The last time me and the teens traveled out of town we were able to visit and see the Super Chic's in concert. This is one of my favorite songs that they sang that day. I hope you enjoy as much as I do. Yes we are back up on line at this time but that may not be for long. The end of December and the start of January have been very rock as I shared with my daughter last night. All of us could use a bit of prayer.
Annies Home a place where I love to share tips, recipes and wonderful products that I find for our family along the way.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Mom's got problems
Thursday, January 7, 2010
50 state capitals in 50 fun minutes
I can remember working with my children to learn their states and capitals. I know that the best way to learn was to teach them fun facts, songs and whatever would stick in their mind. If you all can remember the show Shark Tank (which I hear is coming back soon for a second season) there was a man named Ken Bradfurd. This man to me had an ingenious ideas of teaching kids the states and capitals through fun flash cards. Ken recently sent us a set to review in order to share my thoughts with all my readers in this post.
Let me tell you the cool cards have such wonderful pictures that parents, students and teachers should all have a blast with them. The 50 state in 50 fun minutes is composed of the 50 state capital cards, suggestions on how to get the lessons started easily and quickly, a teacher or self study guide, a map of the U.S. so that students can also learn where the states are located, crossword puzzles to keep the learning fun and hands on and great review and exams to help study the cards. The complete system to me would be great for either home school or public school.
The 50 state Capitals in 50 Fun Minutes allows for easy fun learning in a way that is much better than the old fashioned repetitive, memorizing manner. The flashcards will allow your child or student to grasp the state and capital knowledge much easier and normally quicker as well. Children learn well through communication and the fun flash cards allow the states and capitals to be learned through rhymes, humor and association. Children learn at their own level and pace and the flash cards will be an useful tool to all.
While this is only my opinion and yes it is my opinion I was not paid for this review or my opinion. The only way that you can fully form your own opinion is to check out the 50 state capitals in 50 fun minutes learning system for your self.
Buy: you can purchase the 50 state capitals in 50 fun minutes from their website at
https://sharpestkidontheblock.com/Home_Page.html
Vintage Recipe : Deviled Eggs
12 eggs
1/4 c tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Paprika
Hard boil the eggs
Peel and cut them in half lengthwise Remove the yolks and set whites aside. Mash the yolks with mayonnaise and mustard. Stir in the rest of the ingredients except paprika. Refill the egg white halves with the yolks and sprinkle with paprika. Chill.
I got this recipe on All Recipes and tweaked it a bit to suit me. It is definitely a different take on deviled eggs.
Thankful Thursday
A Thousand Words Thursday Little bit of the White Stuff arrived
Peanut Butter Muffins
•1 c. milk
•¼ c. banana (about 1 banana), mashed with a fork
•¼ c. peanut butter
•1/3 c. vegetable oil
•¼ c. frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed (left out of the freezer until it's soft)
•¼ c. nonfat dry milk
•2¼ c. flour
•1½ tsp. baking powder
•1 tsp. baking soda
•nonstick cooking spray
Utensils:
•oven (you'll need help from your adult assistant)
•fork
•small bowl
•large bowl
•mixing spoon
•muffin/cupcake tin
•paper muffin/cupcake liners
•wire rack
•measuring cups and spoons
Preheat oven to 350° F In a small bowl, break the eggs and use a fork to beat them a little bit. In a large bowl, combine the milk, mashed banana, peanut butter, vegetable oil, apple juice, dry milk, and the eggs from the small bowl. Mix with a mixing spoon until the mixture is creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into the large bowl. Mix again. Line a muffin tine with paper liners or lightly spray with nonstick spray. Spoon in the muffin mix. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way up. Bake for about 15 minutes. When your muffins are finished baking, remove from muffin tin and cool them on the wire rack. Then it's time to taste and share!
shared at
inspire me monday
Our Oven on the Blitz
2 pounds ground pork or meatloaf mix
1-1/2 cups shredded pepper-Jack cheese
6 onion rolls, sliced
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 can (4 ounces) diced pimentos, drained
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Wordful Wednesday
Freshbaby So Easy Toddler Food Cook Book reveiw
The So Easy Toddler Food cook book offers family friendly recipes that makes it easy to feed our little ones the best nutritional food that we can. The 48 page book offers 35 simple recipes with photos and USDA nutritional facts. As Princess goes through stages her momma has many questions. In fact I think most new mothers are full of questions and begin to search for answers. Why not allow the So Easy Toddler Food cook book by Freshbaby to help make eating and nutrition a bit easier.
Topics covered in the pages of this great book include
- six tips for developing healthy eating habits
- the 10 time rule for toddlers
- converting picky eaters
- do's and dont's to avoid food battles
- making the most of children's play
All of the topics are ones that often come up when teaching children to eat and what to eat. Whats even better is that recipes included in the So Easy Toddler Food cook book include recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinners, salads, soups, sides and desserts. WOW!!! The book sounds great as if all is laid out between a front and back cover. I can remember years ago looking on the internet and in books to find great healthy recipes to feed my babies and toddlers. Now Freshbaby has taken the work out by publishing the book So Easy Toddler Food cook book.
Shopping Trip Pictures
Tony Blair facing the heat
Tony Blair, if you are not familiar with him, is the former British Prime Minister. Blair will face a panel or inquiry team as it is being called to answer questions about the Iraq War. There will be an approximate 60 seats available for onlookers and about 20 of these seats will be set aside for families of soldiers who lost their lives in battle. The question being asked is did Tony Blair break international law when Blair ordered 45,000 British troops to take part in the 2003 US led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
A five man Iraq inquiry team will examine Britain's role before, during and after the conflict and try to decide if Tony Blair did anything wrong during his time in office. Senior civil servants and military figures who revealed that Britain had knowledge that Iraq had dismantled its chemical weapons weeks before the invasion.
I myself would not like to catch myself on either side of this panel as I agree that something had to be done but was it done right? I celebrated the victories in battle as well as cried when the soldiers were killed. That is why I would not want to be on either side of the situation.
What do you think?
Princess Under the Weather
KAThouse jewelry starting year out right
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
What a great smile
I also shared this picture on Wordless Wednesday @ A Daily Dose of Toni and MomStart
The Biggest Loser
What do you think?
Its Cold Outside Protect Yourself
Here are a few tips that can help you protect yourself:
- wearing three layers of clothing may seem a bit excessive but when it comes to staying warm outside it is not really. Layering clothes helps to provide and conserve body heat. The layer that you have closest to the body should be thin as it will pull moisture from your skin, the second and third layer should be bulkier providing insulation. Wool is a good material to wear for these layers. It is always a great idea to wear a water proof top layer if possible
- Wearing a stocking cap is always great to help prevent body heat to escape through the scalp. My grandmother always told me to wear a hat in summer to keep the sun off and in the winter to keep the heat in
- Mittens are better to wear in extreme temps because they keep hands warmer
- If for any reason such as snow or rain the clothing gets wet remove it asap
- Keep at least one room in the home at a comfortable temperature. Close the doors to other rooms that are not in use. To conserve heat, jam towels or blankets under gaps at the bottom of doors. I can remember as a kid sleeping in the living room with my brothers and sisters as the air in the other rooms was cold and mom would block off the other rooms
I hope these tips help to keep you warm
Random Thought Tuesday
School started again today so my highschoolers headed off. My college kids will start later this month but after the 11th no one will be here during the day except for me and my hubby just what will we do with ourselves? Of course I do like that bit of quite a bit but I will miss them all being home having fun with me.
What have you been doing? Has the weather chilled you out as well? Share your random thoughts on the UnMom blog
Starting the Year off Right
What are you doing? Want to see what others are doing? You can also add your list on the Crazy Adventures of Parenting blog
Kitchen Safety Tips
While cooking,
1. stay in the kitchen, don’t leave cooking food unattended. (stand by your pan!)
2. wear short or tight fitting sleeves. Long loose sleeves are more likely to catch on fire or get caught on pot handles.
3. don’t become distracted.
4. enforce a “kid-free zone” of 3 feet around your stove. Turn pot handles inward facing the wall to prevent burns caused by overturning or spills.
5. keep the area around the stove clear of towels, papers, pot holders or anything that could burn.
6. cook at indicated temperatures settings rather than higher settings.
7. regularly clean your cooking equipment so that there are no cooking materials, food items or grease accumulation.
8. have a pot lid handy to smother a pan fire. Do not attempt to pick up the pot or pan. Shut off the heat and cover the fire with a lid. Do not use water. It will cause splashing and spread the fire.
While many of these tips are not new to there is a list of these tips and other information located at this link http://www.centerpigeonfire.org/firesafetytips-kitchencooking.html
Cold outside but lots of Love Inside
I do alot of complaining about the cold weather but in reality I think the snow and ice are mystical and rather pretty. Here is a picture from last winter and the storm that seemed to put a halt to Southern Illinois and parts of Kentucky.
While all that was going on outside Princess came to visit Nana and Papa and kept us all hugging and warm on the inside. Just look how little (well now this little one was never really little) she is.
Agoo Apparel review
My children were very active playing ball, riding bikes, playing sports when they were young and I see no difference for my granddaughter. It seems Princess will be as active as any of them. I see no lagging behind on her and I believe that means that the clothing style she selects should be as active as she. While my readers all know that I love to see Princess all dolled up there is a clothing company that will allow us to doll her up but allow her to still be active. Agoo creates apparel that allows Princess and any child to look great and feel great as well.
Recently I received a dress from the Agoo Apparel company in order to get a basis for this review. I was delighted to see that the material allowed for breath ability stretching so that Princess could crawl, walk and play easily without restraint. In fact the name Agoo means the joy of expecting something for the first time with a state of great happiness. In my opinion, and only mine since yours may be different but the only way you will really know is to allow your little one to experience the Agoo clothing line for themselves, the Agoo clothing line is great for the daily life of any young child.
Agoo® has defined their line of clothing as uniquely styled athletic wear for urban kids. The clothing line is functional allowing movement while playing which makes life as a kid even funner. The style is not cutesy or cartoony as the clothing line is built for great play not dress up. Agoo is what everyone likes to wear comfort. The materials that Agoo uses contains UV protected finish which helps to protect our young ones from those dangerous UV rays. This protection stays through the washing and the ware and pleases both the Agoo company and me as a parent. I have had many family members who have suffered with skin cancer and the Agoo clothing line protecting Princess against such a danger makes me feel great.
Childhood itself is a rough and active sport and Agoo apparel wants to help your child keep in the game. The clothing moves with your child and does not constrain them. The great wick away fiber in the clothing also helps to pull out moisture and helps to keep the child from being overheated or chilled. Princess has always been one that sweats awful and gets overly heated. Even as a newborn we could see her sweat as she was wrapped tightly in a blanket and this often frustrated her. Now as a toddler Agoo can help to keep her comfortable and allow her to play freely.
Another splendid reason to select Agoo is the stain resistance material used. Kids are kids and that means messes and getting into things that may stain clothing. Well Agoo has added the sweet bonus of stain resistance so that mothers can allow their child to run and play without the worry of staining their clothing. Wow!!!! so many great features in one line of clothing. Don't you want all these great features for your children's clothes? Well you will have to try Agoo Apparel for yourself.
Buy: You can purchase clothing in sizes for your young baby boy or girl to size 8 for either boy or girl clothing sizes. Simply visit their online website at http://www.agoo4u.com/default.asp For a limited time through the month of January ending on January 31st , 2010 Agoo is having a Bigger than Boxing Day Sale where you can save 60% off all remaining Fall 09 active wear in stock by using the code "AGOO60P" and also receive free shipping on any order over $50.
A product was received to help me form my opinion for this post but I was not compinsated in any other way.
Blog Now Matches the Weather
What Do You Think?
Monday, January 4, 2010
What will be cooking in the kitchen this week
Happy Homemaker Monday
The weather in my neck of the woods:
a very cold 8 degrees that rose to 12 by noon. It is super cold here
One of my simple pleasures:
talking to my princess on the phone just take a look at her here
On my bedside table:
lotions, cold pills, bible the needed items for winter
On my TV:
Bones
On the menu for tonight:
we had taco salads of course everyone makes their own what two teens have you ever seen agree on what they eat and how they eat it
On my To Do List:
not a whole lot with the water frozen but there is still the cooking, some cleaning of daily life
New Recipe I tried last week:
In the craft basket:
nothing at this time
Looking forward to:
water coming back on and the kids going back to school as well as seeing Princess as soon as she can visit again
Homemaking Tip for this week:
wow hasn't been alot of these recently but just wait they are coming
Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
my daughter started a new blog be sure to visit it here
Favorite photo
well of Princess of course visit here and see more
Lesson Learned Past Few Days
children grow to fast and soon their dreams start to overshadow the ones you had for them
On my prayer list:
friends and family
Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
I am currently reading a Joyce Meyer book and learning lots
Beat the Cabin Fever and Season Depression Blues
The Weather outside is frightful and the boredom inside is no better there has to be a better idea than just sitting around wishing it was warm. Here are a few ideas that might help make the day a bit brighter:
- keep the shades and blinds open to allow natural day light to come in. The rays of sunshine may not only help warm the house naturally but also warm your insides a bit as well.
- I can remember taking walks with my sisters and grandmother oh the great times we shared together. Taking a walk when it is not so bitterly cold will help motivate you as well.
- Eating in the winter time takes on a different habit than it does in warm weather. I must tell you that often we eat the things we shouldnt without motivation which can lead us down the wrong path. But eating green veggies will not only help keep us fit but also offer us the boost of energy to help us fight the seasonal depression many of us suffer from
- Its a great time of year to help others. To ward off that seasonal depression and to make others feel great as well. It is a wonderful time to get involved and help others. There are many organizations that may be looking for volunteers in your area.
- Start planning are you a gardner, like to travel or just have fun in the summer? Why not start planning what you will do in the future. It will not only keep your mind occupied but also offer you some fun as well.
- It has often be sad to keep a grateful song in your heart will do one good. It is no different in the winter time. Simply take the time to look around at all you have and be grateful that you have it. The warmness inside may help your disposition stay warm as well.
Frozen Water Pipes
- Insulate all water pipes from cold moving air and keep them dry
- Heater tapes wrapped around the pipes or a heated reflector lamp in dry enclosed space works great.
- allowing the water to run at a slow constant drip this is cheaper than repairing it
- Thaw out a frozen pipe by checking to see where the pipe is frozen at. Some plastic and copper pipes will split and flood and area when thawed out. In this case it is better to call a plumber.
- an electric space heater placed around the frozen part or a hand held hair dryer can help to unthaw local frozen pipes.
I am in hopes that our water unthaws soon and that these tips may help you.
Win Kitchen ware
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Coupon schedule for January and February
January
■3 – 2 Smartsource and 2 Red Plum
■10 – Smartsource and Red Plum
■17 – Smartsource
■24 – Smartsource and Red Plum
■31 – Smartsource and Red Plum
February
■7 – Smartsource and Red Plum
■14 – Red Plum
■21 – Smartsource and Red Plum
■28 – Smartsource
Wonderful Dessert from Boxed Cake Mix
2 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
1 (10-ounce) package peanut butter morsels
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
Garnish: chopped roasted peanuts
Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour into 2 lightly greased 8-inch round cake pans. Bake according to package directions. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely. Combine 2/3 cup whipping cream and peanut butter morsels in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until morsels melt and mixture is smooth; remove saucepan from heat. Stir in vanilla extract, and cool 25 minutes. Beat 1 1/3 cups whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Stir one-third whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Fold into remaining whipped cream. Spread between cake layers; cover and chill. Bring remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 tablespoon butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Add chocolate morsels; remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir until morsels melt and mixture is smooth. Pour glaze over cake; garnish, if desired. Serve warm, or chill and serve at room temperature.
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mousse Parfaits: Cut cooled cake layers into cubes. Layer 8 Parfait glasses evenly with two-thirds peanut butter mixture, cake cubes, and half of chocolate mixture. Top with remaining peanut butter mixture and chocolate mixture; sprinkle each parfait with chopped peanuts, if desired.
Southern Living, MARCH 1998
Qoutable Sunday: 23rd anniversary style
Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths. No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century.”
Mark Twain
Are we not like two volumes of one book?”
Marceline Desbordes-Valmore
The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret.”
Henry Youngman
Grow old along with me the best is yet to be.”
Robert Browning
One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love.”
Sophocles