Cosmic Wisdom

December 12, 2012 - Mama 2 Comments

Yesterday, I celebrated my 24th birthday.

I feel like, being just one year shy of a quarter of a century old, I should have some sort of cosmic wisdom to impart on people, particularly people who are younger than me. I feel like there are so many things that I’ve learned in my 24 years of life, but I can’t seem to nail it down into a single cohesive set of wisdom at all.

I do know a few things. I know that there are times that I don’t remember my own name, but I can remember the Hanson hits that came out when I was in elementary school.

I know that I never fully understood unconditional love until I had a child.

I know that while many relationships will fail, and some may even be harmful, but you can learn from each and every one.

I know that I’d rather do something I love and be happy than be miserable doing something I hate.

I know that it’s in the harder times that you learn who is truly there for you.

I know that an amazing support system can work wonders, and without one, it’s sometimes hard to get by.

I know that there are so many things I don’t know yet.

I know there are so many things that I have yet to learn. For now, I’m going to keep enjoying every moment.

Miracle on Main Street

December 10, 2012 - Mama 2 Comments

At church yesterday, we got the pleasure of seeing our annual Christmas Children’s Musical. It’s a chance for the children of the church to put together a great presentation celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

This year, the musical, Miracle on Main Street, really struck me, because it’s so true to how life really is right now.

It opened with the children preparing for their annual Christmas musical, to be held in the town square, when suddenly, the mayor decides to cancel. It’s a re-election year, and he knows that allowing a Christian-themed pageant could cost him some votes, so he blames the cancellation on the fact that it would add to the “traffic.”

The kids decide to take matters into their own hands by going door-to-door caroling, encouraging the residents of the city to call the mayor and ask him to reverse his decision.

At the first house, which was decorated to the hilt, with wreaths and reindeer and candy canes and lights, the children rang the bell and caroled. The homeowners shooed them on their way, saying that the annual town square Christmas scene was too “preachy” and belonged in a church, not the town square.

I feel like, so often, this is true. Many people go full-tilt into the holidays, but are not recognizing the true meaning of Christmas. I recently had a friend who posted an image on facebook saying “Just because I’m an atheist doesn’t mean I don’t love Christmas music!” But I have to ask myself, without Christ, what’s the point? I mean, go ahead and sing all of your “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Santa Baby,” but seriously, that’s so empty. Without Christ, Christmas doesn’t exactly have meaning.

So many people are quick to say “Christmas belongs in church.” It wasn’t that long ago that atheists in one California town got upset over the religious displays set up, and the fact that they won so few of the lottery slots to put up their displays in the town square. They chose to use their spots the following year to trash Christmas and say that it was a lie.

Why even bother?

In the musical, at the second house, which was also decorated quite a bit, the kids rang the doorbell and caroled again. This house’s residents were more welcoming, saying that they loved the music, and that they loved to celebrate all of the holidays. After all, why exclude one if they don’t know which of the tales is the true one?

After that house, the children seemed to decide “If you’re going to celebrate ALL of the holidays, you may as well not celebrate ANY of them… after all, there’s no meaning or spirit behind it to just put on the show of celebrating them all.”

I have to agree. Another of my friends on facebook greeted her children with books from all of the different winter holidays from various religions and cultures, including Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and Yule. They celebrate each one, fully, as though it’s their own belief, even when they acknowledge it isn’t. It’s okay to teach your children about other holidays and religious or cultural celebrations, but I, like the children in the play, question the intent.

I feel this way about it:

Suppose I’m going to rank what is most important to me by giving everything a score of 1-10. I could rank everything #1, but it literally has the exact same meaning as if I ranked everything #10, because nothing is in the lead at all either way.

Finally, in the musical, the children stopped at a third house that was decorated just slightly, a sole wreath providing the only Christmas cheer outside the home.

One of the children questioned if they should even stop, because, after all, there were no flashing lights or bright decorations of candy canes and Santa on the lawn, but the children decided to stop anyway.

As the woman opened the door, the children sang and brought tears to her eyes. The wreath was the only decoration she was able to put up while her husband was away in the Air Force, but she felt that Jesus was a true tie that made them feel close together, even when they were far apart. She promised the children she would call the mayor and beg him to put the Christmas musical back on, noting that she had a special connection at the mayor’s office that might make it possible.

The children said, after she had closed the door, that no matter what the house looked like on the outside, if it had the sparkle on the inside, it’s what mattered, and that her spirit provided enough Christmas cheer on it’s own.

The mayor finally decided to let the children do the pageant, even if it would cost him votes, because, as it turns out, his grown daughter was the one in the house with that lone wreath. She reminded him of the true meaning that Christmas had.

I feel like this is so true, so often, that we let things like public opinion and re-elections and what others think influence how we celebrate Christmas, and how much of an emphasis we put on Christ in the celebrations.

My blog can be bad about that, sometimes… I often show the crafts and the baking and the cheer that we have when we create ornaments and wreaths and cookies, but I sometimes get caught up and forget to show that the true meaning of Christmas isn’t about ribbons and bows…

It’s about Jesus.

Christ is the reason that we have Christmas, celebrating his birth. You can tell me about how we stole the holiday from the pagans, that they’ve been celebrating winter holidays for longer, and you can remind me that Jesus wasn’t born in December, but probably another part of the year. But what I’m going to remind you is that it doesn’t matter when we celebrate, as long as the intent is there.

Jesus came. He preached. He died, was buried, and rose again, covering our sins in His blood, wiping them away, letting us overcome them. He will come again, bringing us back to Heaven to celebrate, rejoice, and praise His holy name.

Christmas is my chance to remember his birth, to remember the miracles God created when the Angel came to Mary and told her, do not be afraid. It’s my opportunity to remember that Jesus was born to save me, to save my son, my parents, my brother, my family, my friends, if only we would take time to accept him.

Despite the ribbons and bows, a true miracle is here, and we need to remember that.

I’m so glad that a Children’s Choir could remind me that, no matter how my house looks on the outside, my inner sparkle needs to be focused on Jesus and really showing others that message.

An Advent Update

December 7, 2012 - Mama 1 Comment

Last week, I showed off our fun Advent calendar made of little boxes with clues that led to a scavenger hunt for the night’s activity. We have been having so much fun with our advent activities, and I have some fun pictures of a few of our favorite activities together this week!

Jeffrey had the honor of getting to read our Advent activity clues for most of this week. It’s always fun to see the excitement as everyone races to figure out or find what the activity is for the night!

The very first night of advent activities, we made paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling of our sunroom. Because we’ve had some relatively snow-free winters the past couple of years, it only seemed right to make some snow of our own.

Nicolas, our student staying with us from Bolivia, had his very first chance to make paper snowflakes— ever! It was so fun to see the excitement on his face as he worked on his snowflake, shaping it and making it unique.

Zach decided playing in his kitchen cabinet was much more exciting than snowflakes, but Jeffrey had a lot of fun using shaped scissors to create a totally new effect!

Even Dad got in on the snowflake fun!

Later in the week, we tried a different activity, which was another repeat from last year’s favorites. We decided to make snowmen out of pancakes! In addition to the pancakes, there were various toppings like bacon, red hots, chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, syrup, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, Andes baking bits, fresh bananas, and more.

I decided to use the bacon as a scarf for my snowman. I forgot to give him arms…

Dad decided to make the bacon arms for his snowman… dad also usually gets stuck with any slightly over-done pancakes…

Jeffrey used Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits as snow on his snowman. For the record, the bacon that the top is not a hat… it’s a unibrow.

Nicolas decided to do the (near) impossible and make a standing snowman!

It worked!

We’ve had a blast with our advent activities so far, and we can’t wait to continue on in the days leading up until Christmas.

The $9 Walmart Monogram Wreath

December 3, 2012 - Mama 2 Comments

I love wreaths. What I like even better is affordable wreaths.

That’s why I decided to head to Walmart to find the supplies for my holiday wreath this year. I knew that I wanted to make it myself, but I also knew that I had less than $10 to spend. I’m not counting the cost of my wreath form, since I re-use the same one from season to season, and I’m not counting paper clips or the mini ornaments I already had on hand.

Start with your wreath form.

Then, gather your special Walmart supplies. I picked up 40 feet of garland ($4.97), a monogram stocking charm ($0.98), and three clip-on poinsettia leaves ($0.97 each). The poinsettias come in plenty of colors, as does the garland, so you can be sure to tailor your color scheme to match the ornaments you have on hand, or match your decor!

Wrap your tinsel garland around the wreath form.

This is where the paperclips come in!

Open the paperclip to make it look like an S. Don’t try to take a picture of it because your camera will be a total jerk.

Cut your paperclip in half, and loop one half through the top of the ornament.

Then, jam that into the wreath.

Be sure to insert your ornaments sporadically. I used mini ornaments purchased cheaply in a post-Halloween sale (apparently purple and green are also Halloween colors).

Go ahead and grab your stocking charm monogram, and put the hook that comes with it on.

Then, clip on your three poinsettia leaves. Each of these has an attached alligator clip that makes them easy to attach onto the wreath– all you do is clip them to the tinsel!

Then, hang it on the door!

There you have it! Easy, AND affordable!

Advent is here!

December 1, 2012 - Mama 3 Comments

I am so excited that it’s finally December. Maybe it’s because I was born in December, or maybe I just love the season, but I literally love everything about December. I love the lights, I love the smells, I love the Christmas foods, I love literally everything about it.

One of my favorite parts is a tradition that our family started last year. Because the holidays can be such a busy time, we added in some time to connect with each other on a daily basis with a fun activity to do each night. We called it our “family advent calendar,” and last year, it began as a simple paper chain with an activity written on each one.

When brainstorming calendars, I came up with tons of ideas, but I finally settled on this one:

I hand-made the little matchboxes, which I had designed using this adorable digital scrapbooking kit from Mari Koegelenberg called 12 Days of Christmas. I punched it up by typing my numbers using the font “Pacifico.”

After making the advent boxes, which took me about an hour to design and then another two hours to print, cut, fold, and glue together, I wrote out clues for each of our activities to put in our boxes.

Sometimes, the clues would be clear about the activity, saying “We’re going to see Santa. Get dressed and head to the car!” but most of the slips just had a clue that was vague and led the family somewhere else.

For example, one slip of paper tells the family to listen to the phone messages to hear their clue. At that point, I will have called the home phone and left the actual activity plan via voice mail. The activity for the night? Using the phone to call distant relatives and sing Christmas carols!

The only rules are that the entire family must participate in each activity, and that we do one activity each night leading up to Christmas.

Because there are so many parties, activities, and opportunities for the family to be going a million different directions during the month of December, we have to be more intentional about making time to connect. It seems like this is truly the most busy time of year, and if we aren’t intentional about it, it’s easy to lose sight of family time amidst the travels from this party to this event to this cookie exchange to this store to buy gifts. It gives us the opportunity to connect, sometimes for 10 minutes, sometimes for 3 hours, every single day leading up to Christmas.

As I mentioned above, I considered several other ideas for advent calendars. I really liked this clue-based system where each night was like a mini scavenger hunt, so I went with it this year. I also needed something that was small, and able to be moved out of Zach’s reach, so we chose it over some of the more space-intensive calendars. Here are some other ideas:

-Get a shoe organizer with 24 pockets. Put one item that represents the activity that night in each pocket, with a card detailing the activity. For example, put cookie cutters in if you’re decorating cutout cookies. Put Santa hats in if you’re taking pictures wearing Santa hats.

-A paper chain with the activity written on each one. Last year, we did this one, and it was convenient and fun, but we wanted to shake it up this year.

-Notes hung on a Christmas tree featuring the notes. This one was appealing, but with Zach being so young, we opted out of having a tree this year. It posed too much of a hazard for his busy little climbing skills, and we don’t like shutting him out of any room of the house.

-In a similar idea as the shoe organizer, you could find 24 boxes, put the item inside, wrap it, number it, and put it under the tree, with the activity to be unwrapped each night. We considered this, even without the tree, but it meant that some items we use frequently would be wrapped up and unreachable until we got to that day.

-Find a 24-pocket muffin tin, fill each little hole with a note stating that night’s activity, and then cover each pocket with a square magnet featuring that night’s number. This idea was really cool, but again, I don’t have an extra muffin tin, and I didn’t want to go to the expense of buying a new one this year. I may pick one up in an after-Christmas sale since bakeware tends to go on sale from some stores post-Christmas baking.

There are literally hundreds of ideas out there, both for calendars and for activities to include. Just typing in “advent” on Pinterest brings up a ton. In fact, there are plenty that take no time at all, so you could decide to start the activities today and have a calendar ready by this evening before you start… it’s not too late, even though it’s the first, to get a jump start on the advent season.

Need an idea for tonight? We will be making paper snowflakes!

Are you doing an advent calendar this year? Share a picture or tell me all about it in the comments below!

Citrus Lane: Fun With Food Review

December 1, 2012 - Mama 1 Comment

It is no secret that I’m a huge fan of Citrus Lane and the companies it introduces me to. With that said, all opinions are my own, and Citrus Lane and the brands mentioned below have not compensated me in any way for my honest review.

As soon as I heard that the Citrus Lane box for November would be Fun With Food, I knew that I was going to love the box. If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you’ll know that I’ve always maintained the stance that I’m a casual foodie, and I love introducing Zach to fun new things at mealtimes. This month’s Citrus Lane box did not disappoint.

This box came with several full-sized items plus a couple of smaller trial items.

The first two items I noticed in the box was a set of four Green Eats snack bowls and a Goodbyn Small Meals container.

The Green Eats snack bowls are awesome. I’ve been a fan of Green Toys for quite awhile, and Green Eats is a division of their company. These bowls are USA-made, plus they’re from recyclable milk jugs. Not only that, but they’re BPA free, of course, plus melamine-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free, and they’re dishwasher safe (top rack). Since we got our box earlier this month, this has been the one item that has gotten the most use. They’re durable, and they’re the perfect size for Zach’s small meals. From oatmeal with pomegranate at breakfast to lasagna soup at night, these bowls dish up every food that he needs. I love that they’re tough, and I love that they’re dishwasher safe, because I’m sorry, but I do not have time to handwash dishes if I don’t have to! My box this month also came with a code for 10% off at GreenToys.com, which means I can order more items that Zach and I can use at a special price. (Green Eats set of four snack bowls, $6.99, available from www.greentoys.com)

The second item was another hit with us, a Goodbyn Small Meals container. It is big enough to hold a full sandwich, as well as snacks, which means right now, it’s still a little too big for Zach’s appetite. However, it makes a perfect snack container for on-the-go. As with all of the containers that Citrus Lane provides, they’re BPA free. The one thing that really threw me off is that you actually seal it by pressing the indentations on the middle of the container instead of pressing the sides… for some reason, I always feel unsure that it got a decent seal. After I figured it out, it became a favorite. Goodbyn has a huge selection of waste-free lunch containers, which is awesome because Citrus Lane subscribers got a code for 25% off of their order! There’s even a flickr feed with ideas for foods to put in the lunch container. Overall, the container is probably getting the least amount of use out of all of the items that came in this box, but that’s mostly because we really don’t go anywhere that we need a traveling container for. (Goodbyn Red Small Meal Container, $7.00, available from www.goodbyn.com)

Zach and I both love PlumOrganics and the philosophies they stand behind. In fact, just today we got an order of tons of PlumOrganics snacks we love… it truly ranks right up there in my top 5 favorite brands for Zach’s age group. We hadn’t had the opportunity to try their Training Meals yet, so it was an exciting opportunity to try it out with this delicious apple cinnamon oatmeal. It can be warmed up once it’s put into a bowl (I served it in one of our Green Eats snack bowls!) The nice thing about this meal is that it has protein, with lots of complex flavor (I tasted it…. and it was REALLY good). The only issue I had with it is that Zach is so used to regular oatmeal that the texture of this was very thin for him. It would be great for younger kids (the packaging indicates it’s for 8m+!) but it still is suitable for adults and older children, too. (This box contained 1 packet to try. (12-pack of PlumOrganics Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, $17.88, from www.ecomom.com)

The Juice Beauty Moisturizer was a great gift for mom… until I lost it. Oops. I’m terrible at reviewing products like this because I tend to either forget I have them, or I lose them, so I feel like I can’t comment too much on how well this worked, since I only used it once. I can tell you that it smelled fantastic. This Nutrient Moisturizer is supposed to bring back pregnancy glow, even when your child is growing up. It’s packed with natural oils and antioxidants, to help nurture skin. Citrus Lane subscribers got a code for $10 off a $40 order, so maybe if I don’t find mine, I’ll be able to order more to try it out! This Citrus Lane box contained a small trial-sized tube valued at $9.00, but full-size products are available on Juice Beauty’s website. (2 ounces of Juice Beauty Nutrient Moisturizer, $36.00, from www.juicebeauty.com)

Even though this Citrus Lane box was food-themed, Citrus Lane didn’t forget to include a great toy for Zach, too! This month, it was fish (which is, by the way, technically a food). These Plan Toys Fish Castanets are perfect for making fun music for kids. What I love is that they fit his hands just right… which means he and I can play the music together. We spent about 15 minutes playing with our fish castanets tonight! It’s fun to clack the castanets and dance along to the rhythms we create. They’re so fun to look at, too! Zach is already such a musical kiddo that I love being able to encourage his musical tendencies, and these toys fit right in. I also love that they’re painted with natural, non-toxic waterbased dyes, with non-formaldehyde glues, from rubber trees that are no longer able to produce latex. They’re earth-friendly and they’re fun to play with! The fish castanets are sold individually; Citrus Lane subscribers got a pair of them so mom and tot could play together. (Plan Toys Fish Castanets, $4.00 each, from www.ecomom.com)

Finally, Citrus Lane decided to help subscribers get a jump start on their holiday cards with a 20% off code for TinyPrints, plus free shipping. Tiny Prints have premium photo prints with fun designs and an easy to use website. Check out the image below, from their website:

Oh my gosh… so cute! Too many gorgeous options on their website to choose from, meaning that it’ll be hard to decide exactly how to use this discount!

Overall, our top pick this month was the Green Eats bowls, but the entire box was a hit!

Want to receive Citrus Lane boxes each month? You can subscribe on their website at CitrusLane.com! The boxes are only $25 per month, and as you can see, you get quite a bit more than that in terms of value. Not only do the boxes give you more than $25 worth of product, they also give you exclusive discounts each month, plus they introduce you to amazing brands. As a new mom, I knew that there were a lot of great products out there, but I had a lot of trouble weeding through the clutter to find the brands that truly worked for me. Citrus Lane allowed me to try out a lot of brands in the beginning that I never would have been able to find. Because they curate the best of the best for their boxes, it really showed me exactly what brands worked for me, and which ones didn’t. Now, even though I’m no longer a “new” mom, I’m still able to find brands I love and also find new products from brands I already know and love. For me, there’s no other truly affordable way to try out a variety of products that I know work for my personality and style, as well as meeting Zach’s needs. And, because I pre-purchase a multi-month subscription, I don’t have to worry about each and every month– it just automatically arrives since I’ve paid in advance.

So, have I convinced you yet? Head here to subscribe, or click on the link in the sidebar.

Two Days with the T-Bot II

November 30, 2012 - Mama 2 Comments

Typically, school follows a pretty set routine where we continue on in our My Father’s World lessons. This week, however, dad has been off work for a random vacation, which meant it was a good opportunity for Jeffrey to deviate from his standard lessons and give dad an opportunity to teach.

We’ve had the Pitsco T-Bot II for several months now, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to open up the box and get to work on it, and the time was finally there. What better way for dad to teach a school lesson than to do something fun for both of them, involving a very fun lesson in hydraulics.

The T-Bot II challenge kit came with a lot of parts. In addition to the entire robot kit, the challenge kit included some items for additional challenges plus a teacher’s guide for activities.

Jeffrey and dad got down to work.

They popped all of the laser-cut pieces out, one by one.

They measured parts and cut them.

They got everything organized and in order.

Then, the real work began.

He glued the pieces and worked with focus on each piece. Jeffrey has a natural instinct when it comes to putting things together. He can usually figure out that sort of thing without looking at the instructions. However, in some instances, he did double check his work against the very detailed images and diagrams in the instruction manual.

Because the T-Bot II is powered by hydraulics, it takes water to make it move, rather than solar, battery, or other forms of power. That means that it needs some sort of connections to power it. These syringes provided the link between the control panel and actual movement.

It was great seeing dad and Jeffrey work together to build the project, side by side.

Jeffrey had the reins, but dad stepped in to help when needed, sometimes providing a stabilizing hand or clarifying something in the assembly instructions.

Jeffrey was able to do a lot of the work on his own, though, with dad’s watchful eye.

Over the course of a day, the robot started to come together, piece by piece, screw by screw, syringe by syringe.

Finally, it was time to connect the syringes in the robot to the syringes that control it.

By the time the tubes were connected and the robot was mobile, it was finally time to stop for the day. The next morning, both boys were up and at it, ready to construct the control panel and the challenges for the T-Bot II to perform.

One of my favorite parts of the T-Bot II project was the little details. For one, the robot actually looks like a person, with arms and eyes and everything. Additionally, the control panel tells you exactly what each syringe controls and how pushing or pulling on the syringe will effect the movement of the robot.

The syringes were filled with colored water so we could see how things worked and moved and distinguish the parts of the robot’s hydraulics.

The robot was able to easily manage challenges with the help of Jeffrey’s hands on the controls, showing the robot exactly what to do.

I would explain more, but really the images don’t do it justice. I’ll just let you see for yourself…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KobxB1Ce-S0]

The T-Bot II from Pitsco provided hours of entertainment and education to both Jeffrey and dad. Additionally, the teacher’s guide is filled with challenges that will help Jeffrey continue to learn math and science while providing a tangible enhancement to his education.

It was amazing to see how he had learned how to build and operate the T-Bot II, and it was fantastic to see him working side-by-side with dad. We’ve already decided we will be getting more products from Pitsco in the future, because this was truly one of the best projects we’ve worked with all year. Jeffrey’s fascination with it truly showed that this is an area that interests him.

On the Pitsco website, there are plenty of options for amazing projects to help kids learn about robots, engineering, math, science, and more, in very tangible, hands-on ways. Jeffrey is such a hands-on learner that this is a great supplement to the other parts of his curriculum.

The best part is that the Pitsco items are pretty darn affordable. Oh, and you can buy the T-Bot II in a 10-pack so it could be used for classes, large families, or boy/girl scout troupes. Or, you can buy it with the challenge set (shown in the video) or you could even buy the challenge set separately if you decide to add it on later.

I couldn’t recommend this set even higher. It’s an amazing tool to teach kids a lot of great technology. Honestly, at 23 years old, I had never really understood hydraulics, and I was amazed at how this robot worked. Even Zach at 18 months old loved watching the T-Bot move back and forth, up and down, with just the push of a syringe.

I am so glad Jeffrey got the opportunity to build the T-Bot II, and I can’t wait for him to continue using it in activities throughout the rest of our school year.

Love With Food: Small Company, Big Goals

November 29, 2012 - Mama 3 Comments

When the nondescript white USPS mailer landed on my front porch, I wasn’t expecting much. It was relatively small, so I assumed it was one of the many items I occasionally order or receive from companies related to my blog.

When I opened it, though, I saw a red box. It wasn’t any ordinary box. It was a red box that I had been pining after, anticipating, and counting the days until it would arrive (my countdown wasn’t exactly an accurate one, which is why I didn’t recognize the white package immediately).

The box wasn’t particularly large (compared to other boxes I receive), but I knew it would be packed with some amazing stuff.

Love With Food is relatively new to the subscription commerce world. There are so many hundreds of different boxes that it’s often hard to keep up. I did get the opportunity to try out Love With Food at a very low price, and decided it was worth taking that risk one month and seeing if it was a box I liked.

I never realized when I spent that small amount on the box (the price is already low anyway– at $12 including shipping, it’s not exactly a huge financial burden– but the price I scored it at was perfect for trying it out), how impressed with the company I would be.

I already loved the company’s idea: Every purchase helped Love With Food donate food to someone in need. One box=one person helped.

When I signed up, I was thrilled about the concept… I got something, someone in need got something, and it was totally win-win. Not long before my order shipped, the East coast got hit with a superstorm, Sandy, that destroyed homes, destroyed businesses, and for some, destroyed lives.

Love with Food could have decided to just give the food they donate to the East Coast. But instead, they went one step further.

My box purchase for the month meant that not only were they going to make their usual donation, but on top of that, they would donate an additional portion of food to relief efforts in the East Coast region. This meant that twice as many people would be blessed by their company, a company I helped support by ordering a box.

But the big question was… even if it’s helping others, was the box personally worth it to me? Because truly, I can do the work of donating food myself and helping families in need, but when it comes to the box, is it worth it to spend the money on the box itself? And the bigger question: If I had paid full price for this box, would it have been worth it?

The answer is a resounding “Yes.”

This month’s box was guest-curated by Amy Roloff of TLC’s “Little People, Big World.” She’s just recently released a cookbook called “Short and Simple Family Recipes.”

Amy has lovingly prepared meals many times on the show Little People, Big World, and now you’re able to prepare those recipes, too. While the box didn’t come with a copy of her book, autographed copies are actually available at a discount in the Love With Food shop.

It’s true, Amy knows good food. In this box, she took time to tell Love With Food about her fall favorites, perfect for a November box.

The first couple of items I saw in my box were the Stash Pumpkin Spice Tea and the Mulling Spices Blend from the Aspen Mulling company.

The Stash Tea Company produces amazing teas that I already have experience with (I’m a huge fan!), but I had not had the chance to try Pumpkin Spice before. It’s a naturally decaffeinated black tea, and they’ve added nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger, which are some of my favorite spices. While the taste is absolutely incredible, nothing beats the smell of this tea. If I could purchase the scent of that tea bag to freshen up my car or my linens, I absolutely would.

I have not tried the mulling spices from Aspen Mulling Co. While I could use it in hot or cold cider, I’m actually considering mixing it into pancakes for a fall favorite! I’m just waiting for pancake night to try it out!

When I saw the Mini Crunch from Mrs. May’s, I was thrilled. I am a huge fan of blueberries… in fact, I even blogged about my love for blueberries back when I was pregnant, having eaten nearly 3 pints of blueberries each week during the season’s peak. I even have my own blueberry plant because I’m so in love with blueberries. I had hoped to wait and try these crunchy little bits on a salad or on top of yogurt, but I simply couldn’t wait… I ended up eating the entire packet straight out of the bag. They’re a great snack that way, but I still want to order more to top some yogurt with!

As for Skeeter Snacks cookies, I had never heard of them before. It’s a surprise to me that I hadn’t, because I love finding nut-free options in snacks. My cousin has a severe nut allergy, and I work very hard to double-check for nut-free varieties so there’s always a snack on hand for him, or for my son’s nut-free friends. I was that girl in college who would always double-check that she had nut-free selections for Halloween when our dorm opened up trick-or-treating, just so all of the kids could have fun with it. These cookies are a great option. I wasn’t a fan of how overly crunchy they were (I like my cookies super soft), but overall, they tasted good… my brother ended up stealing the whole second cookie! Just days later, I found a coupon for Skeeter Snacks in my newspaper, so I’ll be on the lookout for them soon.

I wish I could tell you what I thought of the Mango Pear Pineapple from Fruit.o, but because Zach is used to having his own snacks in a similar pouch, he pretty much immediately comandeered the pouch for himself. I have to think it must have been good, because it was gone in about 30 seconds. I like that it’s 100% organic and has no added sugar, making it a great snack for him. Next time, I may order extra so I can try some, too!

The Inka Corn corn nuts are actually harvested from non-GMO crops. It’s a roasted giant corn that is perfect for snacking on. I made the mistake of sharing my Love With Food box with so many members of the family, because it was everyone’s favorite. I went to order more from the Love With Food shop, only to find that it was totally sold out. I’m excited to look for it elsewhere because it had the perfect crunchy flavor with just the right amount of nutty, salty taste in the corn. I think it may quickly become my go-to snack (as soon as I can track more down). Like I said, it was the absolute favorite of everyone, including me.

As for the Truffle Pig from Hagensborg Chocolates, I honestly laughed when I opened the little blue wrapper. I knew that the packaging called it a “truffle pig” but I didn’t realize that when I opened it, the chocolate would actually be shaped like a little chocolate pig! It was one of the cutest things I had ever seen (at least in terms of food). I would have shared, but it honestly didn’t last long, because it was truly delicious. I loved the flavor, perfect and creamy milk chocolate that really had just the right texture and flavor. As a chocoholic, it was the perfect bite-sized treat to end my day with. For a long time, I’ve had this little tradition of enjoying a truffle at the end of the day, before bed, as a nightly indulgence. After trying a Truffle Pig, it’s now been added to my list of truffles I love, and I plan to order it again soon.

The Turkey Bak Kwa from Little Red Dot Kitchen was arguably the strangest treat in the box. I had anticipated something like the dry jerky of my childhood, but this was moist. Like really moist. Like almost juicy moist. This Bak Kwa was featured in Food and Wine magazine, and for good reason! It’s delicious. The texture did throw everyone off at first, but it is something I would eat again. The Asian twist on it made it a hit with me, and I seriously thought this would be good chopped up and mixed with Asian noodles and broccoli.

Finally, the boxes came with some gift certificates– $10 off at EcoMom (a favorite store of mine as it is) and a $5 credit at PicPlum (a shop that was brand new to me).

I saved the EcoMom gift certificate for later, because I neglected to read the fine print and spent about an hour deciding on which of Zach’s favorite snacks to use it on, only to find out that the fine print said I couldn’t buy food with it… oops! I’m still deciding how I want to use the certificate. The funny thing about the EcoMom gift voucher is that with every purchase, EcoMom donates one day of food to a child in need. By purchasing this Love With Food box, I fed three people (in addition to myself) because Love With Food feeds one, and then they fed an additional one due to Superstorm Sandy, and then one more by using this Gift Voucher to order from EcoMom, who donates food to those in need. Oh, and funny story. I recently did place an order to EcoMom (unrelated to my Love With Food voucher) and when it arrived, it had a card with a coupon code for new customers to get $5 off a Love With Food subscription. Looks like these two have created a very good partnership.

PicPlum is a company that does photo prints, including square prints (perfect for Instagram photos!) You can even send them anywhere in the world! I love this because I have family in many countries worldwide, and I love the idea of being able to send a photo to my siblings in Germany, Brazil, or Sweden. This time, I had them sent to myself. I had been meaning to order an 8×10 of a picture I took of Zach at the park recently, so I took this opportunity to order that, along with three 4×6 photos. While PicPlum made me reel a little bit at the sticker shock at first, when I compared print prices from them to other premium photo printers, I found out that they printed at more affordable pricing and had better size options, as well as better shipping options (having the choice to send the photos anywhere with an attached message was cool). The quality was very good, too, and I love the way the 8×10 of my son printed– very true-to-screen when I was working on the photo.

So now, it’s your turn to try Love With Food. If you like what I’ve had to say about it, try it out and order a December box! Not only will you be getting a curated box of treats you’ll love, but you’ll also be helping someone in need. And, for December, Love With Food will still be donating food to Sandy relief efforts, so you’ll actually be helping two people.

Click the button below to head over to their site and order if you’re interested in Love With Food. I really hope you’ll give it a shot… it’s a great company and it’s doing a service I’m very passionate about– giving food to those in need.

When googling coupon codes for Love With Food, I did find one for $5 off a box, but it’s not valid for long, so hurry and use it. Enter HOLIDAY12 at checkout (valid until tomorrow!) so if you want to try it out, now is a great time to make the leap and test it, at least for one month.

One more thing… when you order boxes, review the products inside, or refer friends, you earn points. Those points can be put towards items in the Love With Food shop. The shop not only has full-sized versions of the items that came in the box, but it also has items that complement the products that you received (for example, this month, in addition to items in the box, I saw autographed copies of Amy Roloff’s book, Bhakti Chai, and items featured in previous boxes.

All opinions are my own, and Love With Food, Amy Roloff, TLC, or any of the companies mentioned above have not reimbursed me in any way for my post with my honest opinion. The Love With Food badge above does link to my unique referral link. Other than that, I have received no reward for this honest post.

Ridiculously Easy Sparkle Christmas Silhouettes (Plus a FREE Printable!)

November 27, 2012 - Mama 4 Comments

I like easy. I like fast. I like sparkly. I like cheap.

This craft combines all four of those things in one project. I swear, this took me less than 20 minutes to make (not including drying time, but that shouldn’t count since you don’t exactly have to sit and watch it dry…), and it cost me less than $5.00 to make.

And trust me, it’s so easy, a child could do it.

First, you need a frame or two. I picked out these super cute frames in an after-Halloween sale at Target. They don’t even look Halloween-ish! I got them 70% off, so I paid less than $3.00 for the pair.

You can use any 4×6 frame you have on hand. If you want yours to sparkle, consider spray paint and glitter, or glue and glitter, or a sparkly spray paint option. Mine were already sparkly and fun.

After that, prepare your images that you want to glitter. I made a nativity scene and a Christmas tree printable to use in my own frames, but you can select any images you would like, as long as they have dark, clean lines. If you’d like to use the images that I used, I’ll tell you below how to download them FREE!

Go ahead and cut out your images after printing them onto cardstock. The cardstock will help them stay sturdy, even with the glue. When you cut them out, you can set them on a larger sheet of paper to give you a work surface to dump excess glitter onto.

Start by placing dots of glue on sections of the image. I found it was easiest to work in small sections so the glue wouldn’t dry, rather than working in large patches of the image. It also helped contain some of the glitter.

Use a toothpick or other tool to spread the glue into every bit of the image, making sure you get points and corners covered well. Then, sprinkle glitter on!

Wait about a minute, then tap off excess glitter onto your page. Repeat this over and over until you get the entire image glittered where you want it.

I used a very fine craft glitter from Martha Stewart (another post-Halloween grab!) but you can use any fine glitter. If you use a larger glitter, it may make small sections of the image harder to see. A fine glitter allows for details to come out.

Let the images dry completely… I mean REALLY completely. Then, put the images into the frames. I removed the glass from the frame because extra bits of glitter kept getting trapped and making it look odd.

Then, display it wherever you’d like! These frames look great on mantles, hung on walls, or anywhere else you want a little Christmas spirit!

So, I promised I would tell you how to download the two images I used here (a Nativity Scene and a Christmas Tree)… all you have to do is head over to Digital Era Mom’s FACEBOOK PAGE, click “like,” and find the “FREEBIE!” tab at the top (hint: it’s the big star!). Then, it’ll have all of the instructions you need to download the image.

Then, grab your glitter and your frames, and you’ll be totally ready to do this easy craft!

Absentee

November 26, 2012 - Mama 2 Comments

I know, I haven’t been very present lately here on the blog. A lot has been going on. Some of it, I’m still not ready to talk about, and that will definitely come with time.

My grandfather passed away after his struggle with cholangiocarcinoma. The emotion is still very raw and very present, and I know that I’ll soon be ready to share more about him with you guys, but for now, it’s a pain I’m keeping very close to my heart. I’m not ready to share it.

We traveled to his funeral during my cookie exchange series, and returned home that Friday. It seemed like we were only home for a matter of minutes before we turned around and left the following Wednesday to head out of town for Thanksgiving, which was an amazing opportunity to see family that we don’t get to share time with very often. Saturday night, we went to Branson and saw easily the best show I’ve seen there… ever. I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Following the show, we returned home.

Sunday meant playing catch-up, like going to the grocery store, planning the meals for the week, and beginning to unpack from our rapid-fire trips. It meant getting ready for the weeks leading up to Christmas and the advent season, and it meant preparing to get back in the swing of school.

I’m not prepared with posts right now.

I know, I’m a terrible blogger.

I had intended to get a lot accomplished, but Thanksgiving kind of snuck up on me after my grandfather’s funeral. It’s hard to get work done when things like that are still looming over me, and it’s also hard to bring you guys cool crafts, awesome school ideas, and delicious recipes from the backseat of a car, isn’t it?

Never fear. I’m back. I’m better than I was before. And I have a lot of really cool stuff to tell you guys.

Just give me a few days to unpack my brain and get back in the swing of things, k?

Mama Plus One

Making Life Easy So You Can Get Back to What Matters Most