpful at this time of year (or anytime) for anyone just needing a helping hand so they can enjoy a healthier and happy new year.
Thursday, December 18
Another Snow Day!
This is our second snow day in a row, though technically Princess A did not have kindergarten yesterday (she has every other Wednesday off) but we did miss Princess G's ballet. Today Princess A did miss school and she is getting worried she won't be able to give her teacher her Christmas gift. She wanted to take it to school Tuesday but as she did not ask to wrap it until we were putting coats on and leaving for school I assured her she could take it to school later this week. I hope she has school tomorrow as she really wants her teacher to read the Christmas story she wrote and illustrated.
Christmas Festival
We had a lot of fun at the Christmas Victorian Festival but last year was so much better. This year the Santa was in a tiny little booth and they did not have any crafts for the kids to do. They also did not have a bouncy slide to play on. They did have the carousel and the train which we took full advantage of. We rode the carousel over 10 times, I lost count around 7 times. After the first three rides we had to change horses every time. One nice thing was I got to ride one of the horse for the first time in years. The girls really wanted me to ride a horse so hopped on a horse and rode the carousel up and down over 10 times! Starbucks had a booth like last year and was giving away samples of Hot Cocoa and some coffee. Princess G did not want the Hot coco (she burnt her tongue last year) and they were nice enough to give her just whipped cream. Princess A loved the hot cocoa and wanted a cup every time we went by. We also watched candle carving and picked up some scones for Daddy on the way out. Fun but cold and long day.
Celebrate the holidays, for some more ideas and some great prizes head to the My 3 Wisemans blog
Holly and Hal Moose™
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Yesterday the cutest package came via FedEx. As soon as I opened it up the princesses were so excited. It was Hal Moose™ and a storybook "Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure". When you press the moose's hand the Christmas lights on his antlers light-up and blink. After turning him on a few times they took him to the bathroom to see how bright the lights are in the dark (we don't have window in the half bath). Apparently Hal Moose™ passed the test and the princesses finally noticed the book. They immediately wanted to hear the story. We curled up on the couch to read the story. As it was dinnertime and I had food cooking (and starting to burn) I could not finish the story right away, what I did read was so cute. The princesses each have one friend from from Build-A-Bear Workshop® that they got to make for Princess G's first birthday. When ever we are in the nearest mall that has a from Build-A-Bear Workshop® we always stop in and sometimes pick up a little something for their friends. Hal Moose™ is just $12 but now you can buy Holly and Hal Moose™ together for only $24 and get their storybook for free ($15.99 value, while quantities last). If we were not snowed in today we would be taking a trip to the Build-A-Bear Workshop® to make Holly the Moose so they can each have a moose (to prevent future arguments over who gets to play with it.) If you are not snowed in I suggest heading down to a Build-A-Bear Workshop® for a very cute gift or if you are snowed in you could order it from their website.
Wednesday, December 17
Tuesday, December 16
Liberty Mutual Be Fire Smart
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The Princesses and I talk about fire safety all the time. Last summer when we went to a local fair the fire department had a booth. The girls got balloons, sticker badges, Princess A got to make a 911 call and they both got to practice leaving a house in fire. They had a little bed for the kids to climb on, then a smoke alarm goes off, they have to check the door to see if it is hot. If the door is cool to the touch they open the door, crawl through the smoke, go out the other door and run to the neighbors house to tell them there is a fire. They both did great and followed the correct protocol, well Princess A knew what to do and helped her sister. We have our own plan which is similar to the one they practiced at the fair. At least once a month we go over the plan, usually on the way home from school. Princess A's favorite part is that if her door is hot she leaves it closed, opens the window and gets to yell "Help! Fire! Dial 911!" as loud as she can. She likes the idea of yelling super loud! Fire safety is very important as more Americans die (4,000 each year) from fires than all natural disasters combined. There are lots of things you can do make your home and family safer, a family plan of escape to only one, for more ideas visit Liberty Mutual's fire safety site http://www.befiresmart.com/
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