Free Snapfish photo book!

Did you see Oprah today??? Snapfish is giving away free custom cover photo books for the next 48 hours (regularly $29.99). These are the hardbound books. Can you believe it??? All you have to do is go to
Oprah's site to get the coupon. What a great Christmas present for someone. Remember to act fast!

WFMW - On the Go Meal

You know those days when you are never at home for more than 20 minutes at a time - when you are running nonstop from one thing to the next? We have a couple different meals that I make on those days to try and avoid fast food. This is my family's current favorite for hectic days.

My super talented friend Irene made these one day when she brought her son over to play with Ella. She came to my house and cooked us lunch - how great is that!! I was skeptical that my kids would eat it - they are super picky - but these are basically deluxe pigs in a blanket and the kids can't get enough of them (Neither can my hubby - they are so yummy)!

I know ya'll know how to make these but I don't think I would have ever thought to do it with these ingredients. All you need are two things from Trader Joe's. I apologize in advance if you don't have a Trader Joe's - just look away now.

Ingredients:

One package of Trader Joe's pizza dough (super cheap - less than $1.00!)
One package of Trader Joe's Sun-Dried Tomato chicken sausage (pre-cooked).

Bless Trader Joe's for their convenience foods. I try to keep these on hand for crazy days. I took pictures of the process yesterday while talking on the phone - excuse the quality.

Step one: Break dough into five different pieces.

Step two: Flatten dough and wrap around sausages. Don't worry if they are not even or look ugly - they're meant to. Put on a cookie sheet and cook at 425 degrees for approx 15 minutes or until golden brown.


Here's what they look like done:


I like to wrap them each up individually in foil and take them with us. We almost always make these on baseball days. Probably not the healthiest of foods but it makes me feel better than having them buy a hot dog (although we do that too sometimes). I have also been known to throw these at the kids in the car while hurrying to some activity. It's great that they are self contained in the foil and the kids can eat them fast.

I would LOVE to hear what you make on crazy days, we seem to be having more and more of those lately.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games

12 Days of Junkie

Have you checked out Tip Junkie? It is one of my favorite blogs. Laurie compiles the best tips from the internet and moms into one place. I have gotten birthday ideas, fall decorating tips, awesome recipes, etc. all in one place.



This Christmas, Tip Junkie is hosting the Mom-preneur Shopathon. You have to check it out. So many different sites full of awesome stuff to buy. I love the idea of supporting other moms this Holiday season instead of buying gifts from the store. It is one way we can all help each other.

In order to promote the Mom-preneur Shopathon, Tip Junkie is doing a 12 day giveaway! Every day for the next 12 days she will be giving amazing gifts to two lucky winners. I so hope I win! So head on over to her site, you've got to see all these cool stores. While you're there, check out all the Thanksgiving ideas this week. I love some of the centerpieces and placecards.

Happy Shopping!

"I Can Make That" - Teacher Gift

Just a Girl is hosting an "I Can Make That Party" just in time for the Holidays. Everyone is sharing ideas of fun projects to make this year for Christmas. Totally my kind of thing.

I somehow missed that this was happening and just stumbled upon it tonight. So I only have one thing to share that luckily I had pictures of. This is what I did for teachers gifts last year. I completely copied it from my SIL Michelle who always has such awesome ideas. I bought a 2 x 4 ($1.85) and had Home Depot cut it down for me. Out of that one piece of wood I covered the kids teachers, some other Christmas projects, and had some left over. I used paint I had on hand and ordered the vinyl from my SIL (The Letter Cafe). I believe the vinyl was just a couple dollars. I wrapped it up in cellophane with candy and ribbon. I liked that it was something different and not too pricey!



(I also had ribbon tied around the wood - this picture was taken before that step. But I think it looks fine like this also.)

Variations:

- Instead of using the teacher's name you could put "favorite" across so it would read "favorite teacher," or any other saying pertinent to the teacher "music teacher," etc.

- I also made some with only the word "Believe" across, distressed the wood, and gave it with a copy of this book.

- These are great to have on hand to give as last minute gifts. I made a couple extra last year with "Ho Ho Ho" across them. It was nice to have a gift ready to go when needed. I ended up giving them all away.

You can see more fun Christmas projects here here.

the METHOD:



the ANTICIPATION:




the MOMENT:

The kids ganged up on us a couple of weeks ago and begged for a trip to the bowling alley. I'm so glad they did because we had such a good time. The funniest part was watching Ella during the long wait for her ball to make it down to the pins. She had so many dance moves that she treated the whole alley to. She is a born performer. Spencer, Ella, and I were neck to neck for most of the game (Lance sat out with a shoulder strain). Spencer ended up pulling a strike out of nowhere on the last frame and winning the game. We were happy to see that starting next month our bowling alley is offering $1 games on Monday nights. We will be back there again soon.

One last memory. Ella and her pink ball. There were far lighter balls for her to choose from but once she saw pink there was no going back. She fell to the floor right after this picture was taken because of the weight but she perservered and used the ball all night. Once Ella makes up her mind, there is no going back.!

One more hot deal

We just got back from a whirlwind shopping trip. In the past week both my kids have outgrown all their pants. Every. Single. Pair. For Ella this is the usual - she grows like a weed. For Spencer, this is monumental. He has been in the same size for 3 years now!

I was excited to find that Carter's is having a HUGE sale this weekend. 60% off all their fabulously cute jeans and cords, 60% off all their Christmas clothes, 50% off their fall jackets, it goes on and on. We stocked up on clothes for Ella.

Unfortunately, no such deals for Spencer. But at the rate he grows, we sure do get our moneys worth out of all his clothes.

I love finding good deals :)

On my radar

1. Have you seen these Thanks and Giving Trees? Not only is it a fabulous idea from Chocolate on my Cranium, but she also provides the PDF files so you can easily have them too! I printed some up and we are working on filling in our trees. I love how it promotes the service side of gratitude. I think this will be a new tradition in our house every November. She also has a FHE lesson to go along with this and the lessons on her site through the month of November will focus on thanks or giving.

2. Speaking of giving, are you looking for opportunities to help teach your kids about service? I was so excited to find this. This site lists volunteer opportunities by zip code. Couldn't get any easier.

3. I've been eyeing this USA art for Spencer's room from Pottery Barn but don't like the price tag. I then realized how easy it would be to make myself. I have the canvas and supplies and will be working on it this week. I'll post pics when I'm done.

4. BeanPlate is a brand new blog that focuses on "eating well on a tight budget." Sounds like my kind of place. I love the description on the site - "Using accessible whole ingredients and the thrifty tried and true methods our grandmothers, we're cooking through the recession one plate at a time." I'm excited to see more recipes.

5. This article in the Arizona Republic about Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie Dialogues) and her sisters is beautiful. Read it if you get a chance but be sure to keep kleenex handy.

"Okey Dokey"

Ella: Mama, I need an okey dokey.
Me: What's an okey dokey?
Ella: You know an okey dokey (gesturing with hands).
Me: You mean the hokey pokey?
Ella: Mama you so silly!


Later on . . .

Ella: Spencer you get me okey dokey.
Spencer: What?
Ella: I need an okey dokey.
Spencer: Okey Dokey?
Ella: Yes, an okey dokey!
Spencer: I don't know what that is.


Much later at Trader Joe's . . .

Ella: Mama, we buy an okey dokey?
Me: Sweetie I don't know what that is.
Ella: I really really want one.
Me: Trader Joe's doesn't sell okey dokeys.
Ella: Oh, okay.

After dinner, Spencer sat down and starteed to work on a Sudoku puzzle. Ella jumped up, ran across the room and exclaimed "An Okey Dokey!!! You found one!!!"

Me: Oh! You want to do a sudoku!
Ella (exasperated): Yes, an okey dokey!

We were laughing so hard, I think sudoku has permanently been replaced by "okey dokey." I just love 4-year-olds.

WFMW - Toys Worth Buying (Board Games)

I have been so excited for WFMW this week. The theme is TOYS WORTH BUYING. I can't wait to read everyone's recommendations.

We are a family who loves board games. We have several cabinets full of them and are always on the hunt for more. One of the reasons I love consignment sales is to sell the games we haven't liked and try new games out cheap. Anyway, here are my top recommendations for board games. Because I'm lazy, I put the manufacturer's description with each game with my review following.

FOR YOUNGER KIDS:

Zingo Product Description from Manufacturer: Bingo with a Zing!
A fast-paced, simple variant of Bingo. Players try to fill their image cards with matching tiles from the"Zingo Master"; first player to fill his/her card wins! Rules can be adjusted to favor more or less competition among players, and to vary length of time that each game takes to play. Zingo teaches shape and pattern recognition, as well as observation, and short-term memory.

This game has been very popular at our house. Spencer loved it when he was in preschool and now it is Ella's favorite. I brought it to preschool once for all the kids to play (up to 8 players can play at once) and afterwards every mom bought one for their kids. It is easy enough that the kids can play together without adult supervision and it is one that my kids will sit and play forever. It is a great first game because reading is not required - they can just match the pictures but it is still fun for older kids as well.

4 Way Countdown - Product Description from the Manufacturer:
Take the ultimate math challenge. Kids can practice their skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills by simply using the numbers on the dice. The first to flip over all 10 numbered keys wins the game. Game board includes sliding cover for easy storage. 2-4 players.
We bought this game in the clearance section one year after Christmas for $2. We were so surprised by how much fun it is. Each player has 10 numbered keys that they are trying to flip over. On your turn, you roll the dice and choose a function to make a number 1-10. For example, if you roll a 2 and 1, you could add to make 3, subtract to make 1, multiply to make 2, etc. So the kids are constantly thinking of different math solutions to get the numbers they need. To make it a little harder, if certain number's are rolled you have the option of turning all your opponent's keys back over so they are at the beginning of the game again. I have probably made this game sound a lot more complex than it actually is. We gave this as a class gift to Spencer's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes.

Cranium Conga- Product description from manufacturer: Cranium Conga is the fast-paced "guess what I'm thinking" game that will get your whole family acting, sculpting, guesstimating, and picking hilarious words. Conga celebrates the fun facts and funny memories that only someone close to you would know. This delightful game offers giggles and laughs for everyone -- from 8-year-olds, to teenagers, to mom and dad -- so turn off the TV and share some high-flying fun.
This game focuses on how well you know the people around you. In typical Cranium fashion there is acting, sculpting, etc. We have played this often on family nights. The suggested age is 8+, I would disagree and say 5+ (as soon as they are reading and writing). Ella plays now with us with help from her parents :)

FOR OLDER KIDS (AND ADULTS!):

Ticket to Ride Product description from the manufacturer: October 2, 1900. 28 years to the day that noted London eccentric, Phileas Fogg accepted and then won a L20,000 bet that he could travel "Around the World in 80 Days". Now at the dawn of the century it was time for a new "impossible journey". Some old friends have gathered to celebrate Fogg's impetuous and lucrative gamble--and to propose a new wager of their own. The stakes: $1 Million in a winner-takes-all competition. The objective: to see which of them can travel by rail to the most cities in North America--in just 7 days. The journey begins immediately. Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure where players collect cards of various types of train cars that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. Included in this popular game made by Days of Wonder is a detailed board, game cards, help cards, rules, train miniatures, and more!
Ticket to Ride is one of my all time favorite games. We play this over and over and over and I am still not sick of it. The game involves a lot of strategy but it is easy enough for a kid 8+ to play as well. If you need a GREAT board game - this is it! One more nice thing, it doesn't take all night to play like Monopoly or Risk, typical game is about 45 minutes.

Carcassonne Product description from manufacturer: The southern French city of Carcassonne is famous for its unique Roman and Medieval fortification. In this clever tile-laying game, players develop the area around Carcassonne and deploy their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters and in the fields. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine the victor. For 2-5 players.
This is another strategy game. If you liked Settlers of Catan, chances are that you will LOVE this. You take turns laying tiles trying to build roles, cathedrals, monasteries, etc. The game has an element of both skill and luck. It is definitely not your standard board game and a lot of fun!

I would LOVE to hear your favorite games - we are always looking for more!

For more fun toy ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder

Best Laid Plans

Two years. For two years Spencer has been talking about this election. He has been reading about the candidates. Learning about the process. Deciding on the issues. Coming to his own conclusions about who he wants to be president. Learning about the voting process. Asking to come to the booth with me. Anticipating the day.

Spencer woke up yesterday morning with a fever. Not even a mild fever. The kind of fever that knocks you on your back and makes you wish you were never born. In fact, I think that was one of the things he moaned yesterday in the throes of his illness. He kept asking "why me?" and I kept thinking "why today?"

Once we got the fever under control (after a round of ibuprofen and Tylenol), we modified our election plans. I headed to the library and picked up a few more books for Spencer (Wackiest Pets of the White House, Don't Know Much About the Presidents). Between his naps, we read the books I had planned (see yesterday's post). The kids definite favorite was So You Want to be President - it had both of them laughing out loud.

Oprah had an election day special yesterday so the kids and I watched it together. She focused on first time voters and the importance of the vote. It was neat for Spencer to hear the stories from immigrants who never had the chance to participate in democracy before.



We started watching the election coverage right at 7PM. I printed up blank maps for the kids to color in red and blue as different states were decided. They both were really excited whenever a state was called. Ella colored an extra map all red for Spencer since she knew how much he wanted "McCains" to win. Her candidate was Obama. Since Spencer had been too sick during the day to get on the computer and play the different trivia games, I printed up a bunch of trivia for us to quiz each other during the coverage - but mostly we just watched.

I will never forget the moment the election was called. I was not prepared for the surge of emotions that run through me. He wasn't even the guy we were hoping for (in truth, I wasn't too pleased with either choice). Yet I couldn't stop crying. What an amazing day for America. I still cannot wrap my mind around the historical significance of yesterday. I am still processing my feelings. Last night the cynical apathetic side of me was blown away.

I am so glad that Spencer was able to stay awake for the entire thing. He was disapointed that McCain lost but ready to support our new president. How great was McCain's speech? What a wonderful thing for Spencer to hear and see someone who was gracious in his moment of defeat. Setting aside all politics, Obama's speech was inspiring. He has a huge job ahead of him and I am looking forward to seeing what he can accomplish.

Although Spencer was unable to go to the booths and we had to rearrange some plans (election dinner), he was able to stay up and see such an incredible night. I hope it is a day he will remember.

Election day with kids

Can you believe the election is today? Spencer has really gotten involved in the whole process (think Alex P. Keaton) so we are having a day full of election fun. Here is a list of some fun things you can do with the kids to include them in the day.

Books:

Duck For President by Doreen Cronin is the perfect book in my opinion. It is written by the same team that did "Click Clack Moo." It is fun enough to keep my 4-year-old interested, educational enough for my son, and entertaining enough for me to want read several times without going bananas. The story follows the life of Duck who is disatisfied with life on the farm and all his chores. He decides to hold an election to replace Farmer Brown. He wins and realizes that he now has more work to do so he moves on to running for governor which lands him in even more trouble. The book shows the political process in such a fun way and with enough satire to keep adults interested. We will be reading this book again at breakfast tomorrow.

Vote by Eileen Christelow is another good book that explains the election process in a little more detail. The pictures are great so it is something fun for little kids to look through. I will have this out tomorrow for Spencer to read and Ella to look at.






Our lunch plans for tomorrow include So You Want to be President by Judith St.George. This book is filled fun trivia about past presidents that appeal to kids. As it goes over different character and physical traits of past presidents it shows the kids that anyone can grow up to be president. Here is part of a review from Publisher's Weekly "This lighthearted, often humorous roundup of anecdotes and trivia is cast as a handbook of helpful hints to aspiring presidential candidates. St. George (Sacagawea; Crazy Horse) points out that it might boost your odds of being elected if your name is James (the moniker of six former presidents) or if your place of birth was a humble dwelling ("You probably weren't born in a log cabin. That's too bad. People are crazy about log-cabin Presidents. They elected eight")."

Web Sites:

Brain Pop has a ton of information and fun movies about the election process for kids. There are short little cartoons about many topics (for example political parties, presidential power, etc.). The cartoons look like they will entertain Ella as well as Spencer. Guess we will find out tomorrow. They also have a pop quiz section which looks like fun.

The Democracy Project from PBS Kids looks great for older children. They have a section showing what a difference one vote has made at different points in our history, another section details what is great about the 2008 election. They also have a place where kids can make their own election stickers.

Time for Kids - Spencer gets this magazine in his classroom and loves looking through it. The website has a bunch of election information presented to kids in an easy format for them to understand.

Food:

I am still working out the kinks on this but we are going to vote on different parts of our meal tomorrow night. I think the kids will get a kick out of it.

This site tells you what places will give you free food after you vote (i.e. Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, Ben and Jerry's, etc.)

I am looking forward to watching the election unfold tomorrow night with Spencer. He really is so excited - it's cute! It has also made me brush up on the whole political process. I think we might also print up a map of the United States tomorrow for him to guess which states are voting which way based on predictions. It might be fun for kids to make predictions of their own and then see what happens.

Happy voting everyone!

Are we overscheduling our kids?

I went to Spencer's parent teacher conference today. While we were talking, it came up that she leaves her classroom open during lunchtime for kids to work on homework and projects. She eats lunch in there and helps the kids that need help. She mentioned that she does this because parents these days micromanage every aspect of their kids lives which doesn't often leave room for the kid to even choose to do the work they are assigned. The kid can have the best of intentions but by the time they get home from school (4 PM or later) if they have extracurricular activities they don't have time for homework. She says that a large majority of the kids eat lunch in the room and work on homework. Spencer often eats in there, not to do homework, but to help another kid with payroll for their class. He LOVES doing the math.

I am happy that she makes this option available but sad that in 5th grade kids are skipping lunch to get homework done. I remember doing that in high school, not elementary.

We live in a highly competitive area. It is not unusual to have your kids involved in something every day of the week. We have tried to limit Spencer's extracurricular activities to 3. He does a sport, Odyssey of the Mind, and scouts. We usually have been able to fit homework in but there are mornings where he is doing it before school. Thank goodness Spencer is an insanely early riser and has a good three hours before school even starts. Spencer has not even had a very heavy workload when it comes to homework. I don't know what we would do if he did.

So I realize that not everyone lives in uber-competitive Fairfax county. I'm curious, is this a problem where you live?

FHE and Faith

Halloween pics are going to have to wait until tomorrow. The kids begged for FHE tonight after church (our meeting time is 2-5 pm) so we quickly had dinner and an improptu FHE. Ella conducted which always makes for a long but fun evening. If you ever need a time filler, Ella's your gal. She can make up a 5 minute song on the spot complete with dance moves and plenty of angst much to Spencer's chagrin. It was a typical FHE: lots of teaching moments, some fun, some spiritual moments, and at least one person crying before its over (I really wish I was kidding).

I heard a quote last month about faith that I have been thinking about a lot today. I'm not sure why it's on my mind, whether it applies to a situation we are currently going through (adoption) or the grace that I have seen demonstrated by several family members and friends who have recently had some pretty big trials. But I think this quote very succinctly explains faith.

HOPE is the anticipation that the outcome will be good

WORRY is the anticipation that the outcome will be bad

FAITH is the anticipation that whatever the outcome, it will be for our
good.

Don't you just love that?

Halloween: A retrospective

4 Years ago:

3 Years ago:

2 Years ago:



1 Year ago:

Last Night:

This little exercise reinforced something that Spencer said when looking at our pics from Disney World this summer: "We are just not picture taking people mom." I have great pictures of both kiddos apart but trying to find a picture of them together was painful. I agree Spencer, I wholeheartedly agree.

Halloween week was awesome. I say "week" because we had activities every single day. Is it just me or is Halloween slowly creeping up to becoming a bigger holiday? It was fun but boy am I tired. I will post more pictures of the kids, costumes, candy, pumpkins tomorrow. Tonight Lance and I are busy eating away at the pillowcases full of candy they brought home.

Now that October is over, do you know what month it is??? It's NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). The challenge is to write a post every single day for the month of November. I wanted to try it last year but got caught up in the craziness of something I can't remember now. So this month I'm promising a new post daily. Who knows, maybe I'll even get around to posting the aforementioned Disney pics. Should be fun!

Murder Mystery Dinner

For our combined activity this month, the YW were in charge so we did a murder mystery dinner (here). It was so much fun and a huge success so I thought I'd pass the idea on.

The murder mystery is actually a story from the Book of Mormon but the kids have no idea. The game is played in three rounds with food served at the beginning of each round. We did chips and salsa, taco soup, and dessert for our rounds.

This activity works well with a small group or large group because each table of eight works by themselves. The game starts with a leader setting the scene and reading the character descriptions. I made packets for the kids with this info, a nametag, and a sheet of paper to take notes on. This was set on each table before the kids came in.

The scene reads:

The scene is the home of Judge Jones, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. On this Thursday evening, Judge Jones was found murdered. He had multiple stab wounds and was found lying in a pool of blood. There are six suspects, all with a motive for the murder.

We had a leader at each table who was in charge of handing out the clues at the beginning of each round and keeping the discussion going.

The kids really got into trying to solve the murder. They dissected all the clues while they ate, took notes on what different characters said, and had very strong opinions about who they thought did it. Even our kids who sometimes struggle were very into this activity. At the end we asked each table who they thought did it and why.

The best part though was the ending. After each table explained who they believed was the murderer, we revealed it was a story from the Book of Mormon. We used the revised script found here for the reveal. We had a member of the bishopric summarize the scripture story while two YM leaders read directly from the scriptures when he asked them too. (It's all in the revised script). I was initially hesitant about the # of scriptures it included because of the glazed eye effect you get with teenagers quite often while scriptures are being read - but it was absolutely perfect. Because the kids had gotten so invested in trying to solve the mystery, they were making connections right and left while the scriptures were being read. They were literally sitting on the edge of their seats and I heard lots of "OH!" and "NO WAY!" and other various exclamations. It was neat to have them understand the scriptures so much better because they had literally been in the middle of the story themselves trying to figure out what happened. (It is the story in Helaman of the Chief Judge's murder). They could see the confusion that ensued from that particular event and why different people acted the way they did.

We ended with the same member of bishopric talking about how we are told to "liken the scriptures unto ourselves" and then he bore testimony of following the prophet.

We had VERY simple decorations. I had the worst head cold and Lance was out of town right up to a minute before the activity (he showed up in a cab and hopped in the car to come up to the church). We knew we only needed four tables so we were able to do it in the primary room. Our mutual just switched to Thursdays and our numbers have significantly dropped due to sports etc. - so sad!

As a side note, when we did this activity in Seattle I went all out with decorations. That was the night I unfortunately learned we were not allowed to have lit candles in the church building. Fortunately, I didn't learn that until after the activity so we were able to have cool decor. I HATE the candle rule but I understand the need for it.



I made the body outline out of a vinyl tablecloth from the YW closet. I was cutting so fast, significant mistakes were made.



One last thing - Something that I think worked really well was how we had the youth enter the room. We were kind of tricky. While the youth did opening exercises in the chapel, I explained the game to the four leaders I had sitting at the tables and had them at each table ready to go. The other YW leaders sent the kids down in groups of four (we tried to send four friends or chatty kids together). When they came into the room I would give those four kids all the same character so they would each be at a different table from each other. I think this helped keep the kids more focused on the game.