You can find Wordful Wednesday HERE.

My sister recently celebrated another birthday. {I tease her constantly about being older than I am.}  Since we both have pretty busy schedules we decided to celebrate her birthday with breakfast and a morning of just relaxing while all of our kids were at school.

For her, that breakfast of relaxing includes coffee.  Since I don’t drink coffee, I took her shopping at Smart and Final to pick out her favorite flavors of Ambiance coffee, and then I made her a super moist and easy sour cream coffee cake to eat with her coffee.  {I also did her nails (gel) after we ate. I just thought I’d throw that out there lest you think breakfast isn’t enough of a birthday treat for a wonderful sister.}

#MyBaristaMoment Birthday Breakfast in 3 Easy Steps :

1.  SHOPPING

Picking out a yummy coffee was imperative in this Birthday Breakfast Plan.  I even recorded the shopping trip on Google+.  {I know!   Look at me get all fancy schmancy on you!}

2.  BAKING

The Super Moist and Easy Sour Cream Coffee Cake was a snap to make.  I got the recipe online and modified a bit.  Here’s how I did it:

Moist Sour Cream Coffee Cake Recipe:

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup softened butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Mix in 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Spread 1/2 of batter in the prepared pan.
3. Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl mix 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and cinnamon. Sprinkle cake batter with 1/2 the filling. Spread second half of batter over the filling, and top with remaining filling.
4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

3.  ENDULGING

This of course, was the best part.  I’m glad Rachelle liked her #MyBaristaMoment Birthday Breakfast.  Wouldn’t it have been disappointing if she hadn’t?  {gulp}

Interested in trying Ambiance coffee?  My sister recommends it.  {smiling}  If you buy Ambiance coffee from Smart & Final,  enter the code on the receipt from your purchase of Ambiance coffee and be entered to win some of these amazing prizes: First Prize (one grand prize per week, 3 total over the campaign): DeLonghi BCO264B Cafe Nero Combo Coffee/Espresso Maker, a $200 value!, or one of six $50 SmartCash cards (Two winners per week, 6 winners total)!  Cool, right?

Plus, visitors to the Ambiance site will be able to vote for their favorite Ambiance Coffee recipe and everyone who votes will be entered for a chance to win $50 worth of Ambiance products! (vote for me!!!!)

Disclosure:  This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias #CBias.

Wordful Wednesday 411: Wordful Wednesday is like Wordless Wednesday, except WITH words. It’s for those of us that just cannot be wordless, no matter how much we try. Add my Wordful Wednesday badge to your post (right side bar under “WW”) if you really want to make me happy, and then add your post link to the linky below. Easy peasy.

In second grade all of my children thus far have been responsible for doing a family history project. Here’s how we did it this year! Let me just preface this tutorial with a few things however:

I think the project is such a great way for children to:

• learn about their family and heritage
• how to manage their time
• how to present material in a neat and orderly fashion
• how to speak in front of a group

But, the down side is that a family history report is DEFINITELY a project that requires substantial parental supervision/work. {not a fan}

Garrett’s project to quite a few hours, and lots of preparation. We had to decide:

• how to present his timeline and storyboard
• who to interview
• how to best utilize our time

• tri-fold story board
• glue
• copies of newspaper article
• report folder
• photos
• card stock

Here’s how we made the storyboard:

1. We first picked up a trifold cardboard science report and
2. Then made multiple copies of a newspaper article about the people that were highlighted in the project. {Garrett’s great-grand parents}
3. Next we cut up the article in different shapes and
4. Covered the surface of the board with copies of the article adhered with Elmer’s Glue.
5. Finally, we mounted the images to be used on card stock,
6. Printed out descriptive captions and
7. Glued everything that we needed on the storyboard.

It was actually pretty easy once we had all the materials assembled, but it was time consuming. We tackled the decoupaged back one night, printed out captions another and then put everything together on another evening. And that’s just the storyboard.

Even though this project is complete and I should just be glad to be able to check one more item off my “to-do” list, I’m unable to tear my mind away from the fact that next year we are going to have to tackle TWO of these family history projects at once and that thought kind of makes me want to cry.

Do your kids do a family history report/project at school? If so, what is your experience with it? Good or bad?

Have you been over to visit my co-host Amanda at Parenting by Dummies yet?

Colds and coughs are most easily transmitted during the wet, cold months, so it’s no wonder that the phrase  ”something is going around” seems to uttered frequently during the winter and spring.

Did you know that:

• On average, people have a cough or cold for 2½ years of their lives, and for about one year of this time they are unfit to attend work!

We all know that getting a cold is just a part of life (for most of us, anyway), and costs money.  It costs money to buy medicine and it costs money when we lose wages at work.

With these factors in mind, I think it’s a great time to ease the burden of a cold with a few freebies.

Up for grabs is a Vicks VapoRub Giveaway valued at $120! 

• Vicks Germ Free Humidifier
• VapoRub: 2 jars
• VapoRub Lemon: 2 jars
• VapoRub Cream: 2 bottles
• BabyRub: 2 jars

One winner will win $120 worth of Vicks VapoRub Products.

Entry Requirement:

Disclosure:  The merchandise for the cold & cough basket has been provided to me for giveaway because I’m a Vicks Blogger.

#2 turns 10 today.  TEN.

Emma is such a sweet, sweet girl.  Being her mother for the past 10 years has truly been a blessing.  From the moment she was born I’ve been in love.  She’s super helpful, and even though she’s on the quiet side, she can be assertive when she needs too.  She doesn’t let anyone walk all over her, and she’s super loyal.  I *heart* this girl so much and hope that she has her best year yet.  She deserves it.

Wordful Wednesday 411:   Wordful Wednesday is like Wordless Wednesday, except WITH words.  It’s for those of us that just cannot be wordless, no matter how much we try.  Add  my Wordful Wednesday badge to your post (right side bar under “WW”) if you really want to make me happy, and then add your post link to the linky below.  Easy peasy.

Child #3 just joined Cub Scouts.  His very first meeting was The Pinewood Derby, which is a pretty big deal in the Cub Scouting world.  It’s a good thing he has a dad that went through the Scouting program and knew what to expect and what to do.

They had exactly ONE day to carve, mount and paint Garrett’s car.

And I had exactly one day to buy his his cub scout shirt and  iron on the requisite patches.

The race was pretty fun.  We were convinced Garrett’s car would smoke the competition, but it um.  only smoked a few.

It did win a ribbon for most sleek car, though.  Next year we are going for fastest car.  :)

Have any of your boys won The Pinewood Derby?  If so, what is the secret?  

Have you been over to visit my co-host Amanda at Parenting by Dummies yet?

In celebration of seeing what SEO can do for a single blog post, I’m giving away a $50 Gift Certificate from HalloweenCostumes.com to buy clown costumes so that you to can throw a Circus Themed Birthday Party and have the guest or guests of honor arrive in style.

I’ve been blogging for years now, and in that time I’ve learned quite a bit about SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  I’ve been able to utilize this knowledge on sites that I write/work for, but on my own blog, my emphasis is not so much of SEO as it is on my family and what interests me.

However, recently I wrote a post using all the tools I’ve learned about SEO, and guess what?  It totally worked.  The post brings in LOTS of organic traffic and it shows up on the first page of a Google search for “How to Throw a Circus Party“.  The best part is that the post was not written with any other purpose than to showcase my twins super fun circus themed party.

One winner will win $50 in credit to HalloweenCostumes.com to use toward clown costumes or accessories.

Entry Requirement:

Nothing like publishing a year in review post 2 weeks after the New Year, right?

These Year in Review posts that I do are always fun for me because it’s a great opportunity for me to see what my monthly highlights were.  Heavens know I can’t remember!  2011 found me busier than ever, but not on my blog.  Apparently.

In January Jeff and the kids and I took a 2 week vacation to Florida.  I believe that I posted about the trip in February, though.  I also became a Contributing Editor on SITS and I geared up for bringing home a DOG.  That was huge.

February found me recapping our Florida Vacation here and here.  Good to know I didn’t drop the ball on that one!

What do you know?  I dragged my Florida Vacation posts into March here and here.  I also finally introduced Bisco the dog to everyone.  He’s cute, isn’t he?  Child #1 also asked to not be showcased on my blog any more.  I’m glad she forgot.

In April I turned 35.  Oh wait.  That was the previous year.  April was the month that we lost and found the dog.  BIG stuff.

In May Jeff and I decorated the twins room in a pirate theme (very cute) and I got my craft on by making my girls a cute bulletin board for their room.  It seems like something else must have happened that month (oh yes, Mother’s Day), but apparently not.

June found the dog ingesting his first dose of chocolate.  Since then he’s become addicted and we’ve had to give him hydrogen peroxide 3 times to get him to throw up after getting into chocolate.  Again.

In July I’m positive I went camping in Utah with my family, and my brother in law crashed and almost ripped off his ear, yet I didn’t post anything about it.  Hum. Oh, I remember why now.  I couldn’t post pictures without giving away my dads Christmas present.

August was a good blogging month.  I attended my first BlogHer (BlogHer Day 1, BlogHer with Parenting by Dummies and More BlogHer) and took the kids to Olvera Street and Union Station in Los Angeles.

In September I wrote one of my favorite pieces for the Million Mom’s Challenge and ABC.  I shared a few glimpses of my trip to Utah from the previous month (herding sheep and Temple Hill).  Oh, we also noticed for the first time that the new Pfister boxes were out with the twins on them.  How could I forget that my kids went back to school this month?

In October I didn’t publish anything worth mentioning.  Sad, right?  Not even Halloween pictures.  Those better be coming in November….

Let’s see:  November.  Nope, I didn’t publish any Halloween pictures….I did recognize that my little guys turned 6 though, and that they still destroy everything in sight.  Oh, I also published my favorite chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe.

And last but not least, December.  I shared pictures of the twins Circus Themed Birthday Party and how to Make S’Mores in a Jar.  Yummy!

Here’s to a better year.  One in which I’m a little more forth coming with things that actually matter to me……

Jeff and I took the kids to the Norton Simon Museum on New Year’s Eve.  LOVE that museum.  It’s relatively close to my house, it’s in a fun area of Pasadena,  and kids are free. It’s one place that we can go as a family and pay the same price as if Jeff and I were on a “date”.  Going on New Year’s Eve was really fun, too because we got to see all the preparations for the Rose Parade, but without all the people.  (The Norton Simon Museum is that building that’s always shown on TV during the parade with a big rose on the face of the building. (The museum is right on Colorado Blvd and directly across from the KLTA cameras.)

Anyway, this was the first time we’ve taken the kids to the museum when they’ve taken cameras of their own, and I was DYING.  DYING.  We went straight outside to the sculpture garden when we arrived and I’ve never seen such avid photographers (with the exception of Emma. I think she might have been appalled).  Click, click, click went those cameras.  Click, click, click some more.

For some reason all of the photos were of a common theme.   Naked People.

When we headed inside I captured this:

Look closely.

Yep, that’s Jacob taking pictures of naked ladies.

And the girls wondering if they were seeing half naked breasts. And taking a picture, just in case.

Those avid photographers weren’t nearly as excited about taking pictures when we got to areas with portraits of clothed people.

See that confused look on Emma’s face?  I think she’s thinking, “another semi exposed breast?“

Are your kids drawn to naked sculptures and paintings at museums, too?

Have you been over to visit my co-host Amanda at Parenting by Dummies yet?

I love the idea of sharing my life in list form, so when my good friend Nicole (and fellow Momo mommy) of Moments that Define Life created the meme Listable Life, I decided it was just the push I needed to try to share parts of my life in a form I don’t usually use.

So, this week my listable life topic is:

5 Posts I’m Proud Of:

I’d do it again if I had to, but I’m glad I don’t.
Humiliation, Thy Name is Mother
Going Home
The Great Escape
My Heritage

I chose these posts because they are more “revealing” (and humorous in one instance) than most.

Are you going to play along today too?

In early December I was shopping in my favorite used book store and hit upon a treasure-trove of LIFE magazines from the 1940′s, 1950′s, 1960′s and 1970′s.  They were filthy and many were really ratty, but I thumbed through them anyway.  I even bought a few but gave them away as Christmas gifts.  Now I wish I had kept at least one for myself because the historical content and ads were so interesting and entertaining.  I literally could have stayed in the store all day looking through the magazines.

Today I came across the Vicks Time Line - A Century of Caring and I started kicking myself for not keeping any of the LIFE magazines, because I would SO love to see a vintage Vicks® ad in original print!  Maybe I’ll have to “borrow” the magazines and take a peek?  {smiling}

I am partial to the ads that Vick’s had in the 1940′s.

I mean, how cute is that little girl?  And the words?  ”MY MOM IS SURE SMART”.  Um, hello.  Me likey.  If only my kids would BOTH say and BELIEVE that.  {laughing}  Since their dad is a pharmacist, I am quite positive that they will NEVER think I’ve got smarts when it comes to medicine.  They know who has a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in our home and it certainly isn’t me.  I also love that this was the first color print ad Vicks® ran.

Moving on to another decade….who remembers the line of Vicks® for kids that was introduced in the 1980′s?

In the late 1980′s Vicks® introduced their Pediatric line with 3 “just for kids” products.  I clearly remember always having a bottle of Vicks® Formula 44D on hand at my house. (They also came out with Vicks® Formula 44M and Vicks® Formula 44 with cough suppressant.)  I also remember having it administered on a regular old spoon from the silverware drawer in the kitchen.  Apparently a teaspoon loosely meant a teaspoon (and not the measuring teaspoon kind) in my house.  That form of administration would never fly in this one.  :)

Do you have any memories associated with a particular decade of Vicks®?

A special thanks to the makers of Vicks for some seriously fun advertising approaches over the years and for choosing me to be a Vick’s Blogger!  Images owned by Vicks and used by permission.