Random Thoughts From A Stay At Home Mom

Happy 6th Birthday, Little Man!

2012-02-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that it has been six years already since our Little Man was laid into my arms for the first time and we got to see his beautiful little face. We never could've begun to imagine how much joy having a third child could bring to our family. He has a way of making us all smile, even when we're having a really bad day. In honor of our special birthday boy, here is a trip down memory lane.

Little Man had his own little temper from the time he was a few weeks old

His "what are you looking at?" expression

Hopeful to finally get teeth in time for his first Christmas

Being his silly self

My absolute favorite picture of Little Man

Handsome Little Man

How to combat bedhead

He has a style all his own

Always smiling!

Ready for a swim

Happy 6th Birthday, Little Man!

Let's Go To The Movies

2012-01-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up, my favorite movie was "Annie". Perhaps that is exactly why the video above comes to mind when I think about my plans for tomorrow night. Tomorrow is the release of a very long anticipated movie, and I have plans to go to the movies with my best friend just to see it. I have been anxiously awaiting "One For The Money" for about seven years now, ever since I first discovered the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. That was when I also read that the movie rights for "One For The Money" had been purchased not long after the first book in the series had been published. When I found out that there would one day be a movie, I couldn't wait to see my favorite characters come to life on the big screen. I didn't think that the wait was going to be as long as it was. My wait is finally coming to an end! Here is the trailer for "One For The Money". It looks every bit as exciting as the books!

I love being 'Pampered'

2012-01-24T14:31:00.000-05:00

I love being pampered! Or should I say "I love being a Pampered Chef independent consultant!"? I really do. I have always loved the Pampered Chef products, and I'd thought about selling it over the years, but I honestly wasn't sure that I had it in me to sell it. I can't begin to count the number of times that I've had family and friends suggest to me that I become an independent consultant after going into great detail about why I love each product. Still, I didn't think that I'd be able to actually sell it.

I had tried selling Mary Kay many years ago, and I barely made any money in the entire six months I was selling it. In fact, I almost think that I paid more than I actually sold just so that I could meet the requirements to be active. I finally gave up on selling it when I realized that a) everyone I knew already had a Mary Kay consultant they used, b) not everyone is interested in make-up and skin care, and c) I really didn't have the passion for make-up that I needed in order to sell it.

That passion is exactly why I think Pampered Chef has already proven to be successful for me. I absolutely love my Pampered Chef products, which makes them easy to talk to people about. I don't feel like I'm actually trying to sell the Pampered Chef products. Instead, I'm sharing with others about the many great products that I have loved for years or have recently become excited about. I also get to share great new recipes with them while making new friends along the way! It's so easy for me that I actually sold more Pampered Chef my first month alone than I did the entire six months that I was selling Mary Kay. I am now six months into being a Pampered Chef independent consultant, and this month is proving to be my best month so far. I wouldn't dream of giving up like I did so many years ago with Mary Kay!

Christmas gifts

2012-01-24T14:11:00.001-05:00

Christmas gifts

Post contributed by Leonard Phelps

This past Christmas, our family got a lot of expensive gifts. My husband and I decided to get a new flat screen television for ourselves instead of buying each other gifts. My parents got us a wii, which I was really excited about. My sister got us a blue ray player because our DVD player recently stopped working. My husband’s parents got us a portable DVD player for our car. My husband’s brother got him a kindle. I guess you could say that this was the Christmas for technology. When my husband and I were talking about all of the gifts we got, we decided that we needed to get a security system for our home because we own so many valuable things. We threw away many of the boxes that our gifts came in, and if any robbers were paying attention to our trash, they would definitely figure out what kind of stuff we have in our house. We decided to look at several Ohio home security systems and finally figured out which one would fit our needs. Hopefully we will not have to worry about losing any of our new gifts.

You CAN keep getting your prescriptions from Walgreens

2012-01-13T16:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Recently, we were informed that our insurance would no longer allow us to get our prescriptions filled through Walgreens due to the contract between Walgreens and Express Script not being renewed. While we don't personally get our prescriptions from Walgreens, we do know several people that were greatly impacted by this change. Since they could no longer get their prescriptions from their local Walgreens, they found themselves needing to transfer their prescriptions to other pharmacies, some which were in inconvenient locations. Some had been getting their prescriptions from the same Walgreens pharmacy for so long that their pharmacist knew them by name, and they felt much more comfortable putting their health in hands of their trusted pharmacist. Finding a new pharmacist they felt as comfortable with would be next to impossible for them. Some liked the convenience of the many 24-hour Walgreens locations, allowing them to pick up their prescriptions at more convenient times for their busy schedules. The majority of employers, like their employees, have stated that they still want to have prescription services through Walgreens, but Express Script has taken away that right.

Thanks to the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club, changing pharmacies is no longer a requirement. For a low annual fee, Walgreens customers can continue to get their prescriptions filled at Walgreens pharmacies at a discounted price, with more than 400 generic prescriptions being made available for less than $1 a week. The regular annual price is just $20 for an individual membership or $35 for a family membership, but is being offer in the month of January for only $5 for the individual membership price and $10 for a family membership, which covers yourself, your spouse, dependents 22 and younger, AND your pets! In addition to the prescription savings, you will also receive discounts on flue shots, nebulizers, and diabetic supplies, as well as bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products or use their photo-finishing services.

Walgreens cares about its customers, and wants to help you cover your medical needs. To show your support for Walgreens, please follow Walgreens on Twitter and like Walgreens on Facebook.

This Crazy Georgia Weather

2012-01-10T14:13:00.000-05:00

A year ago, we awoke to the news that school was canceled thanks to the snow that had fallen and ice on the roads. Who could've imagined then that the snow and ice would actually cancel an entire week of school? Things like that never happen here in Georgia. When we have snow, we're usually lucky to have it last through the day, maybe even a second day on a rare occasion. In an area that doesn't see a lot of snow, it doesn't take much to shut everything down. And that is exactly what happened. Many stores were closed because roads were closed. It was next to impossible for many people to get out of their neighborhoods. Our driveway goes downhill from the road, and Georgia Boy couldn't even make it out of the driveway in his truck (with the bed loaded down for extra weight to help travel on the ice) to get to work one of the days.

We had a great time with it, though. The kids enjoyed riding on a sled provided by our neighbors. We attempted a snowman, but it wasn't easy with as much ice was in our yard. Little Man was less than impressed by the second day, opting to stay in more often while Angel Baby and Monster Man played outside. We got some great pictures, though.

Here it is, a year later, and we're seeing weather that is quite different from what we experienced then. Today, the temps reached the mid-60s. While the sky is gray, filled with clouds that threaten to pour rain on us at any moment, but the chances of snow are non-existent any time in the very near future.

It hardly seems like winter today, and I'm looking forward to the day when we do wake up to snow. I would really love a taste of true winter right now!

Private Selection?

2012-01-04T07:02:00.000-05:00

When you hear the words "Private Selection", most people don't automatically think of grocery shopping. To me, it sounds like something along the lines of "Jewelry from the private selection of..." or some other fine items beside jewelry. Perhaps that inference to fine items is what Kroger had in mind when naming their higher quality store brand items.

The Private Selection items at Kroger can be compared to the more fine items that come to mind when you hear the name. After all, Private Selection is the name given to their more gourmet items.

Recently, Bzzagent gave my family the chance to sample some of the Private Selection frozen food items - appetizers, pizzas, and desserts. Appetizers, such as their miniature quiche cups, are made from quality ingredients. They taste great and are easy to go straight from the freezer to the oven, which makes them an excellent choice to have on-hand for snacks, last minute potlucks, or even unexpected guests. The pizzas are also made from high quality ingredients, and they come in a number of options to please all pizza lovers. Their desserts are another great option! You can choose dessert cups, which can be easy to pull out one at a time and heat up when you have a sweet tooth yet are still good enough to pull out and serve to guests. Options like miniature eclairs are great for setting out snack trays or serving larger groups, as well.

We've also tried some of the other Private Selection items - frozen Angus burgers (great for popping on the grill), deli meat, and deli cheeses. Even without the help of Bzzagent to encourage us to try the frozen items, we've become Private Selection lovers!

We hope you had a great Christmas!

2011-12-27T14:14:00.000-05:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was very packed with family, friends, and fun. We hosted the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmother on Georgia Boy's dad's side of the family about a week before Christmas. In the days that followed, we had the church adult Christmas party, the middle school kids' party for church, Monster Man's best friend spend the night, Christmas with my mom and Grandma in North Carolina, Christmas with two different friends' families, and the Christmas Eve service at church... all before Christmas day!

The Christmas Eve service at church was beautiful as usual. This year, both Angel Baby and Monster Man sang at the service.

Angel Baby sang 'O Holy Night'

Monster Man sang 'The Little Drummer Boy'

Christmas morning was the usual fun. I woke the kids up, as I do every year, by coughing 'Jingle Bells' (just how Christmas morning started when I was a girl - my mom doing the coughing!). I'd already managed to get pictures of the tree, presents, and stockings so that I didn't have to worry about the kids moving things or getting into their stockings before pictures were taken.

Once the kids came down the stairs, the fun began! The kids received their first-ever joint Christmas gift from Santa... the Kinect for their Xbox! They loved receiving this special present. Angel Baby and Monster Man both got MP3 players and video cameras, while Little Man got the video game he'd asked for and a few extra toys.

After our Christmas morning, we all got a chance to enjoy our presents for a while before having a second round of Christmas with Georgia Boy's parents, sister, and her boyfriend. By the time that they'd left that evening, we were exhausted! It was well worth it, though. We had a wonderful Christmas!

We are now looking forward to an equally wonderful 2012!

Looking for another phone

2011-12-13T20:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprint for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I've mentioned previously that I have always had a prepaid cell phone plan for my cellular service. Since I barely ever used a cell phone, it seemed like the better deal for me. My husband hasn't had a plan at all in quite some time, but the need for him to have one is starting to become apparent. We've been talking about replacing our home phone service with cell phones, and relying only on internet phone service for our home calls. It just seems like the smarter choice for us, saving us money while allowing us to be reached when we're away from home.

We've been leaning heavily toward the Android™ powered EVO 4G devices offered by Sprint. They have all the latest technology to thrill both me and my hubby, and they give us everything we need right at our fingertips. We can get the HTC EVO 4G or the EVO Shift for free through Sprint, and activation of new lines plus shipping can also be free right now.

Now is the perfect time for us to make the switch. What a great Christmas present this will be for us to give each other this year!

Something a little different

2011-12-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

This rather large postcard arrived today from a Postcrossing member in Russia. This postcard is very different from the others we've received because it isn't just an ordinary postcard. If you cut out out the large zebra shapes and follow the instructions, you get a fun little stand-up zebra.

Here is a quick glance (though not very clear) of the instructions. The pictures come in handy since the instructions are written in Russian.

After you've followed the instructions, the resulting figure will look something like this.

This is such a neat postcard!

From China to Oregon to Our Home in Georgia

2011-12-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

This postcard came to us from Wenzhe, a Postcrossing member from China that is currently living in Oregon to study abroad. Wenzhe reports that studying in the U.S. is exhausting, but is "wonderful" and "one of the most important experiences in my life". I wish the sender much luck while here in the U.S.

Finland

2011-12-06T09:50:00.001-05:00

This great postcard came to us yesterday from Paula in Finland. She lives in the town of Jyväskylä, which is in central Finland. Her interests, like mine, include spending a lot of time watching ice hockey games. She states that the picture on the front of the card shows Jyvasjarvi Lake and Yusto Bridge. I love the reflection on the water!

This card had a very long journey!

2011-12-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

When you first look at this postcard, you would think that it would only take a couple of days for it to make it from the sender, Theresa in Connecticut, to our family in Georgia. Usually, that would be the case. For some reason, however, this particular postcard took much longer than would be expected to arrive at our home.

Without looking at the date written on the back of the card or the postmark, I started reading the message. I found it shocking to read that she and her husband were enjoying the great summer weather in Connecticut. It was 28 degrees when I took the kids to school yesterday morning, so reading about summer weather up north was more than a little surprise. That's when I checked the date...

The card was dated July 14, and it was postmarked July 15. For some reason, the card took 134 days to reach our home from the time it was mailed! Better late than never, though, and we were very excited to receive it.

We got some more

2011-12-02T15:57:00.000-05:00

We've kind of slowed down a little with our Postcrossing ventures, mainly because the costs of international stamps were adding up. The more postcards you send with Postcrossing, the more you receive. Since we weren't sending many, we weren't receiving many either. I finally had the chance to send out several more recently, and we have received four more in return.

As you might guess, this first postcard came to us from Vienna, Austria. The sender, Lena, didn't write much on the back, but the card is still a very welcome addition to our collection.

This postcard came to us from Angelina in Amsterdam. She reports that the houses and buildings you see in the picture were built next to canals. Many were built in the 1600s and later renovated. She also included some great stamps on the back, including one of the queen, Beatrix, when she got married.

This card came to us from Swantje in Germany. There are some great images on the front of the card, each labeled. I wish that the picture had shown up much clearer so that you could see it better.

This last postcard came to us from Pauline in the United Kingdom. She shared a little about her hometown, not far from the town of Bedford (which is pictured on the postcard). Again, I wish that the postcard had shown up clearer so that you could enjoy all the images on the card.

While we've slowed down some on our Postcrossing journey, we are still enjoying the cards we send and receive.

Which Is Cuter?

2011-11-12T06:01:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

There are two major rivals for ultimate cuteness in our world, two cute beings that most people can't help but smile at. It doesn't matter how bad of a mood you are in, or how upset you really are, just seeing a baby or a puppy can turn that frown upside down. But in the rivalry of Puppies vs. Babies, it's hard to really know which one is cutest.

Take my three kids, for example. I happen to think that they were all the cutest babies in the world.

Angel Baby was the sweetest baby girl out there. She always had a big smile on her face, and she was (and still is) so full of personality!

Monster Man was absolutely adorable, even smiling when he was sick, which in his case was almost all the time.

And Little Man stole our hearts, keeping us laughing with his crazy expressions.

Of course, the puppies we had last year were pretty cute, too!

I bet my babies could easily have won the Puppies vs. Babies online contest offered until November 23. While it's too late to submit an entry, I am looking forward to going through each and every photo, voting for my favorites. The winning baby or dog will win $5,000 and will help determine once and for all which is cuter - a baby or a puppy!

Who would you vote for? Check out the photos and cast your votes today!

Cookie Turkeys in Time for Thanksgiving

2011-11-08T15:09:00.001-05:00

A couple of years ago, I made some really cute turkeys with my kids and their friends. They were really simple, and the kids loved making them and eating them. I wanted to share how to make them so that you, too, could make them this Thanksgiving.

What you need for each turkey:
2 fudge-stripe cookies
2 mini peanut butter cups
1 candy corn
melted chocolate chips (to use as glue)
If desired, wax paper can be used in case of any spills of melted chocolate

Directions:
1) Place 1 cookie, striped side up, on a flat surface. I recommend using a plate or tray (even if you desire to cover it with wax paper prior to starting this project).
2) Using melted chocolate chips as glue, fuse together the 2 mini peanut butter cups - wide sides against each other. Hold until set, approximately 15 seconds.
3) Using melted chocolate chips as glue, fuse together one rounded edge of the mini peanut butter cups to the middle of the cookie from step 1. Hold until set, approximately 15 seconds.
4) Using melted chocolate chips as glue, fuse together the smaller flat edge of one of the mini peanut butter cups to the second fudge striped cookie (striped side toward peanut butter cup). In addition, fuse the edges of the two cookies together for extra support. One cookie will be standing upright while the other is laying flat. Hold until set, approximately 15 seconds.
5) Using melted chocolate chips as glue, fuse candy corn (point side down) to the mini peanut butter cups to make a face/beak. Hold until set, approximately 15 seconds.
6) If you desire, use a toothpick dipped in melted chocolate chips to add eyes to the candy corn head.
7) Place in freezer for 5 minutes to help strengthen the bonds created by the melted chocolate chips.

This is such a fun and easy project for the kids, and they look really cute displayed on the Thanksgiving table!

The one pictured here is made slightly different than the ones that I make, but you can see the basic idea. I usually turn the peanut butter cups the other direction for more support of the "tail feathers", but this is a fun way, too, using pecan halves as wings.

Long Time

2011-11-08T12:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the guest post by Eugene Fulton

I took a look at my cable options and decided to get some extra channels. It was either the best or the worst thing I ever did because all of a sudden I feel like all I do is watch TV! I love being at home by myself but you know, at the end of the day I need to be able to take some time for relaxing and that’s what TV does for me. I think my favorite show of the moment has to be Top Chef Dessertsbut the season just ended so I’m stuck watching the real version for now. I like the real one but I’m more of a home baker myself so I don’t get as much out of it when they cook fish and stuff like that. I loved on the Desserts show watching them get curve balls of weird ingredients to use in their desserts and seeing what they came up with. One guy made a turkey and gravy dessert – that was pretty impressive!

Stomach flu!

2011-11-08T09:42:00.001-05:00

The stomach flu has been making its way through town, hitting fast and hard anyone that dares to stand in its path. We thought we were doing a good job avoiding it, but it hit our house last night. We were supposed to go with our church for middle school visitations last night, stopping to visit other middle school students that had visited our church or attend it but not regularly. When Angel Baby and Monster Man got off the bus, we got a few quick chores done and sat down for dinner, wanting to make sure we ate before we left to meet the others at church. As soon as Angel Baby finished her dinner, she rushed to the bathroom.

Needless to say, we didn't make it to the visitations last night. Georgia Boy still wasn't home from work, and I certainly couldn't leave my sick little girl home alone to wait for her daddy while I took the boys to church with me. And, to be honest, I didn't want to take the chance of her germs being on any of us, making the other kids at church sick.

Monster Man, who was looking forward to going to the visitation last night, was not happy at all about having to miss it, and I felt bad telling him he'd have to stay home. It was one of those torn-Mommy moments, when you're stuck between a rock and hard place because you know one of your kids will be upset either way and you can't be both places at once. One of those moments you truly dread. I hated seeing my baby girl so miserably sick, but I also hated seeing my sweet little boy so heartbroken. It took over an hour before he was able to accept that we weren't able to go and that his sister couldn't help that she was sick.

Angel Baby is still miserable this morning. So far, she is the only one to get sick. We're investing in Lysol and bleach this morning, sanitizing the house from top to bottom in hopes of preventing anyone else from getting sick.

Catching back up

2011-11-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

I had thought that once softball season was over, things would slow down a bit. So far, that hasn't been the case. Life has kept us so busy that I just haven't had much time to sit down and update everyone on everything. I will be writing it all as soon as I can, but I wanted to take a moment to share our latest postcards.

This first postcard came to us from Alla in Moldova. We've never received a card from Moldova before this one, so it was exciting to find out a little about a new country. Alla is from Chisinau, and she shares that her city turned 575 years old recently. On the front of the card is the Raciula monastery, which dates back to the 18th century.

This postcard came to us from Dewii in the Netherlands. She shares that most of the buildings in the city of Enschede, where she studies, are quite old. The few that aren't old include the university buildings, which aren't pictured on the card.

This last postcard came to us from Vinon in China. She is a college student studying multimedia technology in Shanghai. She is hoping to be an internet designer next year.

We've really enjoyed all of our postcards, and we are looking forward to receiving many more!

A little Halloween Fun

2011-10-28T07:08:00.000-04:00

Angel Baby and Monster Man had a dance at their school yesterday. It wasn't just any dance, though. It was a pre-Halloween costume dance. I usually buy their costumes on clearance after Halloween for the next year's Halloween. I hadn't done this with Angel Baby, since she's been growing so fast lately, but I had with Monster Man. Unfortunately, he decided he didn't want to dress up like Darth Vader after all. So I told them they could either make due with the costumes they already had (Angel Baby had a couple of costumes that fit), or they could create something new.

Angel Baby decided that she wanted to be a chef, wearing an apron that my mom made along with a chef's hat and a blond curly wig.

Monster Man decided that he wanted to be a nerd. He didn't have glasses (and you can't see his pocket protector in the photo since the photos turned out dark), but he did a pretty good job with the costume.

While they were at their dance, I took Little Man to a fall festival at a local grocery store. He was thrilled that I'd bought him a Batman muscle-suit costume after Halloween last year (and for only $3!).

Museum in Poland

2011-10-24T09:36:00.000-04:00

We received this postcard over the weekend from Anna in Poland. The description of the card isn't written in English, but I was able to translate one single word on the description 'muzeum' to meaning that this is a postcard from a Polish museum. I was also able to determine that this display has some origins to the year 1929.

The Postcrossing member who sent it has been married for 3 years. She works with disabled children, and she is planning a vacation to Croatia. It was great getting to read a little about the sender's life.

Tweety Bird

2011-10-24T09:30:00.001-04:00

We received this postcard from Margie in Tennessee. Since her card came from a little closer to our home, she figured we would enjoy a postcard with this Warner Brothers cutie on it. The kids and I really liked this card, which was a definite change from the usual scenery cards, maps, etc. Little Man especially liked it, and he carried it around the house all weekend.

We are all enjoying receiving all these cards from our Postcrossing ventures.

Help Whip Cancer!

2011-10-12T16:46:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, October is a big month for cancer awareness. In fact, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As pink ribbons adorned businesses, cars, clothing, and Facebook profiles, we are reminded of the importance of monthly screening that can potentially help find and prevent breast cancer from becoming a nightmare that both women and men face.

The Pampered Chef is offering a way to help customers 'Help Whip Cancer!'. During the month of October, many Pampered Chef consultants are hosting 'Help Whip Cancer!' fundraisers, with 25% of their customers' total purchases going to the American Cancer Society. An additional $3 goes to the ACS for each catalog show and cooking show booked through the fundraiser. In addition to these two options, The Pampered Chef offers 13 pink items (available online only) with $1 per item sold going to the ACS.

I am one of the Pampered Chef independent consultants that is hosting a 'Help Whip Cancer!' fundraiser this month. For orders placed on my website between now and October 26 - using organization name American Cancer Society - the American Cancer Society will receive the 25% donation. You don't even have to make a purchase to book a catalog show or cooking show, giving the $3 donation to the ACS.

Please help us 'Help Whip Cancer!' by sharing the fundraiser with others or by visiting my website today.

A video that explains Camp Twitch and Shout

2011-10-09T22:05:00.001-04:00

This video was put together by one of the many inspiring girls at Camp Twitch and Shout, the wonderful camp that Monster Man attended over the summer and that our family attended for family camp a couple of weeks ago. The song playing in the background is one of the main theme songs that the kids learn at camp, R. Kelly's 'The World's Greatest'. It is such a positive message to teach these kids, that they can be what they inspire to be. The boy speaking at the end, sharing his wish for the camp, is Monster Man.

There are many great ways to help Camp Twitch and Shout, including 'Spin for Kids' and 'Denim and Pearls', as well as through the Pampered Chef fundraisers I have been holding (I will be holding another closer to Christmas). If you are interested in helping Camp Twitch and Shout, please check out the website.

PIXAR

2011-10-05T15:21:00.000-04:00

We received a postcard from Tom in Missouri. Tom says he is a big PIXAR fan, especially the movie Cars. His son recently began working as an animator for PIXAR, which is even more reason for him to love the PIXAR movies. We really enjoyed this postcard!