Merry Christmas To You!
December 25, 2009 by Kasey
Filed under Family, Family Time
Merry Christmas!
May your days be Merry and Bright!
Hoping your day is filled with lots of joy, laughter and love as we remember the real meaning of the season.
Love to you all!
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Williams-Sonoma & Listerine: Eat Your Sweets and Keep Your Teeth Too! *Giveaway*(CLOSED)
December 17, 2009 by Kasey
Filed under Giveaways, Reviews & Promotions
CONGRATS ALLI ‘N SON!!
Eat Your Sweets and Keep Your Teeth Too!
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Get in the Christmas Spirit: Williams-Sonoma No-Bake Winter Wonderland Gingerbread House Kit
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Make Holiday Brushing Fun: *NEW* REACH® by Design™
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For the Holiday Party: LISTERINE® PocketPaks®
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Take Care of That Sweet Tooth: LISTERINE® TOTAL CARE and LISTERINE® Antiseptic
WIN this fun, festive and healthy kit from Williams-Sonoma and Listerine!!Mandatory Entry: Tweet this post by just hitting the RETWEET button above – easy one! * Subscribe to All Things Mamma through RSS feed or by email above. * Follow me on Twitter @AllThingsMamma * Become my Fan on Facebook and on Networked Blogs Make sure to leave a comment on each of the entries you complete above. The contest will run through Sunday, DECEMBER 20th. The winner will be chosen by random.org and contacted by email. The winner will then have 48hours to respond. At that time if no response has been given, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck to everyone!! |
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Preschool and Confidence
December 16, 2009 by Kasey
Filed under Family, Family Time
Today was Ella’s 1st Christmas Preschool performance. I was so proud of her! I know that she was nervous, but she was also so excited to get up on stage and sing her little heart out! She’s been practicing for weeks. Heck, I even know the songs by heart now.
It’s amazing to see how much she’s grown just since the beginning of school in September. She would have never got on stage and held a little angel costume up or jingle some bells and sing. She looked so big up there and made my heart grow about a million times bigger.
I am thankful that she enjoys school and learning about God and Jesus. She’s started asking a lot of questions about life and how things were made and really enjoys learning stories from the Bible. I guess learning about the real meaning of Christmas has really kept her attention and interest.
We used to go to Church before she was born and started back not long after she was born. But, she had colic so bad, she would scream in the nursery and they would have to call me in each Sunday to hold her and I would miss the whole thing. I eventually gave up from exhaustion of having a colicky baby around the clock and just stayed home. We’ve never gotten back into it because she would have no part of being left alone in a Sunday School class. I am really hoping to start back going with the kids now that Ella is getting more comfortable being left alone and with the Church where she attends school.
But, for today, I am very proud and happy that my big girl was very brave and showed us all just how much her confidence has grown. I’m truly looking forward to see where the rest of the year takes us!
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Holiday Shopping – Are you finished?
December 8, 2009 by Kasey
Filed under Family Time, Parenting
It’s December 8th and I am no where near finished with my Christmas Shopping.
Back in September, I told myself that with every paycheck, I’d pick up a couple of gifts so that the “blow” at Christmas wouldn’t be too bad. That didn’t work out so well. I think I picked up 2 or 3 gifts.
So, we’ve been trying for the last 3 weekends to get out for a few hours and at least pick up some gifts for the kids. The 1st weekend, my sister, who is going to watch the kids for the day so we don’t have to pay a babysitter on top of all the shopping we need to do, was busy. The next weekend, I got sick. And this past weekend, my husband who NEVER gets sick, got sick. Now, the kids are coming down with a cold, but hopefully it only lasts a few days.
We’re going to try again this weekend! Crossing my fingers and toes that everyone is well and healthy. I am really looking forward to the day out alone with my husband. It’s a rare luxury around here!
Have you finished your Christmas shopping or are you rushing around like me trying to finish up?
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Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
December 3, 2009 by Kasey
Filed under Home & Garden, Recipes
With the holidays right around the corner, it’s time to pull out our favorite recipes for candy, cookies, cakes and all things sweet.
Here’s one of my favorite recipes for Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. It’s so easy, your kids can help out with ease!
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flower
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 raisins soaked in warm water while preparing dough
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat for 1 minute.
3. Add flour mixture while beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in oats and raisins.
4. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet, spacing about 2-3 inches apart.
5. Bake for 14-15 minutes until golden and still moist on top. Remove to racks to cool.
Store in airtight container.
Enjoy!
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Bringing Books To Life With LeapFrog Tag Junior
November 20, 2009 by Kasey
Filed under Reviews & Promotions
Thanks to LeapFrog and Global Influence, I was recently sent the NEW Tag Junior Reading system to try out. I was more than happy to have been asked to report back to all of you my thoughts!
Having a 3 year old and an 18month old, the Tag Junior is perfect for them both! Ella loves to sit and “read” books for hours and Andrew loves to look at the pages. The NEW Tag Junior now allows them both to hear the words and sounds and enjoy songs, interesting sound effects, open-ended questions and amusing sentences. By touching the same spot in a book, toddlers can hear a different response each time. With the rounded, lightweight frog like appearance, the Book Pal is easily held in their little hands as well.
By easily connecting the Book Pal to a USB port on our computer we are able to download audio for up to 5 books AND include one of our child’s name to be incorporated into a greeting and farewell! We can also print activity sheets, such as coloring pages just by going to the LeapFrog Connect site.
As many parents will appreciate, the NEW Tag Junior has a battery-saving feature and the Book Pal will turn off automatically after a period of inactivity. We love this feature considering how many batteries we go through around here!
With the ever expanding collection of books, we’ll be able to add to our library at home for many more holidays and birthdays!
Consider the NEW LeapFrog Tag Junior for your toddler ages 2 – 4 for the next Birthday or Christmas! You’ll be glad you did!
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What happened?
September 8, 2009 by Kasey
Filed under Living Life, My Thoughts
I love holidays. As a child, there was never a holiday that went by that we didn’t get together with my grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. We usually grilled out or enjoyed a large meal and sat and and laughed the day away. It was so much fun and I’m so glad that I have those memories from my childhood.
Now, I live far away from my family and don’t get to see them as much as I’d like. It’s just hard to travel 6-8 hours away with two small children in tow. I want my children to get to know my family well and hate that we’re not closer. It’s hard. One day, it will be easier and we’ll make that long drive more often.
My husband’s family lives about an hour from here and we don’t see them as much as I’d like either. Even though we’re not that far away, we really only seem them on special occasions and holidays. It seems that everyone is busy these days with their own children and responsibilities.
What happened to us? How did we all get so busy? Is it where we live and the environment? Have our priorities changed so much more drastically than they were 20 years ago? Or are our lives just so full we can’t possibly fit in one more thing? Now our work days start before 8am and are over after 6pm. It’s too much! No wonder marriages and families are falling apart and that people are having heart attacks and strokes at such a young age.
I believe we need to slow down and get back to our roots. Back to what is really important in our lives. Maybe it’s spending Sunday with just your family at home and missing that round of golf, or maybe it’s cutting out 1 extra activity a week or volunteer opportunity or maybe it’s even cutting back on work so that you have a few evenings a week dedicated to just your family.
We’re all busy and we all have a lot more to do than we can possibly fit into the day – but you know what, it’s not important in the grand scheme of life. Will your children remember one day when they’re adults that you were the chair of the Economic Development Committee or that you made the entire dance class costumes? No, but they will remember you sitting around the table cutting out paper dolls or playing ball in the back yard or that visit to their aunt and uncle’s house sitting around a campfire with their cousins roasting marshmallows. Making memories and sharing with the ones we love, that’s what life is all about. It’s not about all those other things that stress us out and make us exhausted by the time we go to bed after midnight.
Do you agree? Do you feel exhausted by the end of the day and not really know what you really accomplished for yourself or your family? Do you make time to be with your extended family?
Tell me why you think our society has turned into what it has become today. Is life all about the hustle and bustle where you live or is it relaxed and laid back? I’d love to know..share with me!
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