"Look Mom, I Can Write My Name"

Emily started learning how to write her name over the summer.  She would scrawl haphazard letters that were sometimes almost indecipherable on the paper in front of her. 

After lots of practice at home and preschool, she has gotten quite good at writing her name.  She shows how proud she is of her "new" accomplishment by writing her name on papers, cards, and even the newspaper.  She has also started drawing pictures that are recognizable (such as her stick figures that do somewhat resemble people).  Notice I say usually since her recent drawing of rocket ships also kind of resembled potato people.

Since she has been really good about only writing on paper, if I am doing laundry or some other task while her siblings are napping and she asks for paper so she can draw at the table or practice writing her letters, I usually say okay.

I hand her paper and always remind her to only write on the paper and nothing else unless Mommy says it is okay.  I recently stopped reminding her to only write on the paper because I assumed she "got it" after I have repeated it at least a hundred times and because she hasn't written on the table or any other surface in months. 

My mistake.

After walking into the kitchen after walking through the downstairs collecting stray pieces of clothing since my children love to play dress-up about ten times a day, I walked into the kitchen to find marker, washable mind you, on most surfaces in my kitchen.

How much havoc can a toddler wreak in five minutes?

Her name was written on the fridge, the polka dots that decorated her rocket ships in the card she had been working on for her dad also had been drawn on my kitchen stools, and she had scribbles on her booster seat and even her brother's high chair.

After me explaining that the proper place to write was on paper, I handed her a wet cloth and had her wipe down everything on which she had drawn.

I was reminded yet again that no matter how responsible and helpful she can be for a four year old, she is still only four years old.

Just like I am thankful for magic erasers and hand sanitizer, I am also thankful for washable markers!

Do As I Say Not As I Do

I realized recently how often I inadvertently use the "do as I say and not as I do" on my children without speaking a word.

Take for instance, the abundance of Halloween candy in my house.  It took up two large plastic seasonal bowls with ghosts and pumpkins while anything inedible went into a small basket.

My kids kept trying to sneak candy off the counter.  The 2 year old even went as far as to use her talking grill (which is THE most annoying toy we have had since her talking vacuum was escorted from our house after Emmy started using his phrases to critique my cleaning skills) to stand on to try to reach the candy bowls.

Then, it was put away into the pantry but not forgotten by my children who are like little pitbulls.  They were allowed one piece a day (two if you count the pretzels or fruit snacks that I let them have for a morning snack).

Of course, my husband and I were like dogs with bones, digging for the best pieces.  I scored Peppermint Patties and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups while he would take the Skittles and Mike and Ikes.  We had more than one or two-triple or quadruple what we allowed the kids before dinner.  My hour at the gym three times a week probably didn't even make up for the calories I've consumed.

And then I got busted by my oldest who wanted to know why Mommy was eating a piece of candy when she couldn't as a morning snack (it was 11 am and right before lunch).  Here I thought I was being stealthy.  Then, she asked if it was like soda where only mommies and daddies could have it.  I just nodded my head.  Yes, it is just like that.

Then the mommy guilt set in as I realized I wasn't living up the example I wanted to set.

Finally, the candy had to go.  Not only was the guilt eating at me since I have no self control and was foolish to think I would but I was getting sick of the candy.  We made up bags for family and friends' children who didn't get to go trick-or-treating because of the snowstorm that disrupted Halloween plans or because of sickness.

The rest of the hard candy in addition to the two bags of candy that I had picked up for 50% off (just because it was on sale) after Halloween went to Operation Gratitude.  A friend graciously collected everyone's candy and dropped it off at a local dentist who planned to send it to the troops.  She collected over 8 1/2 pounds of candy-probably from parents who were feeling like I was.

So while I taught my children all about the "do as I say not as I do" or the "when you're older and a mommy or daddy you can do it to", I also taught them about sharing and not just with mommy and daddy (or that's what I'm telling myself).  It's called the glass half full philosphy of parenting.

A Favorite Family Photo

Every year around this time, I try to get a picture of the kids to use for our holiday cards.  I usually have already picked out our card design on Shutterfly since I like Shutterfly's selection for our Christmas cards and I am if not anything else, a creature of habit (or as I like to say a person who just likes traditions).  On my side of the family, someone usually gets some kind of photo gifts also and Shutterfly has a large selection of items that would appeal to any grandparent or aunt or uncle.  One year I got a photo jigsaw puzzle for my grandfather and magnets for other family members.

This is usually the best I can do:

After trying for a few days (never in a row since I would go crazier than I already am),  I usually admit defeat and we find ourselves sitting in some studio somewhere waiting amid other families in their holiday best to get their family portraits done.  My attempts in recent years to just get the girls' pictures turns into a family portrait by then.


This summer after finding out that an acquaintance who I got to know through our local mom's group (before her family moved to Florida) was coming up and doing mini photo sessions, I immediately booked a mini session.  She is immensely talented and her photos are stunning.  She is the owner of Maria Felton Photography.  I was hoping and praying that Ryan would have arrived by then (it was about two weeks before I was due) but alas he didn't arrive until almost a week after he was due (of course). 

 (I need a new frame that doesn't cut off so much of my husband's head!)

One thing I learned on this day was that the best picture isn't always the one where everyone is looking at the camera and sitting perfectly still.  This picture totally captured Maddie's personality and Emmy's silly smile which is why we fell in love with it and why it is now on our mantel. Madison has a thing for monkeys which isn't a surprise to anyone who sees this photo since she is practically upside down. 

This photo session was also fun since it was about capturing our family naturally outside.  We were in the alley behind the Crayola Factory (one of the girls' favorite places) in Easton where The Purple Cow Creamery is located.  Music was playing from the School of Rock on the corner and amazingly, there were no tears for once.  It seems someone always has a meltdown when we get our pictures done in a studio.  Emily also loved that Maria had her singing and being silly (which she is quite good at)! They were also able to move around instead of being cooped up inside.  It probably didn't hurt that we bribed the kids with ice cream from the Creamery afterwards either.  

What is your favorite family photo?

This month Shutterfly is planning "Family Photo Days" to help families capture the perfect holiday picture to use in creating their holiday cards.  It is also to help make consumers aware of Shutterfly's line of holiday cards.  Some of the activities they have planned include helping people host Family Photo Days, a downloadable toolkit with lots of creative tips on capturing the perfect holiday picture, and you can even enter their Holiday Photo Contest and receive 5 free cards just for entering (if you win you get a year's worth of free cards).

This week I am going to try again using some of the tips Shutterfly provided in their toolbox to try to get a holiday card worthy picture all on my own.  I even bought Santa hats for all three kids and I am going to try to take a pinwheel shot with all three kids lying down and looking up outside since it is so warm out this week.  Hopefully, I'll be able to have the patience to try to get the perfect shot.

Have you started your holiday cards yet?  If not, what are you waiting for?

I was compensated with 50 cards from Shutterfly for participating in their "Family Photo Days" promotion.  All opinions are my own.

Betty Crocker Review & Giveaway

Need something to go with a warm glass of cocoa?   What about a way to use up some of that extra Halloween candy?

With busy schedules, we can't always bake from scratch and for those of us not baking extraordinaires and maybe somewhat cooking challenged, we rely on box mixes.  New Milk Chocolate Traditional Brownie Mix from Betty Crocker© can help you whip up a treat in no time at all.

I made these brownies last weekend just in time for the snowstorm that buried the east coast in snow. My family loves to make "loaded" brownies with whatever I have on hand.  I added peanut butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter with a pretzel crust.  The kids (and adults) loved them.  With all the Halloween chocolate that we now have in the pantry I can put some of my children's favorite chocolate bars in the food processor, chop them up, and then add them to my next batch of brownie mix.

For some original recipe ideas using a boxed brownie mix, check out the Betty Crocker website.

To help you whip up some chocolatey goodess in your kitchen, Betty Crocker and MyBlogSpark have teamed up and one lucky TPMG reader will win a Betty Crocker Prize Pack containing a brownie pan, a mixing spoon, a Betty Crocker apron, and a box of Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Traditional Brownie Mix.

Enter to win a Betty Crocker Prize Pack (a brownie pan, a mixing spoon, a Betty Crocker apron, and a box of Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Traditional Brownie Mix)

Mandatory Entry (Must be completed for all other entries to be valid): For whom do you plan on baking Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Traditional Brownies?

To receive additional entries:

*Become a follower of TPMG (if you already follow just leave a comment that you do) (1 entry)

*Become a fan of Betty Crocker and/or TPMG on Facebook and leave a comment here that you have done so (1 entry each)

 *Follow Betty Crocker and/or TPMG on twitter and leave a comment here that you have done so (1 entry each)

*Tweet (maximum of once daily) about this giveaway and don't forget to leave your twitter name

Copy and paste: Win a Betty Crocker Prize Pack Giveaway at #TPMG (ends 11/20) http://bit.ly/vzuBAC (1 entry per tweet)

*Add The Practical Mom Guide to your blogroll or display the blog button (5 entries)

*Post about this giveaway on your blog (5 entries)

This giveaway will end on Sunday, November 20, 2011. I will announce the winner on November 21st here at The Practical Mom Guide. All winners are chosen randomly. If I am unable to contact the winner or they do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen.

Contest only open to U.S. residents.

Good luck and thank you for participating!

*Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark provided TPMG with a prize pack to review and a prize pack to use in the giveaway.  All opinions are my own.

Weekly Deal Roundup

Many people this holiday season are being budget conscious including myself.  Normally, I list the week's roundup of deals found online on the Freebies page under the "Savings" tab but I figured I would also include it on the main page this week.  There are several freebies that include personalized Christmas cards and personalized photo gifts.  I know now is the time I start thinking about Christmas gifts and cards to send to family and friends so I always appreciate these deals.  What grandparent wouldn't love a desk calendar of their grandkids in their stocking?  You could even use the 100 free postcards from Staples as Christmas cards since you can upload your own images and include a family message on the back.  Just think of how much you would save by mailing postcards since it only costs $.29 each to mail them!

Weekly Deal Roundup

25 free prints at Walgreens with code FREE4X6 and a free desktop calendar FREE4U (only good Friday, November 4th & Saturday, November 5th)

10 free photo cards from MyPublisher with the code HAPPY10FREE (includes free shipping)

100 free postcards from Staples with coupon (if ordering online just use this link but you will have to pay for shipping)

Free Dinosaur Train Toolkit and poster for educators

Free Sid the Science Kid Poster for educators

Sam's Club members can get a free sample of Simply Right Underwear , Huggies GoodNites, or Dove Daily Moisture.  You will need to provide your membership number.

Free recording of Santa reading For Christmas Day for your child (perfect for Xmas morning)

Free sample of Post-It Nessorize accessories

You can still get your free Potty Training Success DVD from Huggies

Free Water For Elephants Audiobook from Audible.com

Free sample of Oscar de la Renta Live in Love perfume  

25% off your entire purchase at Jo-Ann's Fabrics stores coupon (valid 11/4-11/6) 

B1G1 free coupon for Baskin Robbins Flavor of the Month (expires 11/5) 

"Like" Hallmark on Facebook and get a coupon for $5 off your $10 purchase (expires 11/ 15) 

10 free Pampers Gifts to Grow points with each of the codes CABRANDSVRNOV11 and FAC1011PR46DYHD

These promos are still going on:

Free waffle coupon for Waffle House  (Expires 11/11)

Send an email to 5 friends about Shutterfly's "Tell a Friend" deal (75 free prints for them) and you will get 75 free prints to.

Get a free holiday card for someone in the military from Tiny Prints(Expires 11/15/11)

Free Debt-Free Holiday Handbook

Free Joyce Meyer Ministries 2012 calendar

Arm & Hammer Simply Saline Neti Pot Rebate ($14.99 value) (Expires 7/31/2013)

Try out InkGarden for free.  Pick one of their products (up to $13 value) and use the code ForFREE but you will need to pay shipping charges (Expires 12/31)

Free Lakeshore Learning educational apps for iphones, iPads, etc.such as Phonics Tic-Tac-Toe (ages 6-8),  Letter of the Day Interactive Activities (4-6), and Beginning Sounds Interactive Game (4-7). They can be downloaded for free until December 30th!

$10 off a $25 Yankee Candle purchase coupon (expires 11/27)

$5 off Leapster Crayola Art Game coupon (Expires 11/30)

"Like" AST Enzymes and get a free sample of AST Enzymes Gluten Relief

"Like" NeilMed Sinus on Facebook and get a free NeilMed Sinus Rinse Bottle and 2 packets

Saving Cents With Sense has a list of freebies for Veterans Day

Tim Horton's is offering veterans and active duty military a free star spangled vanilla dipped donut at their U.S. locations

The Richness of Fall

I love fall and since having children this time of year has a richness that I had never fully appreciated before. This year though it felt like winter had muscled its way in and had overtaken fall with this weekend's snowstorm that dumped 6-12 inches of snow on us.  And now all of the Christmas decorations up in the stores and Christmas music being piped through the speakers doesn't help.

I had to remind myself that it is still fall.

Fall is...

...trips to the apple orchard to pick apples for crockpot apple butter.

 ...trips to the pumpkin patch for hayrides with straw tickling our noses and the search for the perfect pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern.

...trick-or-treating or trick-or-trunking.

...hiking through a local state park with the leaves crunching and crackling underfoot.

Before having kids, apples came from the grocery store not an orchard and forget about carving pumpkins which would just result in one big mess.  Leaves just meant work raking them up into piles just for a big gust of wind to blow them around the yard again.  Now we bring them inside for leaf rubbings or leave the kids jump in them.  

What is your favorite part of this time of year?  And it is okay to say a day off of work for the Thanksgiving holiday!

The Frog in Our Mailbox

There is nothing quite like opening your mailbox and finding a frog.

...Not a real one of course but a fake one. I only wish the giant spider that I found in my mailbox the other day was as fake *shudder*.

A few days later we found a pink dog in our mailbox.  Our local mailman, a family friend ruined the surprise for my husband though when he sent a text message and a picture of it to my husband.  Apparently the people in the mailroom at our local post office got just as much of a kick out of it as the girls did.

Meet Hoppo and Pinkie 

The girls thought they were the funniest things.

So did my sister-in-law who sent them for the girls after Ry was born.

Who knew you could send toys without packaging?

I have a stand of flamingos in my garage that I bought as a practical joke that may be on their way to a new home...

Late Night Radio

When Ry turned two months last month, we transitioned him to his crib.  Our nightly ritual is the same.  All three kids go to bed around the same time.  Bob takes the two girls and I take the baby.  We all troop upstairs together between 7:15 and 7:30 pm.

Bath time, jammie time, story time, hug and kiss time, and then at last it is bed time.

The only piece of electronics in the kids' rooms is a radio.  Every night that is the last thing that gets dealt with before the lights go out.  We put their radios on.  Ironically, its the same station that plays in both rooms. That was accidental. It was the only station we could get clearly in the girls' room that didn't play rap or a lot of upbeat dance music which I didn't think was good nighttime music especially since Emmy and Maddie like to dance.  I pictured them dancing around the room that they've started sharing in recent months.  Whatever Emmy does, Maddie does to.  It is really the only station that comes in in Ry's room.  The second night Ry slept in his room, I noticed it was the same station playing in both rooms.

What do they listen to?  A syndicated radio show with Delilah.  She plays love songs and soft contemporary rock-the perfect music to fall asleep to in my opinion.

Since I sit in the rocker and nurse Ry before putting him in his crib for the night, I have actually started listening to the radio and not just tuning it out as background noise.  I've started looking forward to this quiet time.

Each night once the girls are in bed, I sit in the rocker listening to Delilah choosing the perfect song for the dedications of callers who are looking for a song to say what is in their heart or answering a listeners letter as they ask for advice or help.  As I listen to her giving advice, I wonder where does that kind of wisdom come from?  It seems she always has the perfect answer. 

Is it age? Life experience?  Personality and an inner ability to empathize?  I am in my 30's with three young kids and I still feel so young and inexperienced in so many ways.

My husband was joking the other day that we're really not that young any more.  He's right.  Middle age is shortly upon us. Yet, I don't feel older, wiser, or more experienced.

How do you find the right words when your children come to you with their growing pains?  You can't say "hold on a minute, let me ask someone else" or "let me google that".  What do you say when your child is the one left out, or when they get their heart broken, or heaven forbid, they face tragedy like the loss of a friend?  What do you say when they start asking the "hard" questions?  What do you say to help make it better?

And I thought Emmy and Madison's "why?" stage was tough.  It will get tougher, I am realizing.

Those "what to say worries" kept me up last night.  How do you find the right words? 

I know I can listen.  I can be there.  I can let them know I love them.  Maybe I can play devil's advocate, maybe I can see where they are coming from based on my own experiences, maybe, maybe, maybe...

I'm sure I will probably say the wrong thing more often than not. Will me letting them know I love them more than anything else in this world, be enough?

I'm sure I will be be going through my own growing pains as a mom just as they are going through their growing pains as teens and young adults.

*After I hit publish, I realized 8 pm is not late for most people but since I became a mom, my bedtime is usually right after the kids' so for me it is late!

Pumpkin Timeline

Ever since I was a little girl, trick or treating involved dressing up and having my mom drive us door to door to family and friends' homes since we lived outside of town.  We usually had our trusty plastic pumpkins to carry our loot.

For Emmy's first Halloween I was almost lured by fabric bags with pumpkins and sayings and the cutesie metal pails.  In the end I went to Wal-mart and bought her her very own plastic pumpkin for about a $1.99.  Those plastic pumpkins just bring back so many memories of my own childhood Halloweens.  That bright orange pumpkin has been her loot "bag" ever since.  Last year we bought Maddie her own and next year Ry will have his very own.

                                                 
On the girls' pumpkins, I wrote with a black Sharpie what they have dressed up as for Halloween every year since they were born.

And this year?

I guess you'll have to wait and see!

I've Been Hacked

My husband called me from work last week to inform me that my personal email had been hacked.

How did he know before me?

An old coworker of his (whose address was in my contact list because we had invited him to a pool party we threw several years ago) had emailed him that my email was hacked.

A few seconds later a friend of ours also emailed my husband at work to let him know that my email had been hacked.

That prompted a call to me to inform me that every single person in my contact list (we're talking almost 200 people) had been spammed by me.  I haven't cleaned my contact list out in...well, I don't remember. 

Those people who were spammed included former coworkers of mine and my husbands, our minister, our lawyer, the moms in the moms club I belong to, our travel agent who planned our honeymoon, and a myriad number of people who I hadn't spoken to in years.

I was mortified.

Apparently, I knew Max's secret, how to quit smoking, how to have fun, how to get rid of pain, and a site to get rid of your problems.


Needless to say I immediately went in and changed my passwords...

...and updated my contact list.

Have you ever been hacked?

It Never Compares to Mom's

My husband has a mom who is a good cook.  Even those of you who don't cook probably have one or two things you can make and take to parties or gatherings.  You know those things that you are known for bringing.  When you RSVP, it is that dish that the host automatically replies with "can you bring your..." 

Me, I make a mean veggie pasta salad. 

With my MIL it's not one thing, it's several dishes that she is known for that are absolutely delicious.  She makes a mean spinach dip, bean dip, and ranch pretzels (dubbed "Grammy's pretzels" and which my children could polish off in one sitting).  After our hurricane party (it was supposed to be a pool party), she is also kown for the BEST ribs ever.  Our guests polished off 8 or so pounds of ribs in no time. The recipe called for margarita mix.  Anything with margarita mix is bound to be yummy.

She's also the one who is in charge of the Thanksgiving turkey and which turns out amazing year after year even though she doesn't measure the ingredients.  According to her, its just a little of this and a little of that based on whatever is in our cupboard.  If I did that it would turn into some nasty science experiment gone wrong.  These are the people I envy since I am not a natural cook.  I need a recipe and a little luck on my side when I cook.

My MIL is also known by her family for her hamburger gravy.  Sausage gravy seems to be the norm here where we live and in the south but in the midwest where my husband's family is from, it is hamburger gravy.  We occasionally gather at her place for breakfast when the whole family is together.

After Family Fun Magazine featured a recipe for biscuits and sausage gravy that looked almost exactly like my MIL's hamburger gravy, I decided to tackle this dish myself.  My husband has been saying forever about how I need to learn how to make his mom's hamburger gravy.  How hard could it be?  (Asks the woman who still has issues using her bread maker).  I had low expectations so I figured I wouldn't be disappointed when it didn't turn out well since I was deviating from the recipe.

When my husband saw the finished product, he gave me THE LOOK.

It was the dubious look that asks, "will this kill me if I eat it?"  Actually, it was the "I have REALLY high expectations and this is so not going to live up to them" look since I have never sickened nor killed anyone with the food I've made. Of course there was that one time I mistakenly used cups instead of teaspoons of salt and instead of baking powder I used baking soda (or was it vice versa). I was making peanut butter cookies and they came out looking like bad tasting pancakes...Hey, I was only about 8 at the time.  Yes, I was using a stove at that age.  Of course, only when my dad was watching us.

I had been worried especially after my husband asked me if I wanted the truth or if I wanted him to be nice.  Anyway, it came out good.  Okay, at least the gravy did.  My husband said I nailed it or at least came really close.  *Insert me grinning wildly* I even have my grandparents as witnesses.

The biscuits were another matter.  They were small.  Apparently they were supposed to be large enough to break in half.  The recipe said it would make 10.  I had 12.  On top of that they were a little "funky".  They were dry.  Some were flatter than others and some had multiple ring marks since I had some little hands helping roll and cut the biscuits with a glass.  The girls had fun and really got into twisting the glass to cut out the biscuits. And if I'm truthful, I hate rolling dough so that could account for the different size biscuits since I rolled most of the dough.  When I talked to my MIL and told her about my foray into cooking her signature family dish, she laughed and said she probably only gets about 5 or 6 biscuits out of a regular recipe. 

 My little helper & the finished product

I can never make my mom's casseroles taste just like her's either.  So the lesson I learned is this: it will never live up to his mom's. Just like my casseroles and cookies will never taste quite like the casseroles my mom used to make and the cookies my grandmother used to make.  And that is the way it is supposed to be. Maybe its because they put a little bit of their heart and soul, a little bit of them, into what they cook. 

What is your signature dish?

A Mother's Best Friend

As a child, I remember getting gum in my hair thanks to my sister.  My mom's solution was to rub peanut butter into my hair and then wash it.  Even after two washings, I remember going to kindergarten smelling like peanut butter.

Recently, while friends were visiting, my daughters and my friend's son went into my daughters' room (they are young enough that I can say that without cringing) to play even though there is nothing in my daughters' room except stuffed animals.

I had forgotten that the nursery across the hall didn't have one of those door locks on it.  I had removed it for some reason or another and forgotten to put it back on.  It sat dismantled in a box with other odds and ends in my husbands office.  As my mother would sarcastically say when I was young, "that's a good place for it, right?" 

Of course my two year old who had followed her sister went inside the nursery and got into the petroleum jelly (a fresh jar that had not even really been used after Ry came home from the hospital) that was sitting in a portable organizer on the ottoman.  When I went to check on them, I saw Madison in the hallway.  She was covered in it from head to toe. When Madison saw me she grinned as though proud of her handiwork.  In her hands was the jar with the lid stuck down in the jelly and about a quarter of the jelly gone.

I felt my stomach actually recoil at the site.  The smell and the sight were horrifying and many expletives were racing through my mind. I would have much rather found my child with gum in her hair.  I am sure it would have been easier to clean up after. 

I handed the baby to my friend and picked Maddie up under the armpits away from my body and deposited her in front of the bathtub.  All the while I kept repeating how we DO NOT play with petroleum jelly.  Yuck.  Yuck.  Say it with me, "YUCK".

Even after wiping as much of the jelly off as possible and lathering her hair and body twice, her hair and skin were still oily.

That night she got another bath and after washing her down two more times, it seemed she was no longer an oily mess.

That night when I told my husband about her escapades, he laughed and asked me why I didn't just use Dawn.

Uhh...

He was right.  If it works on oil coated animals, why not a petroleum jelly covered child?

It seems that Dawn and magic erasers are truly a mother's best friend.